Special act schools: ‘We are the last stop’ |
On Board Online • June 8, 2009
By Brian M. Butry
Communications Coordinator
Everyone who works in a special act school district has a favorite success story.
Cindy Stachowski, superintendent of Hopevale Union Free School District in Erie County, thinks of a teenager removed from his home because of severe anger issues. The same young man who routinely threw things and punched walls upon arriving at Hopevale has since graduated college and recently enlisted in the United States Coast Guard.
“We prevent a lot of kids from ending up in jail or worse,” Stachowski said. “We are the last stop, a haven for kids that larger school districts do not have the resources or expertise to deal with,” she said.
There are currently 13 school districts in New York that were created by special acts of the state Legislature. These laws established public schools at existing child-care institutions to help some of the neediest children in the state who cannot be educated in their local school district.
Students are sent to special act districts by the state Office of Mental Health, the state Office of Children and Family Services, the court system, social services, and local committees on special education.
Students in special act districts have suffered neglect, endured physical and sexual abuse, have been taken from parents who were unable to care for them, or have severe learning disabilities because of their own emotional and behavioral problems.
In addition to students who have had to deal with serious family issues, the student population includes children diagnosed with autism, emotional disturbances, severe acting-out behaviors, speech or language impairments, traumatic brain injuries, and alcohol or substance abuse.
“We try to address all of the instructional issues, but that is such a challenge, given all of the other issues that our children bring to the table,” said Clare Rosen, assistant superintendent in the Hawthorne-Cedar Knolls Union Free School District in Westchester County.
Still, there are instances of children overcoming huge obstacles to be academic success stories. Rosen fondly recalls twin sisters who arrived after being removed from the care of their mother. They had been living on the streets and dealing with severe emotional issues. These “troubled” teens became honors students and are now attending prominent black colleges in the south.
The one-on-one approach
Lynn Eberle, a language arts teacher in Hopevale for the past 24 years, said much of her teaching is done on a one-on-one basis. After learning to understand each student’s needs, as well as his or her strengths and weaknesses, she tries to create a supportive learning environment. Often, she is forced to work on the fly as students enter her classroom mid-year.
“That’s probably the biggest challenge of working here,” Eberle told On Board.
For most special act school districts, their student population is made up of day students (children transported to school daily) and residential students (those who live in school district facilities year-round). And depending on the district, students arrive from suburbs, rural areas and major cities.
The average length of stay for students at special act schools can be as little as nine months. It is unusual for a student to attend a special act school for several years.
“If you’re a regular school district, you know from elementary to middle to high school who your population is going to be,” said Mark Silverstein, superintendent of Hawthorne-Cedar Knolls. “We don’t have that luxury. Children come in and out at any time during the school year and we’re mandated like any other public school to provide services.”
With standards-based reforms and federal No Child Left Behind legislation calling for greater academic achievement, the question of whether these children can succeed on par with their peers in public school settings has become more pressing.
“We’re held accountable like every other public school district, but the difference is the children who come to us do not have a history of school success,” said Silverstein. “It’s just astounding that these kids survive and attend school.”
Rosen said she is concerned that the good work being done in special act schools could be overshadowed by underperformance on state assessments or being named to the state’s list of districts in need of improvement.
“Teachers have to deal with general education curriculum, the learning issues, the behavioral issues, the social issues, the emotional issues, the family issues, and the state is saying they have to make (adequate yearly progress),” she said.
No control over funding
If the job of a classroom teacher in a special act district sounds tough, consider the administrators who work in these schools’ finance offices. A Byzantine funding system continues to cause headaches for these districts, which have no taxing authority. Instead, the state Division of the Budget along with officials from the State Education Department set the tuition rate for special act school districts. For day students, the student’s home school district pays the tuition. For students placed residentially, counties supply money that covers both residential and school portions.
The majority of special act district administrators find the funding to be not only inadequate, but untimely.
The problem is that the rates are based on student populations and district needs that are typically two years old. And because they lack taxing authority, special act school districts have an especially hard time making up the difference.
State Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer (D-Mamaroneck) has long been an advocate for special act districts. She recently told On Board that she hopes to use her new position as chair of the Senate Education Committee to undo some unnecessary burdens placed on these schools.
“I have bled for them for so long,” she said. “Fortunately, now I am in a position of responsibility and power that now I can help them out.”
How can that be done? According to Amy Goodman, superintendent of Westchester County’s Greenburgh-Graham Union Free School District, the best-case scenario would be that special act districts would receive funding based on students’ individual education plans. And the funding would be real-time, meaning based on the current needs of the current year.
“Our students don’t come with laptop computers. They don’t come with tutoring or extra services,” said Goodman. “If (the state) would fix the funding component, we would be able to close not only the achievement gap, but the opportunity gap.”
Special acts say they are ready to be accountable for results like other school districts, she said. At Greenburgh-Graham, student test scores and behavior are assessed every 20 days. Goodman said that’s essential to ensure that students are succeeding in the district’s classrooms as well as its residential treatment programs.
But music and after-school activities are out. There are no sports teams or extra-curricular activities to help students stay connected with school. Goodman, who has been an educator for three decades and a school administrator for half that time, likens her budget to a contingency budget, but worse.
“There are many programs I’ve run in other school districts that I cannot do here for these kids because I don’t have the money,” said Goodman. “Everything is cut, even some of the things schools are supposed to have.”
If special act school districts are supposed to provide state Regents-level curriculum and adhere to the same state standards as the rest of school districts in the state, then the playing field needs to be leveled, she says.
“I don’t mind being held to the same standards. But give me the same funding that other schools receive,” Goodman said. “The system is broken. The current methodology does not work.”