Working as a school principal in the South Bronx, I’ve seen a wonderful, vibrant community. Parents come to my school hoping an effective education will put their children on the path to achieving their dreams.
I’m thinking of one boy — I’ll call him Eli — who came to us with tremendous needs. On his first day of kindergarten, he sped off, running wild through the hallways, and when we caught up to him, he could barely put two words together to make himself understood. Instead of participating in class, he spent the time rolling on the floor and bumping into other kids.
I thought, how are we going to teach this one? By the middle of first grade, however, my dean and I found ourselves marveling at Eli. He was no longer that boy. What had changed? He had received targeted special-education services to coach him in expressing himself and participating with classmates.
Adults often forget that when a kid is struggling academically, it manifests in his behavior. He senses something is not right; he’s frustrated and embarrassed and may act out. The earlier we intervene, the more successful we’ll be. It can change a child’s whole trajectory.
This is why I’m discouraged when the city Department of Education denies and delays special-education services to the students at my Success Academy charter elementary school. On July 10, six Success parents filed a lawsuit in federal court alleging that the DOE panel that handles special-ed cases in the South Bronx, known as the Committee on Special Education 1, routinely discriminates against Success Academy scholars and disproportionately deprives them of their right to an appropriate education.
The numbers in CSE 1’s territory, which covers DOE Districts 7, 9 and 10, tell the story. Required by law to meet about a special-ed student’s plan (Individualized Education Program) within 60 days of parental consent, CSE 1 only managed to do so in just 3 percent of cases for Success Academy scholars. By contrast, 66 percent of district students were evaluated within 60 days.
It takes 162 days, on average, for an IEP determination for children at my school. Some families have waited more than a year.
What’s more, Success Academy scholars receive services at half the rate. Just 40 percent of Success Academy scholars referred for IEPs were deemed eligible for supports by CSE 1 in the most recent school year. Yet more than 80 percent of district students in the same geographic area who were referred to the DOE were granted support.
Classroom teachers know when students are struggling. As a former kindergarten teacher, I didn’t expect kids to come in being able to count, but I knew how they typically picked it up and at what pace they made progress. At a certain point, when 28 out of 30 kids were lining up the bears, counting them and keeping track, and two others were moving the bears around, looking confused, I knew to be worried. As a teacher, I did my best to help, one-on-one. But it wasn’t always possible to give them all the support they needed myself. As a teacher, you’re always trying to figure out how to best spend your time.
Eli, the distracted kindergartener, flourished after receiving occupational and speech therapy and extra attention in a specialized classroom. As he received more targeted support, he began to feel more confident, to take risks and to start seeing in small ways that putting in effort leads to growth. He came to love, and be successful in, school. He graduated with his class this year and is heading to middle school in the fall. But as the numbers show, Eli’s special-education support was the exception at Success, not the norm.
I want CSE 1 to do its part to help this South Bronx community. Work with us. Follow the law. Carry out the special-education process for Success Academy scholars fairly and equitably, as it does for traditional-school students. As an educator, I can promise this will change lives.
Liz Vandlik has been the principal of Success Academy Bronx 1 elementary school, a National Blue Ribbon K-4 school in the South Bronx. She’ll serve as a Success Academy middle school principal beginning in August.