I want to thank everyone who came out for the chance to hear our school board candidates share their views on special education issues, and thank the candidates as well for being there. I’ll recap the evening below, but I first want to point out that the Missourian has been doing a great job covering CoMO SEPTA happenings lately, and we think that’s awesome. At the end of February Hannah Hoffmeister put out an article with general info on our “specially formed village”, which you can read here. Delaney Eyermann was in attendance at the forum on Tuesday and you can click here to read her account of the evening (which is no doubt much more succinct than mine.)
At the very beginning of the event, a few things were announced. April 3rd is Para Appreciation Day. To that end, we had some thank you cards available and encouraged everyone who has a para (or paras) in their students life to make sure to take the chance to thank them. (And going along with that, I’d like to remind folks that they can nominate amazing paras – and other school employees – at the SEPTA Awards page here.)
Also announced was our upcoming Resource Fair. It will be held at Rock Bridge High on April 24 from 5:30-7:30. It’s free for families to attend and view the wide variety of resources available in the area. If you are part of a service, organization, or business that would like to register for booth space, you can register online here.
The final announcement was a request for a brief gathering of SEPTA members following the Q&A portion of the forum, to allow for discussion on a position statement on the district’s recording policy. More on that near the end of this post.
After the announcements, it was time to begin the forum. The candidates – Blake Willoughby, Della Streaty-Wilhoit, and Jay Atkins (who joined via teleconference) – were each given a chance to respond to our questions. I will try to paraphrase their answers below.
1. Tell us about yourself. Why do you want to be on the CPS Board of Education?
BW: He is an instructor and grad student at Mizzou. He believes he offers a fresh perspective as a young person. He’s closest in age to knowing what high schoolers need to be ready. He would like to make sure our schools include arts and STEM programming. He’s dedicated to a community-engaged approach between schools, the board, and families. He wants to make sure there’s diversity and equity in who is heard by the board.
DSW: She is the parent of two children 25 years apart. She has her PhD in Natural Resources from Mizzou. She has work experience in education, non-profits, and governmental agencies such as USDA. She wants to add her voice in advancing the education of all children. Her main priorities are communication, building trust in the community, and educational equity. She would like to see STEAM programming at all levels, not just secondary.
JA: He was joining us from a work obligation in D.C. He works as Vice President of government relations at a tech company. He feels that one unique thing he would add is his familiarity in working across party lines to reach agreements. He and his wife have 4 children, all of whom will be attending CPS next year. He wants all students to have the opportunities and experiences his children have had.
2. What role do you see the school board having in overseeing special education, in particular as regards to inclusive practices and fulfilling requirements for Least Restrictive Environment?
DSW: She believes we need to educate special ed students in the same setting as their peers as much as possible. She thinks we should have more training for schools not just on handling the special needs students, but also on what special needs families are experiencing as well.
JA: He agrees with Della and supports the LRE model. He thinks the school board would be responsible for crafting policy that supports LRE, and then for holding administration to adhering to it. He thinks it’s important that the approach be top down not bottom up. By that he means students should be placed in a general education setting by default and moved to more restrictive settings if necessary, not the other way around.
BW: He agrees that LRE is an important practice as well. He thinks the hardest part about implementing it is resources. We would need to allot those resources for supports and paras across environments for this to be successful. He would like to talk to educators and the community about what’s needed most, and gather ideas on where to get the resources to make it happen.
3. What are your thoughts on Peer Mentor programs, and would you be willing to support this effort?
JA: He was a mentor in a program of this sort in his junior high, and had a positive experience with it. He would like to see it in CPS. He would check resources and make it a priority.
BW: He supports this idea. He would like to look at successful programs that are currently out there to see how to make it best work here. Would even like to see two mentors per special ed student to further the inclusion. He feels it will benefit everyone, and that as we have some started in some places in CPS already, having a basis should make it easier to implement.
DSW: She supports it as well. She also wants to make sure the students who don’t have social skills aren’t ignored. She thinks we should teach typical children to look at what they can learn from their special needs peers. She’s open to families educating her on this topic.
4. What is your position on the addition of an Inclusion Specialist for the district?
BW: He thinks it would be beneficial to have. An Inclusion Specialist could work with the Director of Special Services, and with the Instructional Mentors that we have at the elementary level. He feels an Inclusion Specialist would also be able to work with mental health specialists to the benefit of everyone.
DSW: She had thought CPS already had Inclusion Specialists and was surprised to learn we did not. She thinks we should have one, that this should be a priority for funding because this is a population that needs a voice. She would love for families to be able to discourse with the board on needs.
JA: He agrees with Blake. Focusing on inclusion is a huge part of what we need to achieve Least Restrictive Environment. An Inclusion Specialist could help take some of the load off the Director of Special Services, and could also help with setting up the peer mentor program that was talked about.
5. If you were elected as a Board Member and a group of parents wanted to have discussions about amending the policy to allow IEP/504 meetings to be recorded, what would be your response?
DSW: She would definitely want parents to talk about it. She would be upset if she didn’t get to hear all parts of education pertaining to her child. She thinks recording meetings will allow for meaningful participation.
JA: Despite getting flack for calling something bone-headed in past discussions, he believes the current policy that disallows parent recording is not only bone-headed but “quite likely illegal and unenforceable.” He has talked to the district about it when he learned of it, and says it was adopted directly from the model policy wording and needs to change. From a legal standpoint, he could see a policy where the parent must consent to have school record things pertaining to their child, but thinks it’s unenforceable the other way around. Changing this would be at the top of his to-do list.
BW: He agrees with much of what Jay said. He discussed it with a special ed teacher to get an educator viewpoint on it as well, and the teacher would rather recording be allowed as well. It would protect both sides in the case of a dispute, and could prevent disputes at all because you could just look back and see what was said. It would be a tool to help remember and track growth better than just a form could. Believes it’s not legal in its current form and needs to change
6. What are your thoughts on some students with IEPs being bused to separate schools away from their neighborhood peers and siblings based on their disability?
JA: He knows there is no one blanket-statement way to best do things, but he suggests a “siblings too” policy. If a student is bused away from their home school, the family should be given the option to have siblings bused – on the same bus – to that school as well. This would let the student have at least familial support in the different setting.
BW: He thinks this is a tough conversation that needs to happen. He can see both positives and negatives to both specialized support in a farther school and in staying with the home school. He also said it was already possible for a parent to decline the suggested specialized placement and say “no, we’d like to say with our home school.”
DSW: Her thought is if we have the right educational support at all the schools, we wouldn’t need to bus students across town. We should focus on putting support at every school as we have special ed students at every school.
Closing Remarks
Blake Willoughby wants to work with SEPTA and the community to get the best quality in our schools. We need a liaison between school admin, teachers, and families. He wants to make sure every voice is heard.
Della Streaty-Wilhoit says that as a black female, she wants to fight for fairness, accomodation, and inclusion. She thinks the school board has done well and wants to join and help it continue to do well. She would focus on equity. (Will show on the ballot as Ardella Streaty-Wilhoit).
Jay Atkins points out that special education issues are affected by a broad range of laws, which would make him an asset as he is familiar with working with lawmakers. He thinks we have a lot of quality candidates to choose from. (Will show on the ballot as James S Atkins).
The election will be held on April 2nd, so don’t forget to get out and vote!
Following the Q&A portion of the forum, attendees were able to chat more socially with the candidates. Also, CoMO SEPTA members met briefly to discuss having an official position statement on the district’s current recording policy. The proposed position statement was discussed and supported unanimously. Our position statement reads as follows:
It is the position of Columbia Special Education PTA that parents and students at age of majority should be able to record meetings related to IDEA or Section 504 regarding their or their child’s education.
Columbia Public School’s policy KKB which prohibits the recording of “meetings held pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973” should be changed to allow audio recording at the request of the parents, guardians and students who are at the age of majority.
Columbia SEPTA believes we should all work together as a team to improve special education services to students in Columbia Public Schools. The revised policy which allows recording should accomplish the goal of teachers, school personnel, and parents working together to help students with special needs reach their maximum potential.
I hope this post, while long, has given those who had to miss the forum a more in depth look at what went on. Also, I’d like to give the reminder that we have our next member meeting coming up on Tuesday, March 19th at New Haven. There will be lots of info – discussion of issues, announcements of current and upcoming happenings, nominations and voting for officers for the upcoming school year, and a presentation on picky/restrictive eating. We’d love to see you there!