"#13 - I am
satisfied with the progress my child has made in his current special
education program." (Agree/Disagree) - We do not
think he would have made the progress he has made without tutoring
provided outside of school, twice a week.
"#4 - Special
education assessments were thorough and helpful in understanding my
child’s disability." (Strongly Agree) Evals
were independent
The Alcott staff was incredibly
responsive and supportive throughout the entire process!!
"#11 - The IEP reflects my
child’s specialized needs, and appropriate goals, objectives, and
services were determined." (Strongly Agree) Very intuitive!
We’re very appreciative of the program
and the staff. Everyone is so thorough and thoughtful. Thanks so much
for all the specialized attention. It’s a pleasure dealing with
everyone.
We have been very pleased with the
progress our son has made and are impressed with the preschool teachers
and evaluating staff. We would love to be able to contact the
special ed therapists who work with our son – email would be great for
quick notes and updates.
Great job this year!
"#2 - My special education
referral was responded to within 5 school days." (Disagree) The evaluation itself (last
year) was scheduled several months after the request.
I can’t say enough about how competent
the SPED staff is.
Can you help parents understand the
new mode (next year) of sped services? I have heard that
classrooms will have 7 kids with IEPs rather than 4. This might
be fine, but it seems to limit what teacher my child might have next
year. Also, some parents have questioned the
use of one test (I think Williams-something-or-other), which produces
possibly inflated reading scores and then services are reduced on the
basis of the score. In all, the responsiveness and
competence of everyone has so much exceeded expectations, and it is a
pleasure to work with everyone. Of more importance to me
personally, I feel I am a valued member of a team, and what might
create anxiety and conflict has in fact been an enhancing experience.
Thank you!
Diana, seeing that you just started
your position this past fall, I am happy to see some subtle changes to
the sped program. Keep up the good work and thank you for your
enthusiasm.
A good year except for [staff
member]’s mid-year departure. Her absence seriously disrupted language
services at Thoreau.
Please stand by Concord’s historic
commitment to inclusion. Please continue to appoint classroom tutors
for special needs students rather than creating stand alone sped
classrooms. It cripples them socially and lowers expectations to
remove them from mainstream.
Parents should be given a formal
chance to write out their own ideas for goals and request for services,
well in advance of IEP meetings. This will give parents a more
vital role in the process and keep teachers from being snowballed at
the last minute by unexpected requests, resulting in a truer
collaboration. In addition, parents and teachers need more
education and help in understanding how to design truly measurable
goals, short and long-term.
"#4 - Special
education assessments were thorough and helpful in understanding my
child’s disability." (Strongly Agree) The initial
assessment (2002-2003) took much longer than we expected, but the info
was thorough and very helpful.
"#13 - I am satisfied with the
progress my child has made in his current special education program." (Strongly Agree)We are more than
satisfied. Our child has made significant progress this year due
to the sped services. Jen DeFrancesco is a fabulous teacher,
with a wonderful program. We can’t say enough about how pleased we are!
Donna has done a great job with [my
child] and has taught me a great deal. The only negatives in [my child]’s
sped experience were that there was no coordination with her preschool
teachers, and that her therapists were stretched way too thin.
Both S & D had to help three children simultaneously with 3 very
different problems and sets of needs. All this with absolutely no
transition time between groups. We were lucky that [my child] had
really come up to norm, but it was sad to see that her ½ hour a
week was not tailored to her speech needs – it couldn’t be, she had 2
other kids with very different needs. I know it’s matter of $ -
it always is – but we will lose good therapists if they are stretched
so thin. They can hardly breathe between sessions, let alone
bring a parent up to speed or prepare for the next group. I know sped
costs are high, but the kids deserve it and the teachers/therapists
deserve a better chance at helping the kids….
Christine Healey was a terrific
teacher and educator for [my child] during the past 2 years!
The support and services [my child]
has received have been extraordinary! Peter Baldrachi and his team are
incredible. [My child] has increased his desire to learn. Thank
you.
[We] really appreciate the great,
extra education help [my child] needed. Many thanks to Laraine
and the whole team! I can only hope our high school experience will be
as good and thorough.
My husband and I were very impressed
with the quality & true concern of the sped staff. They put us at
ease, and explained everything in “our language”. They showed true
concern for our daughter, and spent extra time (I think) by explaining
and discussing it with us. I came out of the meeting feeling very
fortunate that we live in a town that has these opportunities available
to my daughter. I am happy that she will be getting the attention
she needs to thrive! Thank you! And 3 cheers for Sharon Young! We
are fortunate there also!
I’m more than proud of my daughter’s
progress. I feel very proud of her.
I have been very impressed with the
special education program in Concord. My son came to this program
from E.I. and I was pleasantly surprised with the easy transition to
Concord SPED. I have found the team members to be professional,
courteous and at all times concerned with what is the best way to help
my son. While they struggled at times with facilities issues the
staff has worked diligently to make me and my son feel a part of the
process. I have always felt very included in the development and
execution of his IEPs as well as his therapies. I look forward to
the coming year and the transition into kindergarten from the preschool
program.
Mrs. D, Mrs. Balin, Mrs. Harris, Mrs.
Pommers have been SUPERB. Our daughter’s progress has been
dramatically increased since we started the speech therapy &
Integrated Preschool. We love the teachers and the Preschool program.
An outstanding staff. We couldn’t be happier.
I don’t think this questionnaire is
geared toward kids already on IEPs and 1 year evaluations or to other
aspects of special ed.
I just wanted to add that I’m very
impressed with the Learning Center staff at Peabody! My daughter
has thrived in middle school and is excited about moving up to the high
school next year.
Nancy Barrett and Linda Crandall l
have continued to do a great job!
This program is the most wonderful,
caring program we have ever experienced!
I am very satisfied with the process
and the services that both of our children are receiving. Thank
you for all of your hard work.
Better communication needed between
CPS sped staff and parent w/regards to ongoing process.
#4 (n/a) We needed to have outside
testing done to fully understand how best to support him. We then
shared this info at meeting and received a lot of support and positive
feedback. IEP was adjusted accordingly.
Fantastic extra help for [my child]
! I have high praise for everyone in the special education
program, especially MaryAnn Durant! What wonderful progress[my child]
has made.
My daughter is a poster child for the
success of this program. Her commitment to achieving academic
excellence despite her learning disabilities in combination with the
support she has received from the learning center staff and her
teachers at Peabody have resulted in a very successful school
year. We commend the efforts of everyone who has worked
tirelessly to help make [my child] successful!
"#4 - Special
education assessments were thorough and helpful in understanding my
child’s disability." (Disagree) Sped assessments were
academically thorough, but didn’t give an overall picture of the
disability and didn’t address the “whole child,” i.e. social concerns,
life skills, etc.
#6 (Disagree) Sped laws are extremely
complex, which has nothing to do with Concord!
In breaking things down it is hard to
understand some of our child’s disabilities. It’s not clear as to
how much help is needed in each subject. It seems like when it’s
explained it’s rushed or pushed off sort of.
I asked if I could attend a session
and the sped instructor said yes, she would tell me when - but I never
heard from her. Attendance would have helped me support her
efforts.
I certainly had all materials provided
for me to understand the special ed assessment & my rights &
responsibilities. I never had time to read them
through-and-through. So any lack of understanding is my
fault. We asked for a review of [my child]’s
needs in the fall (~ November). We were very pleased with the response
we received and the real interest in adding to [my child]’s IEP as the
test results warranted. Thank you!
"#5 - I received copies of my
child’s assessment reports." (Agree) the day before the meeting!
Caroline Moss deserves many stars for
her outstanding performance on all fronts. We are very grateful!
Christine Healey has done and
outstanding job with my daughter in the past 2 years. It’s really
too bad other children will not benefit from her experience and
compassion in the years to come.
I have been very pleased with Nancy
Barrett. She has been very supportive and has been a tremendous
help with my son. She is a true asset to Concord Schools.
This year’s kindergarten team was very
responsive to my child’s needs and my requests and input. felt PT services and social group
could have been introduced in preschool & kindergarten. When
I asked for these they did respond (eventually) and I have those
services in place now for 1st grade. It took 1½ years! Alcott has an excellent kindergarten
staff and was a great asset to my child’s success as well as Sp/L and
OT services. He received very positive warm, nurturing instruction and
made great progress!
Peter Baldrachi has been an invaluable
asset to my husband and I. He responds to every e-mail and phone
message in a timely manner.
"#5 - I received copies of my
child’s assessment reports." (Strongly Agree) very
prompt. The team was extremely responsive,
thorough and prompt all along the way. [My child] had a tremendous year this
year and we were very pleased with the support he received.
Overall, I’ve felt all the people involved in identifying and
supporting our son’s learning issues have cared deeply and had the best
intentions. I don’t think action was taken soon
enough – We didn’t get an IEP in place until late March of his first
grade year, and there were questions raised in kindergarten. Also, while we greatly appreciated the
resources behind Concord’s efforts to test [my child], we were not
impressed with the quality of all the results. A written report was
never provided for his WISC-III test. I eventually got a letter from
the current psychologist that included a break-out of scores, but that
took more than six months. Some of his other tests had grammatical
errors and his name was spelled wrong inconsistently throughout one
test, which clearly makes me question the credibility of the findings,
even if these errors are “cosmetic.”
Services are great but a real effort
should be made to reduce wasted to keep expenses down. We received a
2-page letter for a TEAM meeting that was mailed in a 9x12 manila
envelope. The letter would have been just fine in a business–sized
envelope, and it would have cost less to mail. Could IEPs and
other paperwork be reduced in volume? It is only a matter of time
before the taxpayers revolt against the special ed system, so do all
you can to reduce the impact on the budget!
I have seen no progress this year vs.
prior years in 1) tracking performance and adjusting support
accordingly; 2) well written, measurable goals & IEP;
3) principal leadership; 4) creative program planning from sped
director and principal, 5) respectful representation of sped children
as part of total student body. I was extremely disappointed with the
way sped kids were hung out to dry for budgetary argument purposes; 6)
no clear vision still for sped as an integrated part of school. "#3 - I gave my consent for
special education assessments." (Strongly Disagree) Some assessments
were done without consent. "#5 - I received copies of my
child’s assessment reports." (Agree/Disagree) [Assessment reports
were received] not on time!!
Our child has made steady progress in
the last few years. Her tutors and special ed teachers have been
encouraging to her and to us.. I have had concerns regarding some
of the reading materials in the developmental language program at CMS –
I have wondered who supervises the curriculum as to its level of
appropriateness in terms of developmental and academic. Also the
emphasis on regarding organization for a child who doesn’t have
organization as an area of weakness can seem a bit unnecessary.
Overall, we are thrilled with our daughter’s progress and the
dedication of the CMS sped staff.
