Integrated Learning Successful in Special Ed
March 15, 2010
SOUTHINGTON — The town’s integrated special education programs are successful, according to school officials.
Francis Haag, senior coordinator of special education, gave a presentation on special education and related services to the Board of Education Thursday. Nearly one-third of the board’s proposed budget, or $19.3 million, will be spent on the 11.2 percent of students who need special education, she said.
Each day the school district sends 64 special education students to out-of-district facilities. Another 703 are educated in the district.
On average they spend at least three-quarters of their time in a regular classroom, learning and spending time alongside non-challenged peers.
Special education students include those with visual or hearing impairments, autism, emotional disturbances, specific learning disabilities, autism, Attention Deficit Disorder, traumatic brain injuries, intellectual disabilities, orthopedic impairment and multiple disabilities.
Schools are required to provide a free and appropriate education to all students. In recent years there has been a focus on integrating special education students with the rest of the school population to the maximum extent appropriate. This is called the “least restrictive environment.” If this is difficult, supplemental aids and services must be considered before the student is transferred to a separate setting, she said.
“For some students the ‘least restrictive environment’ is outside of the district,” said Haag. “Classes are integrated. Our kiddos learn with students without disabilities, which is great.”
The Time With Non-Disabled Peers Program is also working in Southington. In the 2008-09 school year, special education students in town spent an average of 75 percent of their day in regular classrooms. The state average was 72.7 percent. They spent 16.4 percent of their day in the resource room, while time spent in a separate setting was 8.7 percent.
“We need staff, space and equipment to be inclusive,” Haag said. “We still set the bar high so students can reach their potential.” The state wants Southington to continue to improve classroom inclusiveness for students with intellectual disabilities.
Students are learning to associate with their disabled peers outside of the classroom as well, Haag said. Southington has the second-largest Best Buddies contingent in the state, even though the town joined the program just two years ago. Best Buddies is a program that pairs disabled students with non-disabled “buddies,” encouraging them to socialize and do things together.
Haag is impressed with the town’s participation in the program. “When Southington sets out to do something, they do great,” she said.
Special education students also take CMT and CAPT tests alongside their peers. Some with significant disabilities are tested with an alternate assessment aligned with state standards. Southington’s special education students scored above the state average for special education students on all categories in both tests for the 2008-09 school year. On the CMT test, the average percentage of students with disabilities who met the state goal in math was 30.7 percent statewide, but in Southington it was 46.8 percent. On the CAPT test, the statewide average meeting the goal for math was 15.4 percent, but in Southington it was 25 percent.
Teenage special education students also learn life and occupational skills, including internships and paid work in various fields, Haag noted. They also visit colleges.
The board was impressed by the progress the special education students are making.
“Congratulations are in order for the special education teachers,” said Terri Carmody. “The test scores are great. That’s wonderful.”