By MARY EVA CASSADA
Special to The News & Record
Count among other big changes in local public schools this year:
special education inclusion, now system-wide.
In a nutshell, ìinclusionî is what used to be called ìmainstreamingî:
taking children with some sort of academic barrier out of their
self-contained special-ed classes and putting them into regular
classes.
ìThis is the wave of the future, and Halifax County is getting on
board,î said system Supervisor of Student Services Nancy Leonard,
herself a special-ed teacher for 11 years.
Jacqueline Reid, for one, is thrilled. Her daughter, Justyce, is in a
regular kindergarten class at South Boston Elementary despite having
Down syndrome, a genetic disorder.
The self-described ìfeisty mamaî had pushed for inclusion even before
it was system-wide policy, afraid her daughter ìwould be stuck in a
little room and theyíll forget about you.î
Instead, Justyce and several other special-ed children in her regular
class (total: 21 children) will mix and mingle and, academically, pick
up as much as they can.
ìSheís going to mimic what she sees,î Reid said. If she becomes
disruptive to the rest of the class ìTake her out,î Reid has told her
teachers. In the scheme of things, Down syndrome is considered a fairly
severe disability; other special-ed children are not as impaired.
The inclusion isnít necessarily all-day, Leonard said. Depending on the
childís needs, it might be most of the day, only part of the day, or
very little of the day, but the directive is to have him in a regular
class for as much time as is beneficial.
The reasons for the change are many, she said: Itís better for the
special-ed kidís academic progress, better for his social development
and itís hoped that inclusion eventually will lead to a modified
diploma, as opposed to a special-ed diploma.
ìWhen all is said and done, a special-ed diploma is really a
certificate of attendance,î Leonard said. A modified diploma, in
contrast, with its requirements of meeting eighth-grade SOLs and
getting a certain number of high school credits, ìmeans something,î in
the marketplace.
That has implications for job seeking as well as meeting the demands of
the federal No Child Left Behind act.
Leonard said the change is ìthe right thing to doî and is a reflection
of a friendlier approach to teaching.
For example, a handicapped child who formerly might have ìspent 10
years learning to count to 20î might have been detained until he
mastered that task. Now, said Leonard, teachers ìlook at all the other
things this child can doî even as he struggles with a rudimentary task.
ìItís time we started focusing on what they CAN do,î she added.
The regular classroom teacher doesnít have to go it alone. The
practices will vary from school to school, but usually the regular
teacher will have the help of either a special-ed teacher physically in
her room, or a teaching assistant.
And these helpers can shore up both the diagnosed special-ed kid as
well as others who may need an extra boost to grasp the lesson.
Justyceís teacher, Virginia Aherron, looks forward to team teaching
with the special-ed instructor assigned to her class as well as the
aide.
ìAll the children will benefit from this,î Aherron said. ìTheyíre going
to work with all the children, not just special ed.î
School System Executive Director for Instruction Joe Griles said
inclusion has been done successfully at several schools in recent
years, most notably at the middle school.
Fairly or unfairly, special-ed classes have sometimes been perceived as
dumping grounds, but inclusion should alleviate that stigma.
ìIf you have all of your representatives of society in a classroom Ö
children will learn from that,î Griles said. Special-ed kids are not
isolated, and can learn from and imitate their regular peers; ìregularî
children learn to look beyond superficial differences.
Griles conceded that the new methods could place more stress on
teachers, who already face a classroom of vastly ranging abilities and
skill levels: Thereís more collaborating, more planning, more ñ†the new
buzzword ñ†ìdifferentiation,î but he said itís worth it.
The number of special-ed children affected is hard to pin down. In
2006, about 17 percent of the systemís 5,900 students had IEPs ñ
individual educational plans. But many of those IEPs are for very minor
issues, such as a lisp being corrected by a speech therapist once a
week.
Inclusion is not without its detractors.
In the 1990s, the American Federation of Teachers urged a halt to total
inclusion, and even today research on its long-term benefits is
sketchy.
"Unfortunately, we do not have research that has directly addressed
this issue," Dr. John McDonnell, chairman of the Department of Special
Education in the Graduate School of Education at the University of
Utah, told Education World, an online magazine.
(Although McDonnellís follow-up studies of high school graduates
suggests that inclusion, especially in vocational education, ìis
associated with improved post-school outcomes," he told Education
World.)
And there remains the point of how longstanding special-ed classes
evolved in the first place: As a safe haven where children with
disabilities could learn at their own pace.
Then, too, as a sister of one teacher asked bluntly: What about the
smart kids? Already forging ahead academically, will the special-ed
children drag down the overachievers? Slow the classí progress? Be a
hindrance?
ìI donít think it will when done correctly,î said Leonard. ìI donít
think anyoneís going to get the short end of the stick.î
Reid, the mother, who also has a bright 10-year-old son who does not
have Down, said doctors and others have always underestimated Justyce.
At first, ìIt was a lot of negativity they fed us,î she recalled.
Today, Justyce plays soccer on a special team, has taken dance lessons,
loves fingering a music keyboard at home and goes everywhere with her
family.
ìI have no limitations for her,î Reid said.