Arne Duncan, look in your own back yard

June 18, 11:28 AMSpecial Education ExaminerRobin Hansen

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Arne Duncan's home town of Chicago is being accused of under serving special education children by either failing to identify them, or, if identified, not giving them adequate services.  Mary Ann Pollett, principal of Moses Montefiore Special Elementary School, testified before the City Council's Committee on Education and Child Development that officials have discouraged teachers at her school from reporting students' disabilities because it is too expensive to deal with them.

"They deny that that goes on, but it does," Pollett said, with her superiors only a few yards away. "Montefiore is only the tip of the iceberg. This goes deep into a systemic issue that needs to be addressed within the Chicago Public Schools."

Chi-town Daily new reported this story on June 16, 2009. http://www.chitowndailynews.org/Chicago_news/Principal_CPS_officials_neglect_disabled_students,28440*

"They deny that that goes on, but it does," Pollett said, with her superiors only a few yards away. "Montefiore, (a special school that serves children with emotional disorders which has been very under-enrolled) is only the tip of the iceberg. This goes deep into a systemic issue that needs to be addressed within the Chicago Public Schools."*

CPS officials of course denies such charges.

"Chicago Teachers Union President Marilyn Stewart differs with that approach. At yesterday's meeting, Stewart released a survey from the union that showed more than 70 percent of about 1,700 teachers and 280 case managers believe students in their schools with emotional or behavioral problems were not receiving special education.

"If you don't identify an issue with a child, you can't address it," Stewart said.

Clarice Berry, president of the Chicago Principals and Administrators Association, said her organization produced a similar, and admittedly unscientific, survey several years ago that showed a "covert suppression" of administrators trying to staff schools for students with disabilities.

"These are our most fragile children," Berry said, "and we don't have services."

She said the disparity in resources is especially jarring when one compares special education in the South and West sides of Chicago with the city's North Side. Berry says parents in Chicago's more affluent communities have access to attorneys, for example, that force administrators to accommodate their children.

CPS Chief Education Officer Barbara Eason-Watkins denied that the district bars disabled students from the opportunity for a good education, but she said the district is working on ways to better identify them."*
 

Chicago Public schools is not the only district that engages in the "Deny, don't identify, then we don't have to serve" syndrome.

"Deny, don't identify" is a consistent strategy used across the country by some school district to save money.  This practice is breaking the federal "Child Find" law which orders school districts to seek out children who need services and serve them. 

Naples, Florida, A Call to Action

"Terry Dunn-Fischer can't understand why she couldn't get the Collier County school district to recognize her daughter's dyslexia.

Up before 5 a.m., 9-year-old Annalyse's day starts very early. She's out the door, in the car, and on the road before 7 a.m.

"It's a really long way to my school and sometimes it's really boring," Annalyse said describing her ride.

She makes the hour trip from her Naples home to Pinewoods Elementary School in Estero every day.

Until her mother decided to move her daughter to Lee County, Annalyse steadily fell behind.

"I felt frustrated because it's kinda hard at my other school. Because the teacher sometimes writes too fast or when I asked to slow down, they won't slow down and they just won't...my answers...ignore me," said Annalyse.

Her mother, Terry Dunn-Fischer, says Collier County wouldn't do anything to help.

"The biggest issue was Collier County wouldn't recognize there's a problem," said Dunn-Fischer.

Terry took her daughter to a private expert for an evaluation and found out Annalyse has dyslexia.

"She had a evaluation done. That was like 30 pages that clearly showed what the child was doing, what the child needed and I presented that to Collier County and their answer was we don't accept the evaluation. And did they give me a written reason why? Absolutely not," said Dunn-Fischer."

 "This isn't the first time a parent has accused the Collier District of withholding services. Two other parents have filed federal lawsuits against the district, alleging the district purposely keep from evaluating special needs kids so they don't have to spend money on services to help them.

WINK News wanted to ask the district if those allegations were true, but in email after email they denied our requests for on-camera interviews.

According to most experts in dyslexia, time is of the essence. The person who already has lost the most is Annalyse.

"She should be going into 4th grade this year coming up but presently she's in second grade," said Annalyse.

Her mom used a state scholarship to move Annalyse one county over to Lee County where she's now getting services she needs.

"I really like this school because I'm really getting what I should be," said Annalyse." **
 

**http://www.winknews.com/features/action/43898082.html