Understanding how special ed impacts the bottom line

SHARON — The Board of Education held a public forum Monday, Feb. 8, in the Sharon Center School library to begin a conversation about the upcoming budget process.

In addition to the board, Sharon Principal Karen Manning, Region One Superintendent Patricia Chamberlain, Director of Pupil Services Carl Gross and Special Education Supervisor Martha Schwaikert attended. There was an audience of about a dozen.

Strong program in special ed

Gross began by describing what Special Education and Pupil Services are in Region One.

“As director of Special Education and Pupil Services, I am the person who assures the quality of these services,� he said. “I ensure that our schools are meeting the needs of all students with disabilities across the region. I also ensure compliance with state mandates.�

He introduced Schwaikert, explaining that her job focuses on the “nuts and bolts� of special education. She works in the region’s classrooms with teachers and with students’ families.

Gross explained that in Connecticut, since a lawsuit against the state that was resolved in 2002, schools strive to “mainstream� special education students by including them in regular classrooms. They now receive special help in small groups or one-on-one as needed.

Previously, they had been segregated out into special classrooms made up of students with a variety of needs and abilities.

Gross said the goal is to have 80 percent of special education students spending 80 percent of their time in mainstream classrooms.

“We’re not at that target, but I’d characterize our schools as having a good record,� Gross said.

Sharon’s regional program

A question came from the audience about how many children at Sharon Center School are classified as special education students and the distribution across grades.

Gross answered that 43 children from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade were classified as special education students at Sharon Center School. The school’s enrollment is 208.

There was concern among the audience members that 20 percent of the school’s pupils were in special education.

Gross pointed out that Sharon is one of three regional centers in Region One (the others are Salisbury and Kent), which in part accounts for the seemingly high number.

“The reason we have those regional programs is because no community has the resources to provide for every boy and girl with disabilities in every school,� he said.

He added that Sharon’s strong special education program attracts parents with special needs children to the town. Some people even move here from New York state to take part in the program.

Chamberlain also asked the audience to remember that the preschool at Sharon is also regional.

“The incidence in preschoolers increases as time goes by,� Chamberlain said. “The zero-to-3 programs refer children to schools at age 3 with the special education designation.�

Schwaikert added that the state refers special education children to the district at age 3 and the district is required to provide services.

Gross also said that a lot of the special education diagnoses, such as autism and ADHD, come from physicians, not the school district.

“It’s not ours to diagnose,� he said.

Gross also underscored that not all children who receive help from Pupil Services have severe intellectual or developmental disabilities. Pupil Services includes services such as intensive tutoring in a particular subject, time with a psychologist and occupational and speech therapy.

Another concern raised by the audience was whether the school’s Connecticut Mastery Test scores were suffering from the inclusion of special education students.

“I have never seen anything to indicate scores fall because of special ed inclusion,� Manning said.

She explained that students with severe intellectual disabilities either did not take the test or took a modified version of the test. Students with learning disabilities are able to take the test with modifications, such as having more time to complete the test or being given different instructions.

Hot meals for all students

Manning also drew attention to the free lunch statistics at the school.

“We provided 319 free lunches in 2009,� she said. “About 20 percent of our student population receives free or reduced lunches. There is a link between economic need and lower achievement.�

Chamberlain brought up a study that was done in 2000-01 that compared test scores among schools with similar demographics. According to that study, she said, Sharon ranked second in the state among its peer schools.

“Poverty is rising in Sharon, based on the free lunch numbers,� Chamberlain said. “We work with what we have. Whoever crosses through that front door, we educate.�

The audience also had questions about how the Sharon Board of Education pays for the regional special education program.

Chamberlain and Manning explained that the special education budget is set up the same way as the regional high school budget: Each town pays its share based on enrollment.

Enrollment numbers are based on the number of students attending each school on Oct. 1 of the preceding year.

On Oct. 1, 2009, Sharon had 205 students; total enrollment for Region One elementary schools was 1,341. Manning said that for 2010-11, Sharon is slated to pay 10.343 percent of the regional Pupil Services and Special Education budget.

“That percentage won’t change, but the budget could,� Manning said after the meeting. “Pupil Services hasn’t finalized its budget yet.�

Kudos from a parent

At the end of the forum, Jennifer Tierney raised her hand.

Tierney, who grew up in Ireland but has lived in the United States for 15 years and in Sharon for five years, has two children at Sharon Center School, a son in kindergarten and a daughter in preschool.

“My daughter started pre-kindergarten today,� she said, explaining that her daughter turned 3 on Nov. 30 and has been receiving services from the school district since then.

“It’s an absolutely amazing opportunity for my daughter. In the past eight weeks, the difference I see is amazing. She’s like a normal 3-year-old. I just wanted to express my gratitude to the district.�