In the News
Inclusion
02/23/06
Program helps children with disabilities, non-disabled classmates learn together
By Lisa Black
Tribune staff reporter
Published February 22, 2006
As 16 preschoolers played and painted in their classroom, few noticed that one 5-year-old was receiving a bit of extra attention.
Amid the buzz of activity this month, occupational therapist Ann-Marie Litchy worked alongside the boy as he fit colorful blocks into a pattern. He took turns with a girl who generously offered him the most coveted choice of blocks, seeming to understand his frustration in dealing with a developmental delay.
At Cherry Preschool in Evanston, parents take pride in a program that embraces the inclusion of children with disabilities. Ten percent of the 275 youngsters enrolled at the school have disabilities, but they learn alongside non-disabled kids in 19 classrooms.
General Advocacy
02/23/06
Left out, not just behind
Since its inception, holding schools accountable for educating our children has been the principle focus of President Bush’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) act. As a consequence, the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has responded to this nationwide challenge by insisting that most learning-disabled students be left out of the process altogether.
As outrageous as this may sound, KDE’s strategy is seemingly designed to avoid reporting the academic performances of children with learning disabilities. Why? So parents of these children will not discover the degree to which Kentucky public schools are failing to properly educate their children who happen to have learning disabilities.
Inclusion
02/22/06
Learning-Disabled Students Blossom in Blended Classes
Michael Winerip, New York Times, November 30, 2005
Sarah Jacobs' son Jed, 9, has a learning disability. He's easily distracted and, if asked to do too many things at once, panics. At his former school, a private academy that cost $20,000 a year, his mother says Jed got into trouble daily ("kicking and even some biting") and stopped learning. "He was reading 'Captain Underpants' in kindergarten and he was in third grade and still reading 'Captain Underpants,'" she says.
So in September she switched him to a nearby public school, P.S. 75 on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Jed was a new boy. His fourth grade had two full-time teachers and the class was so well-organized, Jed moved smoothly from one task to the next. When Ms. Jacobs asked how he liked it, Jed said he thought his teachers must have a disability too, because they made it so easy to understand the work.
General Advocacy
02/22/06
Resolution to Shift Burden of Proof Divides D.C. School Board Members
By V. Dion Haynes
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, February 14, 2006; B01
The D.C. school board yesterday tabled a resolution seeking to change a law that puts the burden of proof on the school system when its instructional plans for special education students are challenged by parents. In a case closely watched by educators nationwide, the Supreme Court in November upheld a Maryland law that puts the burden of proof on parents in such disputes, requiring them to show why a school district's plans will not meet their child's needs.
As soon as the ruling was issued, D.C. school officials said they would seek to align their law with Maryland's. But since then, the board has twice put off voting on a resolution asking the D.C. Council to change the law, amid signs that board members are divided.
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