News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon
A change in staffing of special education programs at Sisters Middle School has some parents concerned.
A group of parents of special needs students and their supporters, the Sisters Parent Network, sent a letter to Superintendent Elaine Drakulich detailing their concerns and asking for a response by December 3.
The school district is planning to move special education teacher Susie Werts from the middle school to Sisters High School for one period four days a week to shore up the high school's reading program for special needs students.
The change is supposed to take effect at the start of the second trimester, December 7.
Werts' work helping students with reading will be covered by a paraprofessional working from a plan prepared by Werts. A paraprofessional will move from Sisters Elementary School to Sisters Middle School.
"My son has dyslexia," said Kara Calmettes. "Susie Werts has been working with him the last two years at the middle school. My concerns are that with her moving to the high school, he won't be getting the help he needs in the environment he needs."
Calmettes' concerns encapsulate those of many other parents - concerns that district special education director, Margaret Bates, says she understands.
"I understand their position," she said. "They want their kids to continue receiving the service they have been receiving. I understand their passion for their kids. I don't think this is going to hurt their kids."
Bates said the district is trying to allocate its resources across all three schools, and that is difficult in an atmosphere of reduced staff and budget.
According to Bates, the caseload at Sisters High School is 42 kids with one teacher; at Sisters Middle School it is 56 kids with two teachers (some students need special education assistance in multiple subjects). Hence the decision to reallocate a portion of Werts' time.
Part of the problem parents have with the plan is that they weren't involved in the decision.
"We are concerned that the district has not been more forthcoming about these plans to the families of the children who will be impacted," their letter reads. "Most of us learned about this plan in recent weeks, even though it has been under discussion for many months."
Bates said that "we don't have a loop that informs parents what teacher will be teaching what in our district." However, she said, she was surprised to hear that parents were, until recently, unaware of the plan.
"I was going forward as this was a known fact," she said.
Reflecting on the situation, Bates said part of the issue is that this plan was to have been implemented at the beginning of the school year, but scheduling did not work out according to plan. Now, it's being implemented with the year in full swing.
Bates said it's important that parents and district patrons know that the district is trying to balance many needs.
"The public patrons need to know that we're looking at the whole district and what is best for all our kids."
Parent Tammy Tewalt says that it's important for parents of special needs kids to stand together.
Her son, she noted, will not be directly affected by this change, but she signed her name to the letter in solidarity with other parents.
"Actually the school has done a great job getting him to where he doesn't need special education," she said.
Her concern is that changing a successful program puts continued success at risk.
Tewalt, like other parents, said that their concerns appeared to fall on deaf ears.
"When we did ask about it, they didn't return our phone calls," she said.
Ruby Aljets has three special needs grandchildren. Two who were in need of "life skills" help were transferred to Redmond because the scale of Sisters schools did not allow for programs that they needed.
The third, a sixth grader, is working with Werts. He isn't in the one period where Werts will be gone next trimester, but Aljets said she is concerned that adding a second lesson plan and group of students will diminish her ability to work with the middle school students.
She worries that "the teachers are going to get burned out because they're being asked to spread themselves too thin."
Bates understands the concerns, but she points to a fundamental dilemma: "When (we) lose staff and we lose money, you have to redistribute resources. Kids at the high school still have needs."
Tewalt just doesn't want to see special-ed kids fall by the wayside. She notes that many middle school kids have achieved great things, learning to read when they didn't know how.
"We have great athletics; we all know that," she said. "The majority of our kids are great at academics. But we also have some really amazing special-ed kids and we don't want to take away from what they're amazing at. These kids need the ability to be great as well."
Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.
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