On Special Education

When I wrote about restraints and seclusion several weeks ago, it raised a kerfuffle with one reader who thought disability advocates are drawing undue attention to the issue. Read the original post, and a follow-up. The implication was that sometimes, teachers just have to restrain or seclude children; the techniques have to remain a tool in their arsenal.

So when my editor sent me information about a documentary following a school in England for young children with severe behavior problems, my interest was definitely piqued. How do they do it, I wonder?

Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go is premiering July 28. For those who don't have access to PBS or who miss the broadcast, the documentary will also be online.

Filmmakers visited the Mulberry Bush School to document its work with emotionally disturbed students aged 5 to 12. I read through the Web site trying to glean insights into this school's therapeutic methods. One of the first figures that popped out is that it has an adult-to-child ratio of 108 to 40, which is extraordinary. It's also extraordinarily expensive, at 123,000 pounds a year per child, according to one news report, or more than $203,000 a year. The money comes from the agencies that place students there. It's a residential school, which allows for a great deal of trust and relationship-building between the children and the adults who care for them.

The Web site says the school does use "gentle restraint." But, judging from this article in the London-based Times (this documentary aired a year ago there), nothing beats time and unceasing effort to care for these children, most of whom have been victims of horrific abuse.

The staff are hit, spat at, kicked and head-butted on a daily basis. The worst excesses are dealt with by a period of restraint. To be spinning out of control is not only a danger to others: it’s also a very frightening state for a child to be in. For all their stomping and swaggering, these children are desperate for someone to look after them. Holding them on a huge beanbag outside the classroom gives them a chance to take control of their feelings. But most importantly for children who have been serially let down by those who are supposed to care for them, the adults here don’t go away. Staff talk about “an unconditional regard for the child.” Privately they admit they are often pushed to their limits, but they get up the next day and do it all again.

I don't blame teachers for saying that headbutting and kicking is not what they signed up for. But not all children exhibit behavior this severe, and yet we still cannot seem to find a place for them. Is there something that we can learn from the Mulberry Bush School, as unique as that program may be? I know I'll be watching to find out.

Posted by Christina Samuels at 4:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (4) | TrackBacks (0)

The Washington Post's story today about alternate assessments for students with disabilities provided an interesting behind-the-scenes look into how these tests are graded.

The story also indicates that such portfolios are becoming more commonplace, at least in Virginia:

In Northern Virginia, portfolio testing has expanded significantly over two years. About 8,600 math and reading portfolios were compiled in Fairfax this school year, up from 5,900 in 2007-08 and 600 in 2006-07. Similar trends are playing out in Arlington and in Prince William and Loudoun counties.

Pass rates have increased in part because school systems have grown more comfortable compiling portfolios. Last school year, 94 percent of Fairfax students evaluated through portfolios passed in reading, and 84 percent passed in math, up from 79 percent and 70 percent, respectively, in 2006-07. Statewide, 87 percent of such students passed in reading and math last school year, up from 81 percent and 84 percent the year before.

The article, however, didn't delve into the debate over whether portfolios are a valid measure of a student's academic skills. Project Forum, a collaboration between the National Association of State Directors of Special Education and the federal government, has recently released a document that explores the implementation of alternate assessments nationwide. You can find that document, "The Alternate Assessment Based on Modified Achievement Standards: An Initial Review of State Implementation," by clicking on the appropriate link on this page.

Posted by Christina Samuels at 5:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Special education officials often complain about how the testing provisions of No Child Left Behind penalize schools with high numbers of students with disabilities, but the Washington Post had an interesting story on the front page today about a lesser-known problem: schools with high numbers of medically fragile students may get penalized under the law because their students don't meet the law's daily attendance standards.

Stephen Knolls School suffered the ignominy of failure under federal law in 2006 and 2007 for low test scores. This year, the Kensington school finally made the grade in reading and math -- only to be sanctioned for poor attendance.

The challenge in this case is not truancy. Stephen Knolls serves medically fragile children with severe physical and cognitive disabilities, such as cerebral palsy, spina bifida, and Rett syndrome.

One student missed 119 days of school last year because of illness. An 8th grade boy logged more than 80 absences before dying in January. When school health aides call home for routine matters, they take pains to begin each conversation by saying, "This is not an emergency," because parents generally prepare for the worst.

"We know that there are legitimate reasons for [students] to be home," said Tina Shrewsbury, school coordinator. "They're going to [medical] specialists. . . . They're having lab tests done. They're being hospitalized."

However, Stephen Knolls could be exempted from this rule, as a special education center. Its students could be counted, for NCLB purposes, at their "base" school. Montgomery County, Md., where this school is located, has chosen not to exercise this provision.

...Montgomery school officials say it would be disingenuous to pretend that Stephen Knolls students attended any other school. Many of them have never studied anywhere else. Montgomery officials say the school deserves credit for working hard against long odds to make academic progress.

"We're not looking to beat the system. We're just looking for some common sense to be applied to it," said Brian Edwards, chief of staff to Montgomery Schools Superintendent Jerry D. Weast.

This doesn't just happen to schools with a high population of medically fragile students. My colleague, David Hoff, recently wrote a short article about a Utah school that was facing similar sanctions because its student population, primarily Ute Indians, were missing class because of tribal obligations.

Posted by Christina Samuels at 4:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)