Educators, parents express concerns to new special ed czar

Mar 5, 2009 3:53 PM

Nearly 600 UFT leaders, parents, educators and concerned community members packed the Citywide Council on Special Education meeting at PS 177 in Queens on the night of Feb. 11 to tell Garth Harries, the chancellor’s newly appointed senior coordinator for special education, what they hoped for from him.

Rumors that Harries’ mission was to dismantle District 75 spread through the special education community prior to the meeting. Statements by Department of Education spokesperson David Cantor that Harries’ role is “most definitely related” to the current budget conditions and that his mandate is to lay the groundwork for eliminating positions fueled skepticism, fear and mistrust in the standing-room-only audience.

Harries, a lawyer by profession, said his purpose was to “improve services for all 165,000 special education students in community school districts and District 75 [citywide special education], to help them maximize their levels of academic, social and emotional achievement.”

From the exchanges that followed, it was clear that the audience was not buying it.

Caroline Brewers, president of the District 75 Parent’s Council, opened the public comment period by saying that “it scares the hell out of me that you have no experience in special ed. The staff of District 75 understands us and our children.” Expressing the sentiments of many in the room, she added, “Respect is going to be hard for you to earn.”

Many parents spoke passionately in support of the services and support their children received in District 75. One parent characterized District 75 as “a partner in raising my child.” And another parent said, “I can’t imagine where my son would be without his District 75 teachers.” She pleaded, “Everyone knows we’re in a recession, but that should not determine whether my child reaches his full potential.”

One of the most poignant moments of the meeting was when a sobbing parent handed Harries a picture of her son and said, “You are making decisions for him. Don’t think with your pocket; think with your heart.”

In stark contrast to these often passionate expressions of satisfaction with District 75 programs, however, were complaints about collaborative team teaching (CTT) programs in community schools, busing for District 75 students and the lack of responsiveness of central DOE administrators.

Regarding CTT, one parent said, “My son in District 75 is well-served. My other son, in a collaborative team teaching class, … has four teachers, and three haven’t seen his Individualized Education Program (IEP).”

Another parent, who said that the deputy chancellor had been unresponsive to her many written inquiries, charged the DOE with making CTT classes a place, not a service for children. She added that students with SETSS (special education teacher support service) recommendations are being pushed into CTT classes inappropriately and that there is no collaboration between general and special education teachers in these supposedly “collaborative” classes.

Parents asked for improvements in busing for their children, citing 5-year-olds who live and go to school in the same borough condemned to five-hour-a-day rides and buses that arrive well after school has started.