A sharply critical report from a Corvallis School District advisory committee is raising some troubling questions about how the district educates students with disabilities.
This year's annual report from the Special Education Advisory Committee was presented to the Corvallis School Board last month. In a striking departure from past editions, which tended to focus on special projects and success stories, it paints an unflattering portrait of a school system falling short of the mark.
The document cites data from the 2009-10 AYP reports, which track whether schools are making "adequate yearly progress" toward benchmarks set by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
SEAC gives Corvallis schools low marks in a number of areas.
Among them:
• Only 48.9 percent of students with disabilities graduated with a regular diploma after four years of high school, well below the federal AYP target of 65 percent and lagging neighboring districts such as Philomath and Eugene.
• Just 25 percent of high school students with disabilities met minimum proficiency standards in reading.
• Less than 10 percent of disabled high school students met the standards for math.
The report also includes a summary of comments on the district's special education efforts gathered by the committee.
A number of parents acknowledged individual teachers or administrators for their patience, creativity and support of kids with special educational needs. The district's autism specialists were also singled out for praise, as was Home Court, a new program that provides a safe haven for autistic kids who may become disruptive or overstimulated in class.
But plenty of complaints came through loud and clear, most notably frustration with individual staff members who are unwilling to work cooperatively with parents or respect their input in creating individual education plans for their children.
Parents of kids with specific learning disabilities griped about a limited use of research-based curriculum and a lack of awareness about what was available. Other parents said they were never informed of assistive technology that could have helped their kids.
There was also a widespread feeling of exhaustion from the effort required to obtain and maintain special education services -and even a fear of retaliation against students whose parents spoke out too loudly.
"We must do better," the Special Education Advisory Committee report states. "SEAC believes it is time to pull back the curtain and take a hard look at where we are and where we are going."
Tough standard to meet
Local school officials point out that they're not the only ones grappling with this issue. Districts all over the state are falling short of graduation targets for students with disabilities. And while Oregon schools get some supplemental funding for special ed, the state Education Department has no list of standard curricula or best practices.
That said, Corvallis administrators also acknowledge the special education program could be stronger in some areas and say they're committed to improving it.
"Even if we were leading the state, we wouldn't be happy with the numbers. We know we have more work to do," said Laurie Corliss, who works in instructional services.
But administrators also believe the SEAC report is overly harsh. Last year's dismal high school math scores, for instance, may reflect a change in assessment standards more than actual performance by students in special ed, Corliss argued.
"This chart," she said, pointing to a graph in the report, "makes it look like the schools are failing the kids, and that's not necessarily true. It doesn't mean students are not learning or not growing, just that the standards are higher."
The four-year cohort method of tracking graduation rates is another case in point. While it's true that only 48.9 percent of Corvallis seniors in special ed earned a regular diploma in the latest AYP report, the number rises to 71 percent if you include those who earned GEDs or modified diplomas.
"Ideally, if they can just take a little longer to get a regular diploma, that would be the best option," Corliss said. "If it's a success for the student, that's the important part - and the rates are a federal definition of normal."
‘We could do better'
But SEAC Chairwoman Ilene Gaekwad counters that Corvallis schools should be hitting those federal AYP targets every time. The vast majority of students with disabilities are capable of performing at grade level, she believes, and she points to her own experience as an example of where the district is failing in its responsibility.
Gaekwad, 46, is a former Environmental Protection Agency attorney who has two boys in Corvallis schools. One of them is dyslexic, and Gaekwad says she spent two years butting heads with the district over the best way to help him learn to read.
Finally, in frustration, she took her son to see a Portland specialist and enrolled him in a private reading clinic. The results, Gaekwad says, were astounding.
"In four months," she said, "he gained in reading ability at least three years."
Other parents in similar situations have put their kids in private schools, Gaekwad says. But instead of disengaging, she got more involved - volunteering in her children's classrooms, becoming president of her parent-teacher organization and joining the Special Education Advisory Committee.
"I'm a huge fan of public education," Gaekwad said. "I think we have some very committed educators here. Having said that, I think we could be doing a better job in some areas."
Learning to listen
At the committee's urging, the district held a special education "listening session" on May 17. About 60 parents turned out for the evening meeting.
With district personnel standing by to take notes, people rose one by one to share their experiences with special ed. Some told heartbreaking stories about their struggles to get their children the help they need. Others shared inspiring tales of inclusion in the classroom and on the playground.
But a number of common themes emerged during the 90-minute session.
Over and over again, parents expressed frustration at the way special education services are provided in the district. While some teachers and administrators are supportive, they said, others are resistant. IEP meetings - where parents and district personnel hash out individualized education plans for kids with special needs - are often confusing for parents and frequently take on an adversarial feel.
Why, they asked, doesn't the district do a better job of educating parents and its own teachers about what assistive technologies and specialized course materials are available?
Why hasn't the district adopted research-based curricula and best practices for educating children with disabilities?
And why do they have to push so hard to get help for their children?
Superintendent Dawn Tarzian, who is leaving the district for another job, was at the meeting. After the parents had had their say, she rose to speak.
"In my 10 years with the district, I will share with you that there's been a bit of a divide between special ed and regular ed," she admitted.
Tarzian told the parents that the district's continuous improvement plan for next year includes a "laser focus on special ed."
A draft of the plan sets an ambitious goal for closing the achievement gap: By the end of the 2014-15 school year, the plan states, more than 90 percent of students with disabilities and limited English profieciency should meet grade-level standards for math and writing.
The blueprint for reaching that goal includes a "no excuses" belief system that sets high expectations for all students; a focus on instructional strategies to help struggling students; a placement review to ensure disabled students have access to grade-level content and appropriate supports without being stigmatized or isolated; and implementation of district-supported math and writing interventions.
While she acknowledged the district needs to do better, Tarzian said the plan represents a firm commitment to improve and asked the parents for their support.
"This is our focus next year," she said, "and I hope that we can count on you to stay committed to the process."
Skills for a lifetime
In the Life Skills classroom at Corvallis High School, every day begins with "calendar time." Sudents and staff sit around a table and go over school announcements, the lunch menu and interesting news items from the Gazette-Times.
On a recent Thursday morning, the students appeared animated and engaged, contributing to the group discussion and talking excitedly about an upcoming school potluck.
There were 15 students in this year's class, most with some level of mental retardation, about half with some form of autism. Some need one-on-one care, sometimes two-on-one, said teacher Karen Peterson, who has five staff members to assist her.
"We make it work," she said.
The students get a mix of academic and vocational instruction, based on their ability level and the terms of their individualized education plans, either in the Life Skills room or in general education classrooms.
Peterson is proud of her kids.
"It's amazing what students can do. A lot of our students are reading at third- to fifth-grade level," she said. "We're giving them a high school experience, but we're also trying to prepare them for transition."
After high school, most of Peterson's students will go into WINGS, a district-supported program designed to equip young adults with special needs to find employment and live on their own.
But if you ask her about the No Child Left Behind requirement that all special ed students be able to earn a standard diploma in four years of high school, she doesn't mince words.
"That's absolutely ridiculous," Peterson said.
"We have kids who are learning to tie their shoes. We have four kids who don't speak."
Help where it's needed
There are lots of students on IEPs who are capable of succeeding in academic subjects and don't need the intensive level of support provided in Life Skills.
Many students receiving special education services in the Corvallis schools have a specific learning disability such as dyslexia, which can make reading difficult, or discalculia, which hinders learning in math. Part of their individualized education plan may be spending a few hours a week in the learning resource center, where they can get small-group instruction in targeted subjects.
That works well for lots of students, but Tyler Rivera says it hasn't worked for him.
Rivera, a 16-year-old who just wrapped up his sophomore year at Crescent Valley, has been on an IEP for math since the fourth grade. His big challenge this year: Getting through Algebra I.
Though he gets A's and B's in most subjects, he was looking at a possible F in algebra. Failing math could get him kicked off the baseball and basketball teams, the only things he likes about going to school.
Late in the spring quarter, the situation improved dramatically when a peer tutor was assigned to give him some one-on-one help.
"I guess you could say she abridged it better," Rivera said. "She made it so I could understand."
After just two weeks, though, a scheduling conflict came up and the tutor could no longer work with Rivera. That left his mother, Michelle Navarro, fuming.
"I've been asking for a tutor since he was in fourth grade. Why couldn't they have done this last year?" Navarro asked.
"I know the schools are short-funded and things like that, but I feel like my child's being lost in the shuffle."
Advocating for families
A lot of parents experience similar frustrations, said Hilary Harrison, who has three kids in district schools, including one in special ed.
She's also the Benton County director for the Oregon Family Support Network and runs a half-dozen support groups for area parents and teens with disabilities, behavioral or emotional problems and mental health issues.
The best way to ensure a child's special education needs are being met is through the IEP process, she said, but it can be confusing and intimidating for many parents. A professional advocate or a "parent partner," someone trained to advise families about their rights under the law, can help guide them through the process.
"Some kids on IEPs have never been offered assistive technology that is available in the district," she said. "I'm not sure always that people know all the resources that are available."
The special education staff in Corvallis schools are tremendously dedicated, she said, but some could use additional training and the program needs better coordination. She hopes the district's plan for improving special ed will bring meaningful change.
"I don't think it's been given much attention. It's been peripheral to what's going on, and I think any attention would be an improvement," she said.
"I'm excited that disability is being talked about, and I'll be very interested to see what the graduation numbers look like."
Tough test for schools
Those AYP graduation targets hang like a sword over every school district in the country. President Obama has talked about replacing No Child Left Behind, but for now it remains the law of the land.
Corvallis Student Services Director Kathleen Walker says the district's improvement plan will help teachers make big strides in educating students with disabilities.
"Part of the challenge for any teacher is understanding the disability, what are the strategies that work for students," she said. "It's having the information they need to work with different disabilities. It's having comfort, I guess, or feeling that you have the tools to work with all the students in your classroom."
But will 100 percent of Corvallis students really be able to meet graduation requirements by 2014?
She's not so sure.
"It's a daunting task," Walker said. "I think in any district you're in it's going to be a challenge for special ed students or any students - for all students."
SEAC's Gaekwad admits that's a lofty goal. But she rejects the notion that it's entirely unrealistic. A growing body of evidence, she insists, supports the idea that the vast majority of students with disabilities are capable of completing high school and earning their diploma if given the right kind of help when they need it.
"This is all about how we can help our kids be more successful," she said. "If we're so smart, we ought to be able to figure this out."
