CONTACT:
Frank Belluscio (fbelluscio@njsba.org)
Mike Yaple (myaple@njsba.org)
(609) 278-5202
NJSBA
and ASAH Honor Innovative Special Education Programs
PLAINSBORO,
May 13, 2011—Ten New Jersey schools are being recognized today for creative
special education programming tenth annual Innovations in Special Education
awards.
The
New Jersey School Boards Association and ASAH, a non-profit organization of New Jersey private schools and agencies serving students with disabilities, sponsor the
awards. Representatives of the schools will accept awards during an event at
the Westin Princeton Forrestal Village, held in conjunction with Special
Education Week in New Jersey.
Governor
Christie has issued a proclamation designating May 8-14 as Special Education Week in New Jersey. Special
Education Week recognizes the achievements of the state’s special education
students and the contributions of their parents and teachers.
New
Jersey’s
public schools and private schools for the disabled serve over 240,000 special
education students.
Recognized programs include
the following:
Allamuchy
Township School District, Preschool Disabled Program
This
program, housed at the Mountain Villa School, is an early-intervention program
designed for children ages 3 to 5 years. The program integrates the use
of iPads into therapies as much as possible. One iPad application allows
students to trace alphabet letters to develop fine motor skills, while hearing
the letters pronounced. Another application displays a series of social stories
for children with autism spectrum disorder; the program helps reduce their
anxiety in social situations. One student, who is non-verbal, has been able to
use an iPad application to answer yes-and-no questions and ask for food or
drink.
Contact: Gina Darvey, special education
teacher, gdarvey@aes.k12.nj.us
Cape May County Special Services School
District, Outdoor Experiential Education (OXE)
This
cross-content, multi-disciplinary program for 150 students ages 7 to 21
incorporates teaching recreation and leisure skills, academic skills, social
skills, environmental skills and transition-to-life skills to help meet the
goals in students’ Individualized Education Plans. Most students have an OXE
class on their weekly schedule, whether they participate in group lessons on
campus, or away from school grounds. Students also take regular field trips to
experience the community-based aspects of the curriculum. A hallmark of the OXE
program is its experiential learning model, which places children in
challenging situations which may feel very stressful to them at first. The
teacher uses facilitative questioning and visual, auditory and physical
prompting to guide the student through the activity.
Contact: Barbara Makoski, superintendent, bjm@cmcspecialservices.org
Cerebral
Palsy of North Jersey Horizon High School, Livingston, Horizon High School Music Studio
After
Harvey Lott, an educator at Horizon High School, noticed that students were
imitating well-known rap stars who often wrote violent or offensive lyrics, he
decided to create a music studio for students to write and record music that
was more appropriate and positive. A grant enabled the school to set up a
studio equipped with a Macintosh computer and with music editing software. Lott
met with students to write lyrics and record them. The software allowed a
student to record a line or two at a time, so even those who could not “sing”
in the traditional sense could still participate. Students who are unable to communicate
verbally without the help of an augmentative or alternative communication tool
are able to use those tools to express themselves. The students produce CDs and
are now working on a music video.
Contact: David Bishop, director of
development and communications, dbishop@cpnj.org
Cerebral
Palsy of North Jersey Horizon Lower School, Livingston,
Creating a Theater Experience for Multiply Disabled Students
The
program provides the school’s 77 students, ages 3 to 13, with experiences in a
theatrical or musical production through annually staging two musical theater
productions and a spring concert. Each student performs in one production
and is a member of the audience for the other two shows. Because of the nature of
the students’ moderate to profound multiple disabilities, the majority of the
children have limited or no verbal skills and most need assistance with walking
and movement. The school’s staff members, including special education teachers,
teacher assistants, and physical, occupational and speech therapists, as well
as other support personnel, act as “shadows” providing individual assistance
and support for each student. Students who cannot speak access a wireless
switch that allows them to initiate dialog that has been pre-recorded by verbal
students, as well as by student volunteers from other schools. Students display
pride and elation and build self-esteem and confidence through the program.
Contact: Margaret Walsh, principal, pwalsh@cpnj.org
Clark Public School District, Lunch
Monitors
Fifth grade special and general education students at the Valley Road Elementary School are given the opportunity to volunteer to become “lunch monitors” during
recess time. Each special-education student volunteer is paired with another
fifth grade peer-volunteer who is deemed a positive role model. These pairs are
assigned a specific second- or fourth-grade class to monitor in the lunch
room. Monitors learn to correct misbehavior in a polite manner, and also
have the chance to reward positive student behavior by distributing tickets,
which can then be drawn to receive special lunchtime privileges. The program
helps special needs student-monitors to recognize appropriate behaviors, engage
in conversations with new people, build self esteem and become responsible role
models. A side benefit has been the friendships that have been built
between the fifth-grade general education students and special education
students.
Contact: Erin Reilly, special education
teacher, ereilly@clarkschools.org
First Children School, Fanwood, The
Little Sprouts Garden Program
The
Little Sprouts program maintains a garden for the school’s 65 students, ages 3
to 11, with developmental disabilities. With the help of the school staff, as
well as a parent who is a Rutgers Union County Master Gardener, tools and
equipment were adapted to enable all children to participate, even those with
gross motor and fine motor challenges. The school has created a horticultural
program that provides weekly sessions for classes assisted by volunteers from
the Rutgers Union County Master Gardeners. The garden provides avenues for
activities that promote physical, cognitive and psychological development.
Herbs, flowers and vegetables are grown in the garden. Students graph rainfall,
measure plants and write journal entries. Herbs are selected to be used in
cooking and craft projects. Students donate extra lettuce to a local soup
kitchen. Vegetable plants, grown from seedlings, have been shared with the
students’ families so they could create gardens at home. Students have planted
tulip and daffodil blubs, harvested zucchini and baked zucchini bread,
propagated Christmas cacti for holiday gifts, and photographed the garden.
The program also started an indoor garden room to extend the program
throughout the year. The
Little Sprouts Garden Program provides an exposure to gardening
that may impact future vocational choices, as well as allow students to develop
an appreciation of gardening that will provide a lifetime of pleasure.
Contact: Ellen D’Amato, psychologist, edamato@firstchildrenschools.com;
or Holly Pedicane, (908) 654-2477
Long Beach Island Consolidated School District, Digging
in the Dirt
The Ethel Jacobsen Elementary School, a K-3 school based in Surf City, started a school garden in
2009 with the help of a grant from the New Jersey Department of Health and
Senior Services’ Office of Nutrition and Fitness and the New Jersey Council on
Physical Fitness and Sports. During the summer, teachers, student volunteers
and parents from Southern Regional High School’s ASPIRE program help to
maintain the garden. Project ASPIRE (Actively Seeking Placement in Real-Life
Employment) is an unpaid, structured learning program designed to foster
vocational skills for students ages 16-21 with multiple disabilities. The
arrangement benefitted both school districts; often while the student
volunteers were weeding, watering and watching the garden grow, they found
themselves interacting with vacationing families.
Contact: The EJ Garden Team, EJGarden@digginginthedirt.org; Project Aspire at aspire@srsd.net
Middlesex
Regional Educational Services Commission, ALC
Sewing Club
The
Academy Learning Center (ALC) is a public school operated by Middlesex Regional
Education Services Commission for 140 students ages 3-21 with moderate to
severe disabilities. The school develops social and leisure skills through
student clubs offered to secondary school students on Thursday afternoons. The
sewing club develops hand and machine sewing skills. Projects completed include
a large school quilt, heart-shaped gift bags, pillows and quilted bags. The
group is currently working on a project, “Quilts with a Heart” to give to
children and adults facing cancer or other medical treatment.
Contact: Dr. Eric Solberg, principal, esolberg@mreco.k12.nj.us
Secaucus School District, Student
Self-Advocacy Bureau
The goal of the Student Self-Advocacy Bureau is to arm students with the skills
necessary for success after high school. Students learn to understand their
disabilities and their legal rights. Students review their Individualized
Education Programs (IEP) and become active participants in their IEP
conferences. They complete a computerized learning profiles inventory, view the
film, “The Self-Directed IEP” and attend transition conferences, as well as
learning about college, and how to access special services in the
post-secondary setting. The students have also hosted a program for
eighth graders with disabilities. Some bureau members plan to address teachers
at an upcoming faculty meeting to share their experiences of having a learning
disability and discuss why they need the accommodations and modifications that
are included in their IEPs.
Contact: Kristie Hanley, school psychologist,
(201) 974-2076, khanley@sboe.org
Washington Township Schools (Morris County), Kid Connections
The
program pairs fifth-grade students in the resource room with classified
preschool students, many of whom have been diagnosed on the autistic spectrum.
The older children read to the younger children, allowing both groups to
develop social and academic skills and build confidence. In addition, the older
students play math games they have developed that reinforce basic math concepts
with the preschoolers. The fifth graders established baseline skill levels and
then planned, created and instructed the preschoolers. Program assessments
showed that both the younger and older students have benefitted from their
involvement in Kid
Connections. Pre-and post-language samples from preschool students
showed a gain of 18 percent in word utterances compared with a class of similar
students in a preschool class that did not participate, as well a growth in
mathematical awareness, progress in expressive language, and an increase in
positive social behaviors. The fifth grade students showed a 15 percent
increase and an 11 percent increase, respectively, in language arts and
mathematics testing, over a similar class that did not participate.
Contact: Stacy Davis, special education
teacher, (908) 850-3161, sdavies@wtschools.org
Judges
representing NJSBA and the New Jersey Department of Education chose the
programs from among 64 entries. They based their selections on innovation,
effectiveness, parental or community involvement, and evaluation strategies.
The Special Education Week
event held today in Plainsboro was underwritten by sponsors, including
PSE&G and the Partlow Insurance Agency. Other contributors include Matthew
J. Graglia, CPA; the law firm of Hinkle, Fingles & Prior; and Paradigm
Pioneers, Inc.
********
The New Jersey School Boards Association is a federation of 588
local boards of education and includes 44 charter school associate
members. NJSBA advocates the interests of school districts, trains local
school board members, and provides resources for the advancement of
public education.
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