Innovative special ed is the Ridgewood way.

Innovative special education? It's just how we do things in Ridgewood, at least as long as I've been here and clearly since before then. The mission statement of our school district is the real thing, especially the part about "enabling students to maximize their unique potentials." In some school districts, special education is seen as somehow other...separate...different...well, special. But in Ridgewood, special ed is just part of how we educate and care for every student and his or her unique potential, whatever that may be, from overachievers to underachievers, from superstars to kids who struggle with basic everyday survival. Most Ridgewood residents have no idea the range of needs and challenges faced by Ridgewood youth, and are unaware of the lengths our educators go to educate students of all aptitudes and developmental levels. The very fact that our special ed programs operate somewhat "under the radar" is a testament to how these programs are part of the very fabric of our school system. The recent referendum and construction projects to add/change spaces at our schools and better accommodate special programs is further confirmation. Financially smart, yes, but also simply the right thing to do.

That's why it's truly great when a Ridgewood program is recognized outside on the larger stage. You may have read recently that RHS principal Jack Lorenz was recognized by Bergen County for his leadership in developing the S.A.I.L. (Strategic Actions & Innovations for Learning) program at the high school, and kudos to Mr. Lorenz. According to the story on Ridgewood Patch, the S.A.I.L. program "houses special needs students in-house, focusing on providing lessons of independence." The program consists of a curriculum that combines academic lessons with internships, job training, counseling and technology. S.A.I.L. also saves the district money, since the students remain in RHS instead of being sent out of district where we would have to pay tuition for their education. It's a win-win for the students, their families and the district (not to mention the other RHS students who have the benefit of working with and getting to know these students, too).

I think it's important to mention that many people created, and currently give life everyday to, the S.A.I.L. program at RHS. In particular, Kerry Huntington, Director of Special Services, and Pat Staab, Supervisor of Special Education, were architects of the program along with Mr. Lorenz. And, seriously, I save my strongest praise and respect for the teachers with, as they say, the "boots on the ground," who work with the S.A.I.L. students day in and day out. Yes, it certainly takes leadership to get a program such as S.A.I.L. off the ground (thank you Board of Ed, too, for funding it). But it takes a District with an overall commitment at all levels to create an environment where such a program could be theorized, designed and implemented pretty much in the background, business as usual. Thank you Ridgewood, and thank you to all the educators involved, for making it a reality.

A snapshot of Special Education in Ridgewood.

Supervisor of Special Services Kerry Huntington gave a presentation to the Board of Ed on Monday night, updating our current special ed program. Here are some highlights, for those who may wonder "just what is our special ed program in Ridgewood?"

Students:
Total number of Special Education Students = 888 (15%, below the state average))
-- Special Ed -- 809
-- Speech/Language only – 79

ESL (English as a Second Language) Students – 102

Basic Skills Students – 397 (elementary)

Programs:
Special Education:
RED Program Classes – 5
RISe Classes – 4
LLD Classes – 5 elementary, 2 middle school, 1 high school
Resource Program – in every school
Supplemental Support – Elementary & High School
Out-of-District Placements – 83 students

Glen School:
ITDC (private enterprise of district)
Ridgewood Nursery School (renter)
RED Program (District special ed program)

General Education:
I&RS – in every school (Intervention & __, will find out what the R stands for)
Basic Skills Instruction (BSI) – elementary schools
Title 1 Services
ESL – in every school

Special Ed Support Services:
Related Services (therapies, counseling, busing, etc.)
Special Education Aides
Assistive Technology
BCSSD
Private Vendors
Region 1
CST Secretaries

Current Staff
Central Office (2 administrators, 1 behaviorist, 2 support staff)
Child Study Team members: 20
Special Ed Teachers: 59
Transition Coordinator: 1
RED Program Coordinator: 1
Therapists: 16
Education Specialists: 15
ESL Teachers: 9
Title 1 Teacher: 1
Child Study Team Secretaries: 10

Total Special Programs staff: 137

We are doing a great job of keeping as many students in town as possible, which helps keep costs down. The majority of our current out-of-district placements are in high school. This fact led recent state monitors who visited the district to remark that we should consider developing an alternative high school concept, which could keep more students in District and thus reduce our costs. I imagine this something the administration will be looking into.

On the agenda for Monday’s BOE meeting.

The Board of Education meets Monday night at 7:30, on the 3rd floor of the Ed Center. A few highlights from the agenda (full agenda available here):

The Board will hear an update on Special Ed services and staffing, with an explanation of needs for the 11-12 school year.

The 2010-11 Teacher Recognition nominees will be approved by the Board, in advanced of the annual Teacher Recognition award reception to be held on May 10. The teachers being honored are:
Special Programs…Patricia McVeigh
Hawes…Shirley Kolkebeck
Orchard…Christine Thielke
Ridge…Tracee Fazio
Somerville…Meredith McLaughlin
Travell…Carol Goulian
Willard…Dawn-Lyn Dolfi
Benjamin Franklin…David Tashian
George Washington…Evelyn McKinnon
RHS…Patricia Johnson
Congratulations!

The Board will gratefully accept donations, including from the Ridge HAS, the Ridgewood Ice Hockey Foundation, the RHS HSA and others.

Dr. Fishbein will present a few change orders for work at RHS, Ridge and GW. The referendum projects continue to be well under budget, as work begins on the two remaining large projects at Willard and GW.

We’ll also have regular business such as retirements, movements of staff, approval of some summer stipends, public comment, etc.

As always, the meeting will be televised on Cablevision Channel 77, webcast live on the District website, and archived for later viewing.

How a school budget is built.

Here's a video of the Bernards Township Superintendent of Schools (from the VoteApril27.com website) explaining what goes into their school budget -- which is remarkably similar to Ridgewood's. It's all stuff that our Dr. Fishbein or BOE members have stated at various times, but it's interesting to hear it from another perspective. I did notice her emphasis on a couple of points that I don't know if our community is always aware of. For example, when looking at Special Education costs, it's important to remember that the state law requires that our District (all districts) must provide special education to all youth from age 3 through 21. That's five years longer (or almost 40% longer) than we provide services to our regular education students, and it helps explain the size of the Special Education share of our budget. I wonder how many Ridgewood residents are aware of that.