Burke resident Shellie Moubray waited at Springfield Mall for her son Joseph's special education class to arrive for their field trip to the Interchange Information office. Every Friday, Moubray goes with her son's class on their field trips but is worried about school budget cuts and the future of those trips.
"They learn how to act in a public place, learn how to interact with people that don't know how to deal with people with special needs," she said.
It's also their time together. Joseph is 14 years old.
"I usually meet him on Fridays and go with him," she said.
Gena Saulitis, Laura Lynn Gannan and Donna Horn were the teachers that accompanied the 12 students with a few assistants. Saulitis sees the value of the trips as well.
"Kids get to go into the community and get to know the world around them," she said.
Although the latest budget attached a $3 to $5 cost per student field trips, Fairfax County Public Schools information specialist Paul Regnier said the special education trips such as this were not part of that.
"That's a special program that wouldn't be effected by this [budget]," he said.
Paul St. Andre, VDOT information specialist, put together a lesson for the students tailoring it to their level. All the students were in their early teenage years. He has a child of his own with special needs so he knew how to adjust the material for the students. After the video on construction, featuring "Pete the Pile Driver," for one, he made up a lesson utilizing maps and their summer vacation plans.
"We're showing a video on how we make the roads with big equipment. Kids like that. We bring it to their level. I love to give information to these kids so they have a better understanding of what we're doing," he said.
Moubray doesn't expect them to learn any of the intricacies of the largest highway project in the state, but if they get something out of it, that's alright with her.
"It may be a little complex for some but I think all of them will get something out of it," she said.
Moubray suggested a trip to the interchange office last year after they went to the Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles office next door to get walker identification cards.
"He loved that," she said.
Being a stay-home mother, Moubray has the luxury to accompany her son on these trips but is also aware of other parents who are not so fortunate because they are working. Their children still need some kind of real world education these trips provide.
"They really need this for their kids," she said.