Student Services & Special Education

Jennifer Apodaca
Director of  Student Services
608.834.6520

Sara Pogue
Student Services Administrative Assistant
608.834.6524

Wendy Brody
Student Services Specialist
608.834.6559

Nancy Ohman
Elementary Special Education Administrative Associate
608.834.6561

Ramnique Mahal
Secondary Special Education Administrative Associate
608.834.6523

Rebecca Penticoff
Early Childhood Student Services Program Manager
608.834.6577

Debbie Brown
District Health Nurse for Elementary Schools
608.834.6583

Elizabeth Feisthammel
District Health Nurse for Secondary Schools
608.834.6679

District to District or Third Party Requests

If you are a  school district or third party agency seeking Special Education records for one of our current or prior students, please fax or email your request to the Student Services Administrative Assistant. 

Sara Pogue
Phone:  608.834.6524
Fax:  608.834.4113

For all other Student Records requests such as Cumulative Files, Attendance, Immunizations and Health Records, etc., please contact the individual school where the student currently or previously attended.

The Sun Prairie Area School District has trained staff that provides alcohol, tobacco and other drug abuse prevention education and intervention services to students. School counselors and social workers at all schools are available to support this program. Collaboration and trust between students, parents, and school staff is essential to a successful outcome.

Sun Prairie Area School District Policy and Procedure regarding Alcohol and Drug Use by Students.

McKinney-Vento Act

School districts in Wisconsin are required to ensure that homeless children have access to the same educational opportunities as non-homeless children, including opportunities to meet the same challenging state academic standards.

If you are currently homeless, and need assistance in providing new or continuing educational opportunities for your children, you may contact the Sun Prairie Area School District's Homeless Liaison:

Jennifer Apodaca
Director of Student Services
608.834.6520

Rights for Homeless Children in the Sun Prairie Area School District include:

• The availability of a district liaison staff person
• Immediate enrollment and school participation, even if you do not have access to educational and medical records
• Transportation to and from school
• Opportunities that may be available for your participation as a parent.

For more information, please visit:

Education of Homeless Children and Youth
Information from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

While all children and adolescents experience grief/loss differently, there are a variety of ways parents, educators, and community members can support them.

If your child is experiencing grief from a loss please let us know how we can support you. Contact your child’s school social worker, counselor, school psychologist, and/or principal.

Brief Facts and Tips from NASP (National Association of School Psychologists

1. Grief is not solely related to the death of a loved one. The symptoms, characteristics, and process of grieving can be similar after other types of loss (e.g., divorce, transition, moving).

2. Grief is personal. There is no right or wrong way to grieve. How people grieve can be influenced by developmental level, cultural traditions, religious beliefs, mental health, disabilities, family, personal characteristics, and previous experiences.

3. Grief is often characterized by sadness, emotional pain, and introspection in adults. However, children’s grief reactions differ according to age and developmental level:

   • Preschool - Regressive behaviors, decreased verbalization, increased anxiety

   • Elementary - Decreased academic performance, attention/concentration, and attendance; irritability, aggression, and disruptive behaviors; somatic complaints; sleep/eating disturbances; social withdrawal; guilt, depression, and anxiety; repeated re-telling of the event

   • Middle and High School - Decreased academic performance, attention/concentration, and attendance; avoidance, withdrawal, high risk behaviors or substance abuse, difficulty with peer relations, nightmares, flashbacks, emotional numbing or depression

4. Grieving does not have a timeline. Schools should be aware of anniversaries, birthdays, developmental milestones, and other factors that could affect students months or years after the loss.

Other Resources

Agrace Family Grief Support Program is for families with children aged 5 to 18. Children attend with a parent/guardian, and a meal is shared as a group. After an opening activity, children spend time in the space that meets their needs at that time (for example, in a play room or art room), while the adults meet as a separate group.

National Alliance for Grieving Children promotes awareness of the needs of children and teens grieving a death and provides education and resources.

The Dougy Center The Dougy Center provides support in a safe place where children, teens, young adults, and their families grieving a death can share their experiences. 

The National Child Traumatic Stress Network provides information and resources for students experiencing traumatic grief.