As the parent of a child who is handicapped, School Board member Ronnie Campbell knows the plight of parents who advocate for improvements to special education. As a former member of the Special Education Advisory Committee, her name appeared on a strongly worded annual report that was presented to the School Board last week. The document minced no words, accusing city schools of ignoring disabled students.
“The simple fact is that special education has not been a priority in Alexandria,” the committee’s annual report concluded. “All too often, if a problem arises regarding implementation of the student’s education plan or in the administration of Life Skills or another citywide program, principals at a particular school tell the parent to talk with Central Office while Central Office tells the parent it is the principal’s responsibility.”
Test scores from children with disabilities are a problem for Alexandria City Public Schools, which failed to meet federal standards under the No Child Left Behind Act in part because only 63 percent of the city’s special-needs students passed the English test. Now that Campbell is a member of the School Board, she has vowed to make this her signature issue. In last week’s meeting, she offered a motion directing the board’s curriculum committee to conduct an independent review of Alexandria’s special education programs.
“The buck has got to stop somewhere,” Campbell said. “We don’t want another study that says services are great.”
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The School Board Bookworm
At the end of Thursday’s School Board meeting, Charles Wilson asked those in the audience to consider donating books to the school system. He said it was a great way to help students and make room on bookshelves for new volumes.
“Estate sales and yard sales are a great place to get them,” Wilson said. “In the past three years, I’ve donated more than 1,000 books.”
That’s almost a book a day!
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Not One Child Left Behind
No Child Left Behind is a many-headed beast. It has created a confusing web of funding formulas and punishment regimes. Worse yet, calculating the difference between success and failure can be mind-numbingly complicated.
School officials find themselves in such a mess over Patrick Henry Elementary School, where Superintendent Rebecca Perry is appealing the Virginia Department of Education’s findings. According to her update on the matter during last week’s School Board meeting, the difference between a passing grade and a failing grade comes down to an extremely small population.
“We are one child in question,” Perry told School Board members.
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Chairman Stopwatch
At the School Board’s annual retreat, incoming Chairman Arthur Peabody appointed himself “keeper of the clock.” In an attempt to keep the policy-setting body’s work moving along at a steady pace, Peabody has continually reminded board members of schedule constraints. Last week’s School Board meeting was his first opportunity to preside over a regular board meeting, and he kept proceedings moving along at a brisk pace. The meeting started at 7:30 p.m. and was over by 9 p.m.
“That has to be the shortest School Board meeting I’ve ever been to,” said Charles Wilson after it was over, adding that he was eager to get home at a decent hour.