Listen to Me!

Every public elementary, middle and high school in our area has the same message emblazoned on its outdoor billboard – “Education cuts never heal.”

It sounds catchy but it’s true. In a state where public education is already suffering, tax cuts and decreasing property values are forcing Florida to take even more money from its public educational system. Here’s an interesting look at how states in the US compare:

http://www.uschamber.com/icw/reportcard/default

There are several categories on the left and you can see a color-coded ranking by state by clicking on each category. I was surprised to see Florida is in the low-middle of the pack as opposed to the bottom, but the things they do well (good return on investment and data quality) don’t seem to translate into student achievement. Interestingly, the ‘return on investment’ calculation is controlled for poverty, percentage of students with special needs and cost of living. If there is such a report detailing the quality of education for children with special needs (as opposed to ‘neutralizing’ their effect on investment dollars), I’ve yet to find it.

And here is a sobering statement from the study’s ‘Major Findings’:

While a number of states are engaged in promising efforts to build more innovative and accountable K-12 systems, there would have been far more Cs, Ds, and Fs had we not graded on a curve.

What do the parents of kids with autism in places like Louisiana, New Mexico and DC do when public education is the only option for their kids? I can’t imagine these states are bastions of special needs innovation when they can’t manage to effectively educate typically-developing kids.

Having said this, as a mom, these problems are too systemic, too big, too scary and too unwieldy for me to take them on myself. Had our family not lived in a place and benefitted from an educational system of enormous quality (Vancouver, BC), I wouldn’t believe those ideas were even possible. And since my husband’s job is here in Florida (along with our family and our home), there are limited options (including our current choice to home-school).

I’ve said before I’m not a fan of charter schools. While they can be innovative and are not constrained by an enormous ’status-quo-craving’ bureaucracy, they are often used as substitutes for actually solving the tough issues in public schools. (The ultimate end-around if you will.) The good ones are full, the bad ones get away with lousy outcomes and the whole of them make the educational landscape extraordinarily confusing for parents looking for the best option. But I’m convinced the issues in public schools (more specifically, the lack of inclusion and innovation for special needs students, the lack of instructional personalization and the utter flogging of mind-numbing standardized test content to the exclusion of all else) will take years to solve. My kids can’t wait that long. They’re already more than halfway through.

So here’s my proposal for my inclusive Florida Charter School:

1. K-12 – Just because middle school sucks doesn’t mean you get to just take elementary or high-school kids. This is the most vulnerable time of life for many typically-developing kids and it can make or break the future prospects for a kid with autism.

2. Inclusion – Students with autism participate as fully as possible within the school community. The teaching of the Friend 2 Friend Society’s autism demystification and friendship programs would be the gospel and all kids would be taught how to accept differences and reach out to kids who may not be able to reach out to them.

3. The Theory of Multiple Intelligences rules the day! Here’s a basic Wiki description and an interesting article in ‘Education World’ magazine.

4. Teachers are supported, revered and rewarded. Theirs is the most important job of all. I used to volunteer in my kids’ schools in Georgia to run copies, assemble materials, and any other ‘grunt work’ the teachers would otherwise have to find the time to do. (That often comes after an exhausting day of dealing with kids, paperwork and meetings.) The teachers in my school would be supported by volunteers, paid adults with special needs, senior citizens who still want to participate in their community, and any other resource I could find. They would also be provided with behavioral and instructional support in the classroom.

5. Every classroom environment is stimulating and organized. No florescent lights (which can wreak havoc on sensitive sensory systems), lots of books, computers, and manipulatives for kids who learn best by doing (a modified Montessori model would be ideal).

6. Physical activity every day, healthy meals (oddly enough many companies now offer catered organic lunches for less than the preservative-laden crap currently passing for “lunch” in many schools) and rigorous health education.

7. Sensory spaces for any child needing to “get their engine running right” and specialized rooms for small-group or individualized instruction for those students (especially with autism) who need them. Even in the best schools, when my son Robert needed to work separately for one reason or another, there was no adequate space so he ended up in the hallway (full of distractions) or going for a walk outside instead of having a dedicated space when he needed it.

All this will cost money and if I want to win the lottery, I’ve got to start playing it.

Peace.