By Dan Sullivan
Catholic Herald
Special needs students get help in schools
SUPERIOR -- Children with learning differences are found in every school, including those in the the Diocese of Superior.
Sheila Warren, principal at St. Bridget School in River Falls and a former special education teacher, was scheduled to give a presentation to diocesan principals August 25, addressing the area of special needs. Warren said that, first and foremost, those with special needs are students first and with special needs second.
"All children have needs, some students have more specific needs than others," she said. "Some may be emotional and behavioral, but others may be based upon learning. Within the Catholic school setting, we can meet student needs in a number of ways."
Warren stressed that at Catholic schools: class size tends to be smaller; educators get to know families and not just students; staff are willing to work with a student's needs; faith can be openly discussed and used to assist with these needs; and prayer and the potential impact it can have on a student and their family lives can be mentioned.
She added that all Catholic schools have trained and highly qualified staff to meet student needs and have access to various funds through the state to assist with student needs. She said special education programming is available and Catholic schools have the ability to tutor and assess student learning needs in four grade levels annually.
"We believe in our students as well as the ability and the power of their learning, " Warren said. "As a Catholic school, we can meet student needs by getting to know the student. Our staff is at their own respective schools for a reason other than a job. I am willing to bet that the students that come out of the Catholic school are the main reason that these teachers are here."
Mary Piasecki, principal at St. Patrick School in Hudson, said the mission of this school is to create an environment that enables students to integrate their Christian faith into daily living, achieve academic excellence and reach their full potential.
"The concept of maximizing the potential of all students drives our efforts to partner with parents to meet the individual needs of students," Piasecki said. "We offer the SOAR reading program to accommodate students whose reading readiness skills are delayed. We offer accelerated reading and try to differentiate instruction as to content, process and product to help meet the needs of all learners."
SOAR, Supportive Opportunity to Achieve in Reading, is a special reading program that was developed by Paula O'Brien, a teacher at St. Patrick School.
Unlike some schools, Sr. Felissa Zander, SSSF, principal at St. Francis Solanus School in Reserve, explained that, although some students there receive the extra attention needed, they aren't tagged with special names or set aside from other students.
"We take the child as is, with their special needs," Zander said. "If they have to be catered to they will be tutored more. We don't want to label the children, but we cater to their special needs."
Staff at St. Francis do address areas of concern. "We want students to know the basics, particularly in reading and math," Zander said. "We don't want to give these children an added stigma by labeling them."
The same holds true for the advanced students at the Reserve school. "We give them extra work and we don't want to hold them back," Zander said. "They all have their certain talents. Some are gifted in math and others are gifted in reading. I don't go for labeling a child as being gifted. We all have our talents."
Tim Johnson, principal at Cathedral School in Superior, said it is the goal there to reach out to every student. One of the basic ways to find out special needs of a student is through evaluation. "One of our options is to have the student tested by the public schools," Johnson said.
Testing can be done on a wide range of concerns, including learning disabilities and speech problems. If the tests detect a problem the student, his or her parents, and school officials would meet to come up with an individual education plan.
"The results of the test are put out there," Johnson said. "We would find out where a particular student is at and see if they qualify for additional services or if they don't qualify."
Johnson sees parental involvement as an asset. "That helps to make sure we are all on the same page at home and school," Johnson said.
Cathedral School offers Title I services within its building, with the cooperation of the Superior School District. "Students may go as often as two or three times a week," Johnson said. "Sometimes they work individually, sometimes they work in small groups." (Title programs are various educational efforts that are mandated by the government to assist students in need.)
A public school is mandated to provide Catholic schools with Title I services and specialized testing services, and to work with them on individual assessment plans for qualified students. "We don't actually get the dollars in our building, but the public school is obligated to provide those services," Johnson said.
Those students seen as "gifted or talented" are also given the needed push at Catholic schools. "We have had students that have had high scores in reading," Johnson said. "We may use advanced computer programs to
challenge their vocabulary. We will look at library usage and what books would be appropriate and challenge them."
Academic achievers are also used to tutor younger students at the Cathedral School.
Gifted students receive a head start at Our Lady of the Lake School in Ashland, with an advanced English class, available to eighth graders.
"As much as half of our students are in this class that is taught by a former high school teacher," said Dave Eaton, principal. "They really get a high school level class in the eighth grade."
Eaton also explained that a number of tutors come to this school on any given day to assist students. Included among the aides are former Our Lady of the Lake students who are now seniors at the public high school.
"We also have a number of supplemental materials available for teachers," he said. "A Title I teacher and (a) speech pathologist from the public school also come right on site to service our kids."
© Superior Catholic Herald, 2004