leadership in high schools

A public school teacher encouraged this 11 year old to unleash his talent – speaking to 17,000 teachers.   Hear commentary from Maya Angelou, US poet.  Despite this talent he is a very average student. 

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22425001/vp/32911777#32911777“:

It fascinated me last summer when I visited an inner city laundromat run by an immigrant family.  With limited English skills these folks practiced customer service, took orders and delivered the product in the said times listed in the shop window.  Clothes were taken in, tagged, instructions for care were written in Chinese script, invoices were prepared for shirts, pants etc. separately and the entire transaction lasted five minutes. 

I have begun to think of this work concept in relation to teaching work skills, daily living skills, enterprenuership,  general organization and daily management to students who might be receive both and IEP or Regents diploma.

Today our center was visted by a team of educators from the Alleghany Limestone School district in the Cattaraugus County of Western New York.  This visit was prompted by an up coming Committe on Special Education meeting that has been called next week to seek placement for a 10th grade autistic male student. 

The essential question posed by the educational team was:

How does an educational team document via the IEP the social skills training that is mandatory for all autistic students without sacrificing academic time on task, through counselling and speech service pull outs particularly when the students who are at the higher end of the spectrum disorder show no indication of needing these services, but parents insist that the law demands it?

Here are some of the answers provided by the Hewes Special Education Team:

Social skills are embedded in the curriculum and are addressed throughout the day in every subject.

Social skills are practiced and taught through mandated counselling and speech services either as a push-in or a pull out.  Documentation for this service can be provided by using applied behavior analysis produced by the classroom teachers, speech teachers and counselors.  This data should then be reflected in all segments of the IEP in particular – the PLEP statement, the social, physical and management sections of the IEP;  in the area of needs and accommodations. 

For autistic students, 5 times a week of speech is mandatory but this is really for the severe student.  In recognition of the fact that autism is now considered a spectrum disorder education law has not changed to accommodate Regents Diploma Bound high school students who indicate no specific need for pragmatic speech development or social skills training.  In this scenario, the law has not caught up with what teachers observe in the classroom particularly when examining students with autism and asperger’s syndrome.  Until that time comes educators have to practice policies that are legally defensible and show full appreciation for the needs of autistic students. 

Some school districts seek a waiver from parents indicating that they have understood that in a given school day, removing the students five times a week from the classroom to provide a related service like speech/counselling/social skills training has the affect of delaying high school graduation for these students, so that instead of taking 4 years these students may take 5 or more because in the school day, there just isn’t enough time to get all the academics programmed in a school year. 

The above team visit has flavored the way we at the HewesCenter view our work in terms of documenting our educational practices with Special needs students. 

Lucy Studd, founder/initiator of NAMI, Chautuaqua County ( National Association for the Mentally ILL) will be visiting the Hewes Center on April 30 and May 7, 2009 to present on the topics of Depression and Bi-Polar Disorder.  The April 30  presentation will be for Aides and Teacher Assistants.  The May 7 presentation will be for Teachers and all Related Service Professionals.  The thrust of Lucy’s presentation will be a general understanding of both illnesses and how they affect daily functioning, reasoning and responses of students/clients.  Our staff at the Hewes Center will be able to develop an understanding of the instructional challenges faced by students who are diagnosed with these illnesses in terms of stigma and societal expectations which are blurred when one is not on medication or receiving therapy. 

The Tiger’s Tale, student newspaper of the Hewes Center will feature an article on NAMI and Lucy Studd after the student editorial board interviews her on April 30.  The Student Council of the Hewes Center has already endorsed NAMI and are de facto members of NAMI, Chautauqua County.