It was a good move

Handicapped students now in school with age peers have found a home, administrators say, By Jan Baker Wantage — In September 2009, six severely handicapped children who had been taught in a special classroom at The Lawrence School, a primary school, were relocated to the Sussex Middle School. Three of the children are sixth-graders and one is an eighth-grader. The rationale from the school district at that time was that the children were getting older and ought to be with their age peers. In fact, a federal special education law indicates that is the appropriate situation. Students at The Lawrence School are in kindergarten through second grade. At the time, concerns were expressed by Cheryl Novak, a foster parent to two of those children, that the special needs they require would not be met in the new environment and that they would be taunted and teased by the other children. How is it going six months later? Novak’s husband, Lawrence Novak, said in a recent phone conversation that some things were going well but there were still some problems. Cheryl Novak did not return calls asking for comment. But her husband said one of his concerns is that the children no longer have a specially built playground, as they did at The Lawrence School. Now they have to be bussed to that playground, weather permitting. “The playground equipment is also used as physical therapy for the children,” Novak said. Before the fall, the children were given twice weekly trips to their old playground, but, according to Nanci Valente, the district’s Child Study Team director, bad weather has put a halt to that. Bussing should resume in the spring, she said, pointing out that the children attend gym classes three times a week in the Sussex School gym with other children, who can get a reward for helping them in gym. District: It’s going well Valente thinks the change of location has been successful. “The transition has gone very well,” she said. The children have the teacher they had at The Lawrence School so they didn’t have to adjust to someone new. Prior to the move in September, their teacher, Joe Rocco, went to the Sussex Middle School to set up the classroom so it would be as it was in The Lawrence School. The specially-designed classroom has its own bathroom as well as a “kitchen” where the children are able to do some cooking using appliances with hand controls. Each of the four students in the class has a personal aide who accompanies the child to all classes, including art, music, home economics and gym. They go to the cafeteria every day for lunch. There is also a nurse assigned to the class to meet any special needs of the children. Alterations for this classroom were funded with a portion of federal stimulus money that came to the school, said Valente. According to Christina Riker, the district’s business administrator and board of education secretary, of the $368,140 they got in stimulus money, they allocated just under $100,000 for this program. That was broken down this way: $9,813 for supplies and $86,890 for classroom renovations, which included the handicap accessible bathroom and the parking lot renovations to allow the handicap van access to the school entrance near the children’s classroom. Valente pointed out that some of the renovations, such as improvements to the parking lot, benefit the whole school. One of the concerns Cheryl Novak had voiced before the move was made was whether the middle school children would accept the new students and how the newcomers would be treated. “The teachers and kids have all embraced them and it’s absolutely wonderful,” declared Middle School Principal Sharon Hosking, who added that the faculty at the middle school was in favor of bringing the special needs children to the school. That enthusiasm has been carried through, and there is “lots of participation,” Hosking said.