by Caroline Connors; The Beverly Review; May 7, 2013
Children with special needs who attend the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences (CHSAS) should remain in instructional special-education classrooms, parents said at a meeting with officials from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) on May 1.
The meeting, which was held at CHSAS, 3857 W. 111th St., was one component of ISBE’s “focused monitoring” process that looks at how districts and schools within the state of Illinois make educational placement decisions for students with disabilities, said Sarah Fies of the ISBE.
According to Fies, the ISBE is focusing on educational placement because the percentage of students with disabilities who are in the “general education” setting for 80 percent or more of the day is at 51 percent in Illinois, compared to 57 percent nationally.
Furthermore, ISBE is reviewing CHSAS’ special-education program because there is a lower percentage of students with special needs in the general-education setting at the school than there is in other high schools on the Far South Side and in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) district as a whole.
In addition to CHSAS, the high schools in the Far South Side network are Brooks, Carver Military, Corliss, Fenger, Harlan, Julian, Morgan Park and Washington. In 2011-2012, 51.2 percent of students with disabilities in the network spent 80 percent or more of the day in general-education settings, Fies said, and 51.0 percent of students with disabilities in CPS as a whole spent 80 percent or more of the day in general-education settings.
At CHSAS, the percentage of students in general-education settings for 80 percent or more of the day is at 34.8 percent, Fies said. Thus, she said, officials from ISBE called a meeting with parents to gather information about how the school makes placement decisions for their children and to determine whether the school is in compliance with state standards, which are mandated by state and federal regulations.
“What we focus on when making placement decisions is that students with a disability are in the least restrictive environment—the LRE—and that they’re there to the maximum extent appropriate, and that is only if the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in general-education classrooms with the use of supplementary aides and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily,” Fies said. “The IEP [individualized education plan] team should be determining what is the least restrictive environment based on the student’s needs and disabilities.”
According to Fies, students in “inclusive” classrooms, as opposed to “cluster” or instructional special-education classrooms, earn higher grades, achieve higher or comparable scores on standardized tests and attend more days of school than do those students in “pullout” programs. She also noted that many of the same strategies that work with students who are at risk for school failure also work for certain students with disabilities, and vice versa.
Officials from ISBE then polled the attendees to ascertain whether CHSAS parents were allowed to voice their concerns and provide input in the educational placement process. In response, parents said that school officials did discuss placement options available for their children; they were allowed considerable input in the discussion of the decisions about where their children received special-education services; and there was ample discussion regarding supports and services that could be provided to their children to enable them to participate successfully in the general-education setting.
According to the parents in attendance, the lower percentage of students with disabilities who are in the general-education setting at CHSAS is not due to a flaw in the school’s placement process but due to CHSAS’ status as a selective-enrollment school.
“Kids come from all over; it’s different than other schools in the network,” said one man in attendance. “We’ve got programs here that people come from all over the system for. There’s the disparity; I can see that right now.”
In an e-mail she sent to CHSAS Principal Bill Hook, Mary Hughes, chairperson for the Beverly Area Parents for Special Education, spoke for many attendees when she said that inclusion in the general-education setting is “completely inappropriate” for many CHSAS students with IEPs. As opposed to “high-incidence” disabilities such as dyslexia or ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), Hughes said, many of the students in the six cluster classrooms at CHSAS have “low-incidence” disabilities with unique physical, cognitive and emotional challenges.
“The high performance abilities of the general population, combined with the rigorous curriculum in the general-ed classrooms at Ag, held up against the learning challenges of most of the students in the low-incidence cluster programs, creates a gap that makes it inappropriate to include many of the students with special needs in the general-education classroom,” Hughes said. “The disparity in the abilities in the general population versus the students with IEPs at Ag explains why there is less inclusion at Ag than at less academically challenging schools.”
Officials from ISBE did not invite Hook and other CHSAS administrators to attend the public forum on May 1.
Hughes and other parents at the meeting asked officials from ISBE what percentage of students are in general-education settings at other selective-enrollment high schools in CPS, but Fies said she did not have that information available. The parents said it is important to compare apples to apples instead of comparing CHSAS—a selective-enrollment school with 58.9 percent of its students classified as low-income and an average ACT score of 20.8—with a school such as Fenger where 91.5 percent of students are low-income and the average ACT score is14.5.
Although Fies said that the ISBE doesn’t make decisions regarding special-education programming, Hughes and other parents in attendance at the meeting said they are concerned that a report from the ISBE that does not explain the reason for the relatively low percentage of students in general-education classrooms at CHSAS will impact funding from CPS and result in the elimination or reduction of the special-education program at the school.
While a majority of students with special needs at CHSAS may not be spending 80 percent of more of their time in a general-education setting, parents said, they are included in a variety of school activities and have a good relationship with their peers.
As the chair of the Beverly Area Parents for Special Education, a parent advocacy group of 72 families, Hughes said the special-education program at CHSAS is held in high regard.
“I have heard of and observed only positive experiences on the part of families whose children with special needs attend the Ag School cluster programs,” Hughes said in the e-mail to Hook. “As someone who advocates for children with special needs, it is my contention that the special-education cluster at the Ag School should be held up as an example and a model for excellence in special education.”
http://www.beverlyreview.net/news/featured_news/article_5d9554b4-b73b-11e2-87bd-0019bb30f31a.html
Children with special needs who attend the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences (CHSAS) should remain in instructional special-education classrooms, parents said at a meeting with officials from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) on May 1.
The meeting, which was held at CHSAS, 3857 W. 111th St., was one component of ISBE’s “focused monitoring” process that looks at how districts and schools within the state of Illinois make educational placement decisions for students with disabilities, said Sarah Fies of the ISBE.
According to Fies, the ISBE is focusing on educational placement because the percentage of students with disabilities who are in the “general education” setting for 80 percent or more of the day is at 51 percent in Illinois, compared to 57 percent nationally.
Furthermore, ISBE is reviewing CHSAS’ special-education program because there is a lower percentage of students with special needs in the general-education setting at the school than there is in other high schools on the Far South Side and in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) district as a whole.
In addition to CHSAS, the high schools in the Far South Side network are Brooks, Carver Military, Corliss, Fenger, Harlan, Julian, Morgan Park and Washington. In 2011-2012, 51.2 percent of students with disabilities in the network spent 80 percent or more of the day in general-education settings, Fies said, and 51.0 percent of students with disabilities in CPS as a whole spent 80 percent or more of the day in general-education settings.
At CHSAS, the percentage of students in general-education settings for 80 percent or more of the day is at 34.8 percent, Fies said. Thus, she said, officials from ISBE called a meeting with parents to gather information about how the school makes placement decisions for their children and to determine whether the school is in compliance with state standards, which are mandated by state and federal regulations.
“What we focus on when making placement decisions is that students with a disability are in the least restrictive environment—the LRE—and that they’re there to the maximum extent appropriate, and that is only if the nature or severity of the disability is such that education in general-education classrooms with the use of supplementary aides and services cannot be achieved satisfactorily,” Fies said. “The IEP [individualized education plan] team should be determining what is the least restrictive environment based on the student’s needs and disabilities.”
According to Fies, students in “inclusive” classrooms, as opposed to “cluster” or instructional special-education classrooms, earn higher grades, achieve higher or comparable scores on standardized tests and attend more days of school than do those students in “pullout” programs. She also noted that many of the same strategies that work with students who are at risk for school failure also work for certain students with disabilities, and vice versa.
Officials from ISBE then polled the attendees to ascertain whether CHSAS parents were allowed to voice their concerns and provide input in the educational placement process. In response, parents said that school officials did discuss placement options available for their children; they were allowed considerable input in the discussion of the decisions about where their children received special-education services; and there was ample discussion regarding supports and services that could be provided to their children to enable them to participate successfully in the general-education setting.
According to the parents in attendance, the lower percentage of students with disabilities who are in the general-education setting at CHSAS is not due to a flaw in the school’s placement process but due to CHSAS’ status as a selective-enrollment school.
“Kids come from all over; it’s different than other schools in the network,” said one man in attendance. “We’ve got programs here that people come from all over the system for. There’s the disparity; I can see that right now.”
In an e-mail she sent to CHSAS Principal Bill Hook, Mary Hughes, chairperson for the Beverly Area Parents for Special Education, spoke for many attendees when she said that inclusion in the general-education setting is “completely inappropriate” for many CHSAS students with IEPs. As opposed to “high-incidence” disabilities such as dyslexia or ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), Hughes said, many of the students in the six cluster classrooms at CHSAS have “low-incidence” disabilities with unique physical, cognitive and emotional challenges.
“The high performance abilities of the general population, combined with the rigorous curriculum in the general-ed classrooms at Ag, held up against the learning challenges of most of the students in the low-incidence cluster programs, creates a gap that makes it inappropriate to include many of the students with special needs in the general-education classroom,” Hughes said. “The disparity in the abilities in the general population versus the students with IEPs at Ag explains why there is less inclusion at Ag than at less academically challenging schools.”
Officials from ISBE did not invite Hook and other CHSAS administrators to attend the public forum on May 1.
Hughes and other parents at the meeting asked officials from ISBE what percentage of students are in general-education settings at other selective-enrollment high schools in CPS, but Fies said she did not have that information available. The parents said it is important to compare apples to apples instead of comparing CHSAS—a selective-enrollment school with 58.9 percent of its students classified as low-income and an average ACT score of 20.8—with a school such as Fenger where 91.5 percent of students are low-income and the average ACT score is14.5.
Although Fies said that the ISBE doesn’t make decisions regarding special-education programming, Hughes and other parents in attendance at the meeting said they are concerned that a report from the ISBE that does not explain the reason for the relatively low percentage of students in general-education classrooms at CHSAS will impact funding from CPS and result in the elimination or reduction of the special-education program at the school.
While a majority of students with special needs at CHSAS may not be spending 80 percent of more of their time in a general-education setting, parents said, they are included in a variety of school activities and have a good relationship with their peers.
As the chair of the Beverly Area Parents for Special Education, a parent advocacy group of 72 families, Hughes said the special-education program at CHSAS is held in high regard.
“I have heard of and observed only positive experiences on the part of families whose children with special needs attend the Ag School cluster programs,” Hughes said in the e-mail to Hook. “As someone who advocates for children with special needs, it is my contention that the special-education cluster at the Ag School should be held up as an example and a model for excellence in special education.”
http://www.beverlyreview.net/news/featured_news/article_5d9554b4-b73b-11e2-87bd-0019bb30f31a.html
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