----------------------------------------------------------------------

ELEMENTARY TRANSISTION - HOW DOES THIS AFFECT SPECIAL EDUCATION IN THE PASD?

The following is a copy of the letter I prepared for the School Board members and School Administrators on behalf of SPEED STEP.  My intention was to speak on behalf of several parents who have approached me on this specific issue and on behalf of SPEED STEP in my encouragement of these decision makers to fully consider the impact of such difficult decisions on the educational needs of special education students.  If you have additional points to make, or have an opinion that is not reflected in my letter, please feel free to contact the board members with your opinion, or contact me before I speak to the board on Monday the 11th.

Kim@olypentitle.com

December 5, 2006 

Port Angeles School District

School Board

Administration

Facilities Committee

My name is Kim Ortloff.  I am the parent of a special needs child and the founder and current president of the Port Angeles SPEED STEP, a student, parent, therapist, teacher organization working for the benefit of special education in the Port Angeles School District.  Many members of our organization have called me with concerns regarding the proposed move of the special education programs currently housed at Franklin Elementary School.  I am writing on behalf of the parents and SPEED STEP to make you aware of these concerns and to propose a financially advantageous alternative to moving these programs. I feel this alternative is more responsive to the individual educational needs of the children currently served by or who may need the services of these programs in the future. 

We are concerned that certain costs of moving these programs have not been fully addressed; including substantial renovations necessary to accommodate the diapering and toileting facilities, physical and occupational therapy, and accessible playground structures.  If the current middle school program at Roosevelt is moved to Stevens, a classroom with toileting and diapering facilities will need to be established.  If the current middle school program stays at Roosevelt and the self contained program for students with multiple disabilities (now called the “life skills” program) is moved to Roosevelt, a room with diapering and toileting facilities will be needed.  If both self-contained classes are moved to Roosevelt, the classroom for students with milder needs also needs to have toileting capabilities, since that classroom also has students in diapers and in a wheelchair, in need of those facilities.  It is not possible for the self contained classes to share the current classroom’s bathroom and changing table at Roosevelt.  There are too many students in need of the toilet and changing table.  It would be too disruptive, interfering with the students’ ability to benefit from the educational opportunities of the program.  It would also be hard on students from the other class to have to interrupt the class, coming through with an aide every time they needed to use these facilities.  We don’t ask typically developing students to announce to the class every time they need to use the bathroom.  Rooms 1 and 2 at Franklin have already been modified to meet these needs.  Should the program be moved, they will need to be altered to become “regular” classrooms. Room 1 would need the changing table removed and a small wall and door added for the bathroom. A corner of room 2 has a bathroom with a shower in it that would need to be removed. 

If the self-contained programs move to Roosevelt a room would need to be set up for therapists and itinerants, including a ceiling suspension system for Occupational and Physical Therapy work.  This accommodation has already been made at Franklin. 

An adapted playground would need to be put in place at Roosevelt close to the school, within an appropriate travel distance from the classroom for the students in wheelchairs and students with other mobility issues keeping in mind that there is limited staff support for mobility assistance.  The play equipment at Franklin is right outside the building on an accessible surface.  Appropriate and accessible play equipment is crucial for physical development, growth of independence, social development, and sensory input.  It is also very expensive.  There are several parents within our group that would like to take up the cause of finding funding for this type of equipment for the district.  However, when the special ed programs are continually moved from school to school to accommodate other programs, we hesitate to donate such expensive fixtures that can not be moved with the kids.

Beyond the initial costs of preparing the Roosevelt facility to house these programs, there is the potential for ongoing costs as a result of this move.  Each student in these programs is on an Individual Education Plan.  The plan is individual to the educational needs of the student, not the program in which they are currently served.  These IEPs will need to be reviewed by the respective IEP teams to determine if the present program still meets the needs and goals of the student in its new location.  You may have students who are currently served well by the program at Franklin who subsequent to the move would be better served in the less restrictive environment of a general education class with a one to one aide rather than changing locations.  For example, a student in the self- contained classroom at Franklin who is making substantial gain on IEP goals of independence and social skills because of her inclusion for parts of the day in a general education setting might now be better served by being placed in that same general education setting with known peers and a one to one aide rather than moving with the program to a new school where there is likely to be regression in these IEP goals.  Or if such a student is moved with the program and then regresses, there is the cost of additional services and therapies to stem the regression and put the student back on track.  What about the costs associated with a medically fragile student whose IEP calls on the use of paramedics to administer certain drugs when needed in an emergency situation?   This could mean the need to develop a special program for this student to meet her needs within the city limits where paramedics are always available to respond from the city fire station rather than relying on Fire District 2 volunteers whose locations may be too far away.  If we ignore this possibility and move such a student to Roosevelt, who will be liable when the paramedics can’t get there in time?  Or when the one rout from Roosevelt to OMC is blocked and the student can’t be transported?

There are also more intangible costs that the students will bare if the programs are moved from Franklin.  The district has an amazing resource in Principal Nancy Pack.  In addition to her administrative strengths, she brought with her a tremendous amount of experience and expertise in special education.  She understands the educational needs of these students.  She is familiar with concerns that general educators might have regarding working with a special needs child in a general education setting.  She has practical suggestions and ideas to accommodate the transition and most of all she knows the value of inclusion first hand for both special needs children and their typically developing peers.  It would truly be a waste of resources to remove all of the special education programs from Ms. Pack’s supervision.  The kids in these programs have become a part of the community at Franklin.  They are known to staff and fellow students and have had opportunities to interact and make friends with their typical peers through inclusion in general education classes or student helpers coming into the contained classrooms.  All parents worry about the social impact of moving their child to a new school, but for these kids it is much more difficult.  Not only do they have to get past their fears and insecurities as well as their physical differences, they have to help others get past them as well to see the person they are.  That is a lot to ask of an elementary school student.  Severing the bonds they have already made with their typical peers will be infinitely more damaging to these kids than to others in the general education population.  For some of these kids, the impact will be compounded when they have to change schools again the following year for 7th grade.  Let’s not forget that some of these kids were in the move from Monroe to Franklin.  Parents remember firsthand how difficult that transition was, how many additional services were needed, how long it took to get some of the kids functioning at their pre-move levels.  Moving such a child again without a plan for all sorts of additional support is tantamount to proactively causing regression and sending the child into the socially awkward middle school years with even more strikes against her – long term problems that are preventable today. 

How do we avoid these problems and costs?  We are proposing a variation to the current Option D under consideration. 

Option D Variation

FRANKLIN ELEMENTARY

22 INSIDE ROOMS 4 PORTABLE ROOMS =26

Number of Rooms:

14        2 unit k-6 general education classrooms- from Franklin’s attendance area             

  5        MAC program (beginning at 2nd grade, as is currently done) 2nd-6th district             program                

  5        Maintain current Spec. Ed. classrooms                                   

              One Service room OT, PT, SLP, TVI vision 

              Two Self contained rooms

              Two Resource rooms (one of these could be a bubble classroom)

  1        Band and Music room                                                                       

            Gen. Music will use room 14 (Ben Franklin) and music tech in the library             during the One period a day that band is in the music room

  1        Strings room  

26                                         

Option D Variation keeps Franklin from becoming more crowded than it is currently (in option D Franklin would gain additional students even though losing spec. ed.).  In option D variation plan Franklin becomes a 2.8 unit school with the MAC starting at 2nd grade.  MAC remains a district program beginning in 2nd grade with the 5 elementary schools sending 4-5 students each, totaling 20-25 students who will then be the cohort group in the MAC through 6th grade.  As the MAC loses students, spots could be filled by lottery drawing of interested families from the 5 elementary schools (same as what is done now)  Attrition could also be used to balance class size at Franklin before opening to other schools, as a way of handling “bubbles”.  If the MAC remains a district program, it would solve the dilemma of whether to return out of area students to their home schools next year if the MAC becomes a Franklin program. This is a sticky question once the new boundaries are determined.  If the MAC becomes a Franklin program, do we return all out of area students to their home schools, including current MAC students?  Or did we commit to the MAC families when we accepted them into the MAC program?

Option D Variation eliminates the need to make renovations for special education at Franklin or Roosevelt.  The Physical and Occupational Therapy room is already set-up.  The play equipment is already installed in an appropriate location.  The IEP teams will not need to review facility and location impact on the students unless there is a significant change in the student’s needs.  The students and staff will continue to benefit from Ms. Pack’s special expertise.  Relationships between students will be maintained and carried into middle school.  Parents will know that the district takes the impact of its decisions on special needs kids seriously and that they are not simply an afterthought to be worked around.  Knowing that the district is committed to providing these programs a home will make it easier to find funding for special equipment and tools that must be affixed to school property. 

We know that as parents of special needs kids we are engrossed in the well being and opportunities of our children.  What we hope to convey to you is that it is not idle preoccupation.  We are in a daily fight for the quality of our kids’ lives, not only for today, but for the rest of their lives.  We don’t have any time to waste; what happens today will have a significant impact on our kids’ ability for further education, gainful employment and independent living.  This is our responsibility and yours. 

Thank you for your time and consideration.  If you have questions or would like to discuss this issue further before the school board meeting on Tuesday, please feel free to contact me directly.  I look forward to the opportunity to work with you on this and future special education issues.

Sincerely,

Kimberly Ortloff                    

Kim@olypentitle.com