Print this story | E-mail story | This story has 16 comments Add your own | iPod friendly
County gets special ed pre-k
Stimulus will fund renovation at central office for program
Published Saturday, October 17, 2009
Special needs preschoolers serviced by the Covington County School System will soon have a new place to learn, thanks to a nearly $250,000 renovation project at the system’s central office.
The project, which is being funded by stimulus money specially designated for special education use, is in the beginning stages, and school officials are currently waiting to finalize renovation plans for the facility.
For special needs children, the education process begins early. From birth to age 3, those children are followed by the state’s Early Intervention program, which tailors services to meet individualized special needs. At 3, those students transition into their respective school system’s special needs pre-kindergarten program. Currently for the county school system, those services are provided in the child’s “least restrictive environment” which generally means daycare or a home-type setting.
With the improved facility, the possibilities for program expansion are endless, said Billie Thompson, special education program director.
“I guess you could say there is both a short-term goal and a long-term goal for the project,” Thompson said. “For preschool services, given the size of the county and the fact that our program covers the entire county, we needed a centralized location for the facility. That’s the central office.
“Over the years, the special needs preschool program has grown so large,” she said. “The number of autistic children and those with Asperger’s (a form of autism) and those with severe medical needs has increased. We need the right tools, the right technology and the right programs to make those students succeed. This project is our opportunity to purchase the equipment and design a facility that will do that — even in the day of proration. This is our one shot at it and we’re going to use it.”
Thompson said as of Oct. 1, the system was servicing 30 special needs preschoolers countywide.
“That does not include the speech impaired children we have,” she said. “All of those students are currently undergoing evaluation by preschool teachers in our break room, and that’s not conducive. In the short term, this project will give us an area to properly conduct those evaluations as well as a facility to small group interaction for preschool children.”
Additionally, the county system is working in conjunction with the Andalusia City School System to house students enrolled in the CAPE program, which provides specialized instructional services for children with severe behavioral and/or emotion problems. The facility will also feature a specifically designed classroom for those students.
Thompson said the facility plans should be finalized this month and bids will be let sometime next month. Construction “should hopefully” start in January, she said.
“Which means we might not be in it until this summer,” she said. The facility will also include a handicap-accessible kitchen area and break room.
The second part of the project is what Thompson calls “the long-term goal” and “perhaps the most exciting part” — a centralized preschool facility for both the county system’s special needs and “typically developing” students.
“State and federal guidelines mandate that you have to have the same number of ‘typically developing’ students as you do special needs students,” she said. “With that said, one can imagine the logistics of working out such a program when you think about transportation and staffing, but it’s definitely something we are looking at hard.”
Thompson said she has spoken with other systems that have implemented such a pre-k program.
“The majority of those who made it work have been city school systems,” she said. “It’s very difficult for a county system to make it work, especially one like ours that has so much geographical area to cover. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it’s going to take some work.”
Thompson said she and the county’s other educational professionals are up to challenge and are ready to get started on the entire project.
“My phrase is we’re looking for ‘state of the art,’” she said. “I think special needs kids deserve the best. I don’t think it has to be the most expensive. We need to get what we can afford and get what we need. Special needs kids need special things and the Covington County School System wants to make sure we’re doing that.”
Comments
Posted by SouthernAttitude1 (anonymous) on October 17, 2009 at 8:39 p.m. (Suggest removal)
This is great for the special needs children. They do need some extra attention.
On the other hand, there are other students that need extra attention as well.
My question is where is the funding for our gifted children? The ones who are bored silly with ho hum information they are being force fed. Where is the funding for a place for them to get intellectually stimulated far beyond what these teachers can teach them. Many are past their teacher's intelligence level before they ever step foot in their class.
Most only excel once they make it to a higher learning atmosphere, that is if the don't drop out from sheer boredom before they get there.
Posted by SouthernAttitude1 (anonymous) on October 17, 2009 at 8:56 p.m. (Suggest removal)
floknos, correct you are.
Not all parents are willing to take that path. We did. My child has gone way beyond anything the teachers predicted.
Posted by WAtidefan (anonymous) on October 17, 2009 at 11:26 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Are y'all saying that there are no AP classes, no honors classes, nothing at all for gifted kids in county schools? Is there no Running Start program with LBW?
BTW, a high IQ doesn't mean a student has as much knowledge as a teacher.
Posted by SouthernAttitude1 (anonymous) on October 18, 2009 at 10:11 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I am stating from experience. Some of the teachers can't get beyond what is in the text books to answer any questions that go beyond the books. Kinda stuck spinning their wheels. Then they want to blame the child for their own lack of knowledge.
My child was tested because they thought it was a learning disability. WRONG! What does it tell you when the principal tells the teacher, in front of the child and parents, that the child should be teaching the class and not the teacher? This was a county school. I will not get into a debate about which one because people are so quick to defend their alma mater, right or wrong.
Mind you, this happened several years ago and hopefully some younger, smarter blood is taking on some of our brightest. From what I have read in other posts, it is a very small number, if any.
There are many good teachers, nice people. They just don't have the ability to teach those smarter than them.
Posted by lookeyhere (anonymous) on October 18, 2009 at 10:59 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Please no more lawyers.
Posted by lookeyhere (anonymous) on October 18, 2009 at 11:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Are you serious flo? You know the difference between a lawyer and a hooker? The hooker will stop screwing you when your dead.
Posted by WAtidefan (anonymous) on October 18, 2009 at 12:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I am a teacher (not offended by SA1's comments) and there is always someone smarter. What, by the way, is smart/smarter?
The fact is SPED can always get funding. I, along with colleagues, have written grants and my goal is to tie the request to SPED in some way. If I can make the program some how benefit SPED, the money follows. Not true with advanced kids. The unspoken philosophy is that they will make it anyway. And, by the way, the latest golden group is ELL (English language learners). Foundations love ELL students.
This is not to say that special needs kids should not have a facility geared to meet their needs. Or that these kids don't deserve an education.
In recent years there has been a huge increase in the number of children identified with disabilities such as autism, Asperger's, ADD, ADHD, OCD, ODD (and other emotional/behavioral disorders), etc. Are we getting better at identifying these conditions or are we quicker to use these to label a challenging child?
Posted by SouthernAttitude1 (anonymous) on October 18, 2009 at 5:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
WAtidefan, smarter is a mental capacity beyond those designated to teach. A broader range of knowledge and the "want to" to know even more. Not be satisfied with the status quo.
BTW, I already knew you were a teacher from previous posts. Sounds like you are one of the more concerned ones from your postings. I wish we had more like you in our area schools. I have a friend who is a teacher and they think it is the system itself that needs changing. I agree.
You hit the nail on the head with those in charge being quicker to label. It gives them an out, an excuse, for their own shortcomings. How many bright (ADHD, etc) kids have been medicated to stifle their curiosity of the world. Way too many, in my opinion.
Posted by biscuitsandhoovergravy (anonymous) on October 19, 2009 at 9:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The evolution of math in school
1950
A lumberjack sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of this price. What is his profit?
1960 (traditional math):
A lumberjack sells a truckload of lumber for $100. His cost of production is 4/5 of this price, or in other words $80. What is his profit?
1970 (new math):
A lumberjack exchanges a set L of lumber for a set M of money. The cardinality of set M is 100, and each element is worth $1. Make 100 dots representing the elements of set M. The set C is a subset of set M, of cardinality 80. What is the cardinality of the set P of profits, if P is the difference set M\C?
1980 (equal opportunity math):
A lumberjack sells a truckload of wood for $100. His or her cost of production is $80, and his or her profit is $20. Your assignment: Underline the number 20.
1990 (outcome based education):
By cutting down beautiful forest trees, a lumberperson makes $20. What do you think of his way of making a living? In your group, discuss how the forest birds and squirrels feel, and write an essay about it.
1995 (entrepreneurial math):
By laying off 402 of its lumberjacks, a company improves its stock price from $80 to $100. How much capital gain per share does the CEO make by exercising his stock options at $80? Assume capital gains are no longer taxed, because this encourages investment.
2009 (motivational math):
A logging company exports its wood-finishing jobs to its Indonesian subsidiary and lays off the corresponding half of its US workers (the higher-paid half). It clear-cuts 95% of the forest, leaving the rest for the spotted owl, and lays off all its remaining US workers. It tells the workers that the spotted owl is responsible for the absence of fellable trees and lobbies Congress for exemption from the Endangered Species Act. Congress instead exempts the company from all federal regulation. What is the return on investment of the lobbying?
Posted by realist (anonymous) on October 19, 2009 at 2:54 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Covington County schools definitely need some higher math. Many moons ago when I was in high school I was bored with the math they taught. When I got to college and had to take calculus and vector calculus my freshman year I was anything but bored. I was completely unprepared for calculus and had to spend hours studying.
Fortunately one of my friends happened to have an extensive background in calculus and he tutored me in that subject in exchange for me proofreading his writing assignments. If it hadn't been for him I'm sure I would have failed both those classes and been in a world of hurt.
Posted by WAtidefan (anonymous) on October 19, 2009 at 7:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Biscuits: Priceless!
Posted by winkie (anonymous) on October 19, 2009 at 9:17 p.m. (Suggest removal)
And Gravy: beyond words
Posted by scobb (anonymous) on October 21, 2009 at 9:13 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Posted by floknos (anonymous) on October 18, 2009 at 9:31 a.m. (Suggest removal)
"Andalusia City Schools and Opp City Schools are great. Offer all of what you mentioned. I think Straughn gets in on the whole taking classes at the community college thing but don't take my word for that. All of the other schools in the county don't have that option this I know is fact."
Actually,floknos, Dual Enrollment classes with LBWCC are made available to all area students who meet the requirements of the program. I just wanted to clear that up.
Posted by spifsmom (anonymous) on October 21, 2009 at 1:07 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Regariding dual enrollment and city/county schools in general: All students may take college classes while in high school; however, the only schools to offer actual dual enrollment (i.e., taking senior English/English 12 and English 101/102 and getting both high school and college credit at the same time) are Straughn, Andalusia, and Opp. For the rest of the county schools, students may take classes at LBW during summer break and receive credit.
This is good, but there are (from my experience) standout schools in the county that do compete with both city schools systems.
In my opinion (just my opinion, I'm not stating as fact), which is based on my personal experience as a parent and educator, Straughn and Pleasant Home have a lot to offer. I am unsure of Florala, but of several success stories of graduates of that school. I have been at both schools and believe their teachers are highly motivated to get their students a real, quality education to prepare them for college. I believe Andalusia is excellent and exceeds the county system, which is why I chose to move my children to this city school system.
One school in the county is failing our children in many, many ways. This school is graduating students and educating none. Teachers leave to teach at either another county school or apply for a job with the Andalusia school system. Of course, there are pluses and minuses to any school system, but I happen to (shockingly) agree with certain posters who say our county system is seriously lacking and not challenging our children. The expectations are not high enough, discipline is lacking (in at least the one school mentioned above), and nepotism is alive, well, and thriving!
Concerned parents (sadly lacking as well) should reenforce education at home and do your best to be involved in their child/children's education to ensure success to matter what career path is chosen.
Posted by pingbalata (anonymous) on October 21, 2009 at 2:52 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Spifsmom...Is the school you are describing as a disappointment Red Level school?
Posted by spifsmom (anonymous) on October 22, 2009 at 11:10 a.m. (Suggest removal)
I'll let you use your deductive reasoning, pingbalata. I'm sure there will be negative comments toward me, but I will not fight back. This is an opinion post for me only, and my opinions are only based on my experience.
Post a comment (Terms of Use Policy)
(Requires free registration.)