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Correspondence 

Please Note: Correspondence will open as a WORD document unless otherwise noted.

07/11/2010: Letter to Board of Education Re: Student General Fee

03/18/2010: Letter to Assemblyman Greenwald RE: Special Education Categorical Aid

03/16/2010:  Letter to Board of Education RE: Budget Impact as it pertains to Co-Teaching Class Size, Inclusion Class Size, Educational Assistants, English Seminar Program, Reduced Extended School Year, Music and Arts.  

March 16, 2010

Dear Members of the Board of Education,
 
            Thank you for the opportunity to express our concerns regarding various aspects of the anticipated budget.  We realize this is a particularly tough budget year, but we hope to be able to influence your consideration of several items due to the impact they will have on the most vulnerable population.
 
The areas of the budget that concern us most are:
 
  1. Inclusion Class Sizes
  2. Class Sizes
  3. Education Assistants
  4. English Seminar Program
  5. Reduced Extended School Year
  6. Music and Arts
INCLUSION CLASS SIZES
            We view the first item, inclusion class sizes that are larger than typical classes, with apprehension and concern for the future of an effective collaborative (co-teaching) inclusion model.  Last year parents were very discontent with the reduction to an every-other-day model of co-teaching in the high school humanities and science courses.  The idea that students with disabilities, which may range from Auditory Processing Disorders, ADHD, reading disabilities, Asperger’s Syndrome, and Non-Verbal Learning Disorder, should be the ones placed in the largest classroom is worrisome and frightening.  The concept of inclusion is that students with disabilities are supported in a setting that is equivalent to their non-disabled peers.  True inclusion means that the classified children receive the supports necessary for them to keep pace with the non-classified students. Larger class sizes means classified children may be lost in the shuffle, suffering silently, or, more likely, acting out due to frustration, only to be blamed for their "inappropriate behavior".

            This budget cut places students with disabilities in the largest class, which in our opinion, translates to the most distracting and challenging learning environment.  Additionally, the specials, such as art, music, PE, Spanish and library, may prove quite interesting since there is not typically a co-teacher in these settings.

            This being the second year in a row in which inclusion is facing reductions (we consider the increase in inclusion class size to be a reduction) causes us worry that this teaching approach is being diluted, which may eventually render it ineffective and pointless.  It has been a valued approach to providing a Least Restrictive Environment in Cherry Hill, and we don’t want to let it die such a slow death that it goes unnoticed.  The results of minimizing the collaborative teaching model could vary from kids that have to be "dummied down" to a lower class level class (in the high school tier system) or self-contained classes (for elementary grades), possibly additional out-of-district placements, and lowered self-esteem for students that can't make it without the previous level of support.  Lowered self-esteem may result in any number of consequences.  An additional consequence for the district may be the inability to meet AYP, and an additional consequence for the student may be a reduced likelihood of attending college or the college of his or her choice.
 
           Many parents may choose to "take their chances" and put their children in a regular education classroom with less students.  Doing so may have negative implications on everyone – typical students, special education students and the teacher. 
 
CLASS SIZE
            Many, if not all, classrooms today contain children with classifications.  Generally, our membership was rather quiet on the typical class size discussion, but we did have members express concern in this regard as well. 

            One of our members wrote concerning class size caps and the integration of buddy classes into typical classes.  Currently, students in Learning Disabled or Communication Impaired classrooms may be on the rosters of a "buddy" mainstream classroom.  They are included in the cap.  This facilitates the students moving in and out of the buddy classroom, a mainstream environment, as much as possible.  There is concern that students would no longer be included in the calculation of the cap of the buddy classroom.  That is, currently, if the current cap is 20 for kindergarten, and the CI or LD class has 4 kindergarteners, the buddy classroom now has no more than 16 full-time regular education students.  There would be 22 (if the new class size is implement) full-time with the potential for 26 students when LD or CI students are in the classroom because they would not count towards the classroom cap.

            This would increase the difficulties and challenges for the buddy classroom teacher when the additional students are in the class and possibly curtail the opportunities for self-contained students to be included in the least restrictive environment.  Even if the teacher is capable of handling the additional students, the students may not be able to handle the increase in class size for reasons including sensory issues, auditory process problems, and ADD/ADHD.

EDUCATIONAL ASSISTANCE

This is the third year in a row for educational assistance to be cut.  Every year we hear that these positions are not IEP mandated assistance, and but we wish to remind the BOE that since we began writing “assistance” instead of “assistants” in IEP’s, very few would be considered mandated.  However, many students require the support of an assistant in order to make meaningful progress. 

The impact on this is just too broad to begin describing.  It all depends on which child or children will lose their educational assistance and what purpose that assistance served.  We have been informed that each school will lose an educational assistant.  You need to know what each of the assistance did to understand the impact. 

ENGLISH SEMINAR PROGRAM
            You may wonder why CHSEPTA is taking up the cause for the English Seminar Program.  According to the Digest of Educational Statistics, 40% of students receiving special education services through the public schools are identified as having learning disabilities.  According to the Learning Disabilities Association of America, 4-6% of school-aged children in public schools have a specific learning disability.  The child with a learning disability is as much of interest and importance to CHSEPTA as the child with autism and multiple disabilities.
 
            The English Seminar Program (ESP) currently maintains class sizes of 15 to 21 students.  Indications from some in the district are that this will mean classes of 22 to 25.  Others in the district believe that the ESP could see classes as high as 30 students with the 6 FTE reductions that are planned at all tax levies.  A general concern is that the amount of learning of essential skills, such as writing papers, will decrease as teachers must adapt to more students and grade more papers.  Additionally, these classes are designed so that the class could break up into smaller groups for project work, peer editing, and teacher-assisted discussions.  We suspect that some of these items will no longer be possible if class size increases.  With the revised SAT format, established in 2005, approximately 30% of the SAT score is comprised of a student’s performance on a writing essay.  What impact will our district’s SAT scores see from this decision?
 
            CHSEPTA feels that the English Seminar Program is a great value to students with IEP’s and those that may not have an IEP in place but struggle with writing.  It is viewed as the “last chance” for students whose writing skills have not been adequately developed in elementary and middle school.  This change may effect the most vulnerable students.  Without writing skills, every class will be more stressful and inappropriately difficult.  The impact here is similar to those in the inclusion category, which include lowered grades and self-esteem, and difficulty with college admissions.
 
EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR
            For many students, the reduced extended school year may meet their needs appropriately.  The problem is that an extended school year program, which leaves students without services for a minimum of four weeks, clearly cannot be appropriate for every student in Cherry Hill’s special education population.  The impact for this population includes regression (loss of skills) and recoupment (length of time it takes to regain skills).  The children adversely effected by this change are, most often, in dire need of routine, which means a consistent program delivered throughout the summer not a consolidated program that lengthens the school day and decreases the amount of days.  Additionally, extended school year is supposed to be a decision made at the IEP table and modifiable to the student’s needs.
 
MUSIC AND ART
Music and Arts programs should remain intact.  Many special needs students cannot participate in sports, but they can play an instrument and/or sing, and as such, can establish a sense of belonging to a group in school and garner pride by performing in a group to support their school.  Music and Arts are essential parts of a well-rounded education and provide special needs students the opportunity to express themselves and let their creativity be realized.  
 
Thank you again for the opportunity to submit our concerns for you consideration. 
 
Best wishes,
 
Nancy Muldowney
President
CHSEPTA

 

 
 

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