-Special Education Students Find Their Place at Kean

By: S.Y.V.

A special education teacher teaching students with special needs

Kean High has always had students with special education needs. But for 30 years, students with severe disabilities have been kept out of I.E.K.H.S. These students could only attend C.A.H.S.

Now things are different. “This is the first time that we have had students with severe disability in the school. They are in a classroom with their own bathrooms, and they are closer to the buses,” said Kean principal Dr. Sharon Ann McCollum.

Starting in the fall of the 2012 school year, the students with severe disabilities who live in town, on the North Side, or West End go to school at C.A.H.S., and students who live in the country or on St. John attend Kean High .

“I think this is a good thing because I don’t think students should have to go to a specific school because of their disability,” said Chantell Moses, a senior.

Special Education is designed to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability. This means that lessons are prepared individually to address a specific child’s needs based on his or her disability. “There may be students whose special services focus primarily on speech and language development, cognitive development, or a physical or learning disability,” according to this link.

http://www.mpsd.org/pages/Marshfield_Public_Schools/Parents_and_Students/SEPAC/test/what_is_sped

Special Education students are covered under federal government regulations. By law, special education students must be placed in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) . The students have regular classes, with regular students, with regular teachers, as much as possible. The students with severe disabilities at Kean High have their own classroom with Mrs. Pickering as their teacher.

They need a special counselor because these students have different classes from other students. “There is a new counselor named Mrs. Rhymer for School Support Team (SST),” according to Ms. Julie Shearin, a Special Education Teacher at Kean High.

In addition to Ms. Pickering ,the Special Education faculty at Kean High include Ms. K. Martin, the resource teacher; Ms. S. Hancock, the sign language teacher; Mr. M. Skrbich department chair; and Ms. C. Warner, Ms. J. Mathias and Ms. J. Shearin, who are the co-teachers. The co-teachers assist classroom teachers in helping the special education students.

Some teachers teach quickly and not all students learn the same way. When in special education classes, the teachers break down the information until the students understand. When in regular classes, co-teachers assist regular classroom teachers.

“Special Education students are just as normal as regular students,” said a student, Fitzroy Wattley.

Although many of special ed. students ride the “short bus” (Special Education Bus), others ride safaris, regular school buses, or get dropped to school. “The short bus is very comfortable with air conditioning, and the windows are tinted,” said Ms. Shearin. “Regular students can also ride the short bus,” she added.

Students with special needs attend the same graduation ceremony as their classmates but receive a different diploma.

“I.E.K.H.S. is the school that I attend. I am very proud of my school. It is very exciting to see that this school has students of all kinds,” said senior Mia Blyden.

“The school had a parade last week Friday. I saw the special ed students dancing and laughing. They were having a good time and I'm happy to see that,” said Aliek Wescott.

One senior added, “It’s a pleasure to finally have severe special needs students attending I.E.K.H.S. Many students are accepting of them. They enjoy having lunch with them in the cafeteria because they definitely know how to have fun. Days like these are what will be most memorable at I.E.K.H.S.”