The data to address this come from the Amherst-Pelham Regional School District Budget Planning Information FY10 document. The information is found on the table on page 28 which I have done my best to reproduce here since it provides a lot of detailed data.
To answer Jennifer's specific question, there are currently 29 students at the South Amherst campus (with 5 or 6 FTE--reading of that column is not clear) and 17 students in the East Street Alternative School (5 or 2 FTE).
This document, however, does not provide information on what it costs to run these programs, aside from a reporting of FTE (which you might be able to multiple by $54,000 which is the number used to represent the average teacher salary in the current budget documents). I don't know how much it costs to bus these kids to these schools, how much it costs to heat and light these buildings, or if there are any other associated costs.
Jennifer wonders if our district could consolidate these two schools and/or move these students to the main high school building. I don't know the answer to that but given our severe economic crisis where students on our main campus are being required to sign up for two study halls, I certainly hope someone is looking at these numbers.
When my oldest was at Fort River, the East Street Annex was used for elementary classrooms. There are (or were) four available. If you take an average class size of 20, it would seem that the capacity of the East Street Annex would be well above the 17 currently located in the building. In fact, rather than spend the money to move the portable classrooms to Crocker Farm in the event that Marks Meadow Elementary is closed, I have suggested that the Elementary District look into once again utilizing these four classrooms to expand the number of children who could be educated at Fort River, potentially saving money for that district.
Of course, in attempting to answer Jennifer's question, I have undoubtedly raised a lot more. I hope our School Committee members and school administrators have the answers.
53 comments:
If you move those kids out, the town could sell the buildings for a fair amount AND put them on the tax rolls.
Larry, yes, you could look at these buildings as potential revenue-generators for the town. A number of people did suggest "selling town assets" as one way to close the budget gap during the Facilitation of Community choices outreach. These two campus buildings were, in fact mentioned. I don't know the long-term strategic plan for these buildings by our School Committee, however, so don't know whether or not they would consider this idea.
"Move these kids out?" And where are these kids going? Out of the school system??? Lets just sell the buildings and with any luck all the kids in the buildings will just drop out! Just think of all the money we could save then!!!
There is a reason that these kids are in separate programs. They are not able to make it in the regular high school. For a variety of reasons they cannot be educated in regular classrooms.
One of my sons went to school at the South Amherst campus and the other son went to the East Street school. Believe me, if they could have handled schooling at the high school they would have been there. I would have been happier and they would have been happier. If the South Amherst campus program were not there, my older son would have dropped out of school. Instead he found the small classes and nurturing that he needed to finish high school and he is now a sophmore at UNC and doing well in school. For many many reasons, he could not handle the regular education at the high school. He found the program he needed at the South Amherst campus and stayed in school.
My other son was in SPED from the time he was in first grade until he graduated. He has a multi-faceted learning disorder, ADD, dyslexia, etc, etc. There is no way he could attend school at the regular high school. He was an out-of-district placement from 6th grade until 12th grade when he was brought back to the Amherst school system when the East Street School program was begun. The kids at the East Street School would be out-of-district placements if not for the East Street program. The East Street program saves the school money.
As so often happens, people attempt to balance budgets on the backs of the most needy. Its depressing to watch it happen right before our eyes here in Amherst. Sometimes you can not just look at numbers and think you know the whole story.
To protect my sons privacy I will not sign this comment.
Anonymous, thank you for your comment. It is good to hear from parents whose kids have used these programs. I'm glad both programs worked for your boys.
In her original comment, I don't think Jennifer was advocating getting rid of those programs, and neither was Larry. What they were asking about was the use of the buildings. And I now wonder that too.
In your opinion, could these same programs be housed in the high school itself? For example in separate classrooms but still with the small, nurturing environments that helped your sons? Or, since you have experienced both campuses, do you think that both programs could be housed together in the same building (either the South Campus or East Street) to save the cost of utilities for one building? I would love to hear your thoughts.
Or, it would be cheap to rent space somewhere in town for that small a program (s).
The Pioneer Valley Chinese Charter Immersion School did that quite economically at a South Amherst location for their first year of existence and I believe that space is now wide open and up to code for a school.
Alison,
Anonymous 8:59 here. Alison, I've given your questions some careful thought. I don't really think either the South Amherst Campus program or East Street would be successful at the high school. One of the reasons why these programs are successful is because they are away from the big school and in their own contained environment. That is a very important component of both programs.
Additionally, each program serves a very different population of students with very different challenges and very different educational and instructional needs. Therefore I really don't see them being put together in the same building. I know and understand that you are trying to find ways to save money because of the dire budget situation we are in. I just don't see the savings coming from these two programs. There may be other areas in the SPED program where savings can be found.
Anonymous 8:59, thank you for taking time to respond. I do agree that the high school can be overwhelming and could see why some kids would not do well in that environment and potentially need their own space. And since I really don't know what populations the two campuses serve (except that they are high school students), I appreciate your thoughts on thinking they could not be housed together. I have only briefly been in the South Campus building (during the summer) so don't really know the layout or whether two subtantially different programs could be housed separately there. I have, however, spent some time in the East Street Annex and know that there are two floors with two classrooms each. Do you think one floor per program would work at that building? I know each classroom used to house ~20 kids so there would be enough physical space. The beauty of that building (as opposed to a building like Fort River where most of the classrooms don't have full walls separating them) is that it is old and solid and sound, etc. wouldn't travel easily between classrooms.
I have some questions I really would like to know the answers to. Instead of looking to cut services to the kids, some of whom really could not function without them, why aren't we looking to cut administrative positions? Do you know if the new superintendent was asked to give up her salary increase in jumping from one position to the new one? What is her new salary? Why do the elementary schools, all but Marks Meadow, have two principal positions? The middle school three, and the high school four? Where does one find the list of administrators and their salaries of the Amherst school system? I can only imagine this is a well hidden document and more than likely does not even exist! How can adults, whom I believe have mismanaged the money in the first place, justify recouping it by causing upheavel to a whole community of children, teachers, parents, and all others who will suffer in the closing of Marks Meadow? When is this system going to stop hiring administrators to administrate to the administrators under them? And when are they going to stop creating new administrative positions for people who I have personally witnessed never even interacting with kids?!
Thank you.
Anonymous 6:27AM: I hear you. While I personally have had good experiences with my children's current principals and vice-principals, I do know what you are saying. And while I hate to see anyone lose a job or give up a raise, I do agree that, in many ways, the cuts could be put on the backs of the adults first before they are put on the backs of the kids. You ask many good and detailed questions about the administration. I will see what sort of data I can find and post separately about this topic. Stay tuned.
Wow, what an intelligent and great contribution this blog will make towards our understanding of how the school budget is spent. Thank you for doing this. Thank you for doing all this work to dig up the data.
I have a really basic question: Are intensive needs and special needs the same thing, variations on a spectrum? Or are they different things? I had the impression that every elementary school has special ed kids but all intensive needs kids go to Wildwood. Are they covered by the same budgets/teachers or are they two separate programs?
A technical blogging question: you mentioned people could adopt "Dear Abby" names - how do you do that (under Google/Blogger, OpenID or Name/URL?) Which one allows one to make an ID that we can use to distinguish one anonymous poster from another, yet still allows the poster to be completely anonymous (but tied to certain posts)?
Alison:
Anon 8:59 again. Thank you for your response. A couple of comments. I find that people talk about closing the South Amherst Campus (SAC) and East Street School without having a clue what populations those programs serve and assuming that they can easily be moved elsewhere. I appreciate that you are open-minded enough to listen to others. However, I find it disconcerting that you and others recommended changing or moving or eliminating programs that you know nothing about. Numbers can serve a useful function but you really need to go deeper than just looking at numbers. Its just as important to do the research beyond just looking up the numbers. It seems like now that you are beginning to get an understanding of the students who are in these programs you are re-thinking whether they can be moved. Perhaps you should have done the research first before suggesting the programs be moved. But better late than never.
I honestly do not know if both programs could be housed at East Street - one per floor. I am willing to bet that the answer is no. You would lose the sense of community that each program has. Also, the East Street school is a lock-down facility and SAC is not. I think the SAC kids would not like being in a lock-down facility and neither should they be. But then again I don't think the East Street kids should be in a lock-down facility.
Which brings up an entirely different topic. Whats up with having a high school program that is in lock-down???? A topic for another day.
So I guess my main point is that research into the numbers is important - but you gotta do more than just look at numbers before making suggestions. It's important to look past the numbers and look at the people behind the numbers.
And, finally, I second Anon 7:47 question - how can I use a name and still remain anon. I am new to the blogging world and still learning the ropes of how it works.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and also for taking the time to look up all those numbers!! Now lets see if we can move a step beyond just the numbers.
Anon: 7:47 I can answer your question about intensive needs and special needs and yes they serve two entirely different populations of kids. I would not even put the kids served in intensive needs on a spectrum to compare to most special education kids at all. I am going to speak a bit bluntly to try and get my message across, but having worked in both programs and a state school I can speak from this experience. Intensive needs children are those that may have been institutionalized 10 or 20 years ago. They are children with severe intellectual challenges and sometimes bite, hit, and throw things at their teachers and aides. I know--I have bitten and hit by some of these kids. Special education kids on the other hand may also have some severe behavorial issues , but you can reason with them and often they are unhappy with their life situations and school has become their safe haven. Hope that helps. Be glad to speak more if you so need.
For Alison: The SAC should not be closed down, but why do they start school at 8 a.m. instead of the regualr starting time? I just saw the school bus, yesterday morning, delivering the kids there at 7:58 a.m.! And why is it when you dial up the telephone directory--there is no mention of this school or East Street?? Could Amherst be hiding these kids? Could they be ashamed somehow of them because they do not live up to the quota? I did not know that East Street was a lock-down facility. I do know the elder next door is told by her adult children to not leave the house during school hours. Pretty sad if you ask me.
It would be a total injustice to combine these two programs. I believe it is unjust to keep the doors of any public building locked especially when kids are involved. The elder next door shared her story with me and told me many times during the day kids are seen in the parking lot using cuss words, yelling them out at their teachers, and then walking away.
Why doesn't Amherst consider selling town hall? Have you seen the stained glass windows in this building and the spiral staircase? Maybe the most needed offices could remain, but the rest might be used as an historical museum requiring paid entry.
Don't mean to ramble, but I think its long past the time to look somewhere else to cut back on this town's budget and to stop looking at the schools.
Again I thank you for this opportunity.
I'm still feeling a little lost. Could somebody please describe what these two programs are at the SAC and on East Street, or point me to a web-site that provides such information? I've inferred that one is for intensive SPED and the other for severe behavioral disorders, but is that correct?
Thanks!
To Anon 8:47 and 9:21 (don't know if you are the same person, we really need to learn how to use pseudonyms) - I think you are referring to a lot of things that the rest of us do have any understanding of. When you say we need to look beyond numbers - we agree, but we need someone to explain to us exactly what type of issues we are dealing with, and what types of aids/help/teachers are required to cope with these kids. Are intensive needs kids with defined medical conditions (like Down's, cerebral palsy, and autism) whereas special ed could be a range from a reading disorder like dyslexia to ADD to other behavioral issues?
Anyways, that is just for edification for the interested public.
We are looking at (at least) two groups here - one who is interested in learning more about special ed (but whose primary motivation might be looking at where the budget can be cut) and another group who seems to be top of this information but unwilling to have its budget discussed by the general public. By sharing the information, both groups will come closer. Discussion will bring transparency to at least this aspect of the budget.
I think the real question brought up in the blog is:
1) What in the current and proposed budgets for sped (and intensive ed,if it is different) are state-mandated vs what are non-state-mandated? Are the increased line items in these budgets state-mandated or not? Presumably this information is public data.
Anon 7:47AM (and others): To post under a "pen name," you choose the option Name/URL. Like in Dear Abby, you could then become Worried in Wyoming, Clueless in Cleveland or anything else you wanted.
Anon 9:21AM: Thank you so much for your great explanation of intensive special needs versus others. I think the table I posted is a list of all the intensive special programs (and the schools in which they are located) but I could be wrong.
I have no idea why the SAC starts at 8AM or why there is no mention of that or the East Street campus on the school phone directory. Sound like there are a lot of unanswered questions out there. Maybe we need a Special Ed task force? Or at least some additional communication to the public about these programs? Like you, I also did not know that East Street was a lock-down facility. I would love to hear more about it, both from our educators and from community members who are clearly affected by this school (as per your story).
As for selling Town Hall, I don't know what to say. I do know that the Town and Library budgets are also being cut for FY10 so everyone is having to take some sort of hit. Part of the job of Town Meeting, as I understand it, is to look hard at each one of these area budget recommendations before they approve the budget for the upcoming year. I think this year it will be a vigorous discussion before voting.
Anon 8:59: Yes, I am raising issues about programs I know nothing about, but in doing so I am also raising awareness of those programs. I truly want to know more! The more informed everyone is, the better decisions can be made by everyone. At least that is what I believe. I agree with you that there is more to every fact than just the numbers. Unfortunately, there are also really hard numbers (as in fewer behind our budget dollar signs) to deal with this year.
I actually never proposed cutting either the South Amherst Campus or the East Street campus--I was just posting some details in reponse to a reader comment and raising some questions. Personally, given what I have now been told about the nature of these two programs, I doubt they could be combined into one, but I have yet to be convinced that they cannot share the same building as long as their programs/classrooms could remain separate. But if the East Street School really is a lock-down facility and the South Amherst Campus is not, I agree that it wouldn't be fair to subject the latter students to lock-down. As to whether lock-down is appropriate for any student, I really don't know what to say! It does seem shocking to me but I will reserve judgement until I hear more from parents and/or teachers in this program. Perhaps they all agree this is what is best for these students? I am at a loss on this one.
Anon 11:05AM: If I knew a place to send you for more information, I would. I am learning about these programs now, just the way you are. Perhaps more knowledgeable parents/teachers/students will post more information for us.
Let's all agree one thing: our group agenda is to balance the school budget.
Nothing in the budget should be considered sacred or untouchable. Every line item should be able to stand up to scrutiny, and demonstrated (by data or anedoctal information) to be OF GREAT USE. Nothing should be redundant, wasteful, or ineffective.
Thus, all items should be looked at ranging from the utility (vs cost savings) of 4 elementary schools, the music program, the 3- or 4- or 5- or 6-language program, the number and quality of electives at the middle school, the number of administrators, VP's and principals, the number of cafeteria lunch ladies, aides/paras, the ELL program, athletics programs, how well our bussing costs are kept in line, and yes, how well the money is spent for SPED.
No student population should be considered sacred either - not the poor kids, the rich kids, the SPED kids, the high achievers, the kids of color, the regular ed kids, the ELL kids, the artistic/musical vs athletic kids, the ones on drugs or heading into trouble.
The big question is: is this done by the public and the SC? Do we get an outside consultant who audits the school finances and reveals the inefficiencies, and suggests ways to pare down? Do we wait for a superintendent (or the transient superintendent) to make a grand plan with a vision about what public education in Amherst is about, and then budget accordingly?
But let's not forget that even if we want a grand plan, we need to make cuts this year. So we need to look at the short term AND the long term pictures.
From Anon 11:54:
I take it back - our agenda as a group is NOT to balance the budget, but to better understand the line items behind the budget, and understand what it means to trade off one item for another. I guess we are just asking for transparency in the budget.
I'd like to try and explain some of what I know that goes on in SPED. I talked a bit about intensive special needs kids and someone asked if these were the Downs Syndrome and cerebral palsy kids and yes they are. They are also nonverbal autistic kids that, at the risk of repeating myself, would have been institutionalized in state schools if they were still around and if this were 20 years back. These are the kids in the program currently housed at Wildwood. The AIMS program, I believe, has higher functioning autistic kids, like Aspergers gifted. But are not known for their calm approach to life. SAC is for nontraditional kids. That is, kids that are just too tough for the sit in the desk sharpen your pencil kind of education. I know--I was one of them--and then the parent of one. East Street is simply a mind blower to me. A lock down faclity right here in Amherst. When I was foster-parenting we sent those kids to lock-down in Springfield. Just the threat of this was enough to staighten up even the hardest kid. And then there is Building Blocks--what a facade. Sorry, but I see this program as a job security for the others... These kids are somewhere in the middle of SAC and East Street, but haven't reached the 'age' yet to qualify themselves for those programs. This program moved from Crocker Farm recently to Ft. River. If I had any of my own kids in either of those buildings and knew full well as I do now, of this program, I would have pulled them out immediately. 'Nough said.
I so love what Anon 11:54 wrote. About not putting the spot light on any one group of kids. This so needs to be heard and then practiced.
I just want to add one more thing here and that is the thing Catherine Sanderson says she has heard many times..."the houses go to Wildwood...the apartments go to Crocker Farm." I find it so fascinating...apart, apartment, aparthied. I am so convinced that there is an 'educational aparthied' happening right here in Amherst. The question is what can we do about it?
Alsion, may I aks what your role is in all of this?
Thank you.
So who goes to the lockdown facility on East Street? And where do the intensive needs kids that are currently at Wildwood (Down's, non-verbal autistic, etc) go for high school?
How many kid are in the lockdown facility and how many are in the SAC? At what grade is that transition made (9th grade)? Does anyone transition from one program to another to the regular HS or do you pretty much stay in one program for all four years of HS? Who makes the decisions of which school the kid attends? (The parents in combination with counselors and special/intensive needs teachers/program managers?)
Besides the fact that East Street is locked-down, what else goes on in there? Is it one-on-one learning or small groups (5? 10?), or what?
We are exposing all these steamy secrets in Amherst! Just from reading these and Catherine's blogs, I find that there are gangs in Amherst, apartment-eid, a lock-down facility for kids... great fodder for a reporter.
Anon: 1:36 gangs in Amherst. Are you just finding this out? Gangs in Amherst have existed for let's see....10, no, 12 maybe more years now. And yes unfortunate as it may be--most reside in the apartment complexes that people like... (wait a minute I won't incriminate a specific landlord)make lots of money by renting 'units' to. Again I am only speaking from what I know.
The Downs Syndrome kids, nonverbal autistic, cerebral palsy and others go to an intensive needs program in the middle school, entering in the back door (most of their aides being cut by then) and then again over at the high school. These are the children who need all around care and sadly the aides who work with them are rarely recognized or paid nearlyclose to what they deserve. There is one student there I monitored on the school bus and play yard who sadly is not progressing very much.
Yet--administrative positions continue to be created and those under them continue to see increases in their salaries. The bottom line is who should be prospering from public education anyway?? The kids or the administrators?
Let me share this--Once at work I mistakenly opened my superior's paycheck. Our last names ended in the same letter and hers was placed in my mailbox so it was only natural I should be opening my paycheck that week. I was momentarily stunned when I saw the amount was over three times what I had been making the weeks before, but when I saw the name I knew why. I do not devalue or degrade any of the work some of these people do, but again I ask, who is suppose to prosper from a public education anyway?
Anyone can request the salaries information due to the freedom of information act or some such thing. A friend had a copy that was requested during the override battle. I was amazed at the top earners! And the job descriptions showed a ton of overlap.
Anon 11:28AM: Regarding what part of the special ed budget is state-mandated or not and how much is reimbursed, I could not find that information. If anyone knows, please post a link so we can all learn more.
Anon 11:54AM: Thank you for clarifying exactly what I am hoping happens with our School Committee. We elect them--we should tell them what we want! Although your point is well taken--who is supposed to be in charge of making these tough, line-by-line examinations? I thought it was the School Committe (and ultimately, Town Meeting votes on the budget) but perhaps I am wrong. In any case, tough decisions do need to be made this year.
Anon 1:16PM: Thank you so much for the detailed information about some of our specialized programs here in Amherst. It is very helpful for everyone to have some basic understanding of what they are and whom they serve.
To answer your question, I don't know what my "role" in all of this is. After working on the Facilitation of Community Choices Committee, I realized that I knew so much more about our budget and how our Town operates than I did before and further realized that many decisions in town were being made without a thorough evaluation of the numbers. Not to say no one was looking at them (in fact, I have great respect for both John Musante and Rob Detweiler, the two in town who could be considered our serious number-crunchers), but given our increasing structural deficit coupled with the public's desire for more information, I thought I would start this blog to help facilitate some of that type of discussion. I hope this answers your question.
Anon 1:36PM: Most of your questions I cannot answer since I am not overly familiar with these programs but have been learning about them along with you through this blog. I do know that, in this current school year, 29 students are at the South Amherst Campus and 17 are at the East Street School.
Anon 2:05PM: I don't know what to say about gangs in Amherst. I guess I assumed that gangs were, unfortunately, everywhere in our country to some extent today. Doesn't make it any easier to take, though.
Regarding prospering, I think that our students should be prospering, graduating, reaching their full potential, and having the best school experience possible. I also think our teachers and administrators should enjoy their jobs and feel appreciated since ultimately their attitude will affect the type of education our children receive. How you measure that monentarily, however, is another topic. School Committee Kathleen Anderson has repeatedly asked for a salary freeze for school employees next year but am not sure those unions have been asked to consider that possibility.
Gangs?! I have lived here 5 years and never read a single article in the paper about gang activity. Where does one who lives in a house with elementary-aged kids - learn about gangs? Alison - if you did a poll, I bet you would get an interesting mix of people who have NO idea that there are gangs (beyond what is read here and in Catherine's blog) vs those who KNOW there are gangs.
Uh, is the existence of these gangs at all a problem in the MS or HS? (Are they selling drugs to our kids?) Do they encourage allegiance to certain gangs if you're a kid who lives in a gang-neighborhood?
About the kicking/biting/hitting kids: are the public schools obligated to educate them? In the old days, if you did not behave, you were expelled, and your parents had to send you to private school.
Or is it if you have a medical condition that causes the inability to behave, the public school system is obligated to educate you?
What does lockdown mean? The front doors are locked? Or are the kids in a cage while the teacher teaches? Are there barriers between the teachers and the kids or the whole group and the outside world? How do you protect one kid from another in the same room? What happens in a fire drill?
Anon 3:15,
Sorry I just had to laugh at you asking about gangs selling drugs!! You have no idea about the drug/alcohol use in our MS and HS? Really? Amherst is awful with this. All any kid has to do is walk to UMass, downtown, or any of the colleges and get anything extremely easily!! People are in complete denial about this. Honestly, it's not the kids in the apartments who do more drugs, it is the rich kids who do more. The kids who are doing the sports, excelling in school, parents are oblivious. This is a huge problem in Amherst!!
Back in '94/95 a kid named Ozzy died of a heroin overdose. He was a senior then. He died at home! The next day, they let kids go home after telling them the news at school. Most of these kids left and went and got high in his honor. There was only praise from his father about how the heroin made him so creative and he wrote beautiful poetry.
So with all this being said, it would not be gangs to be worried about as far as drugs in Amherst go. You really should look harder at the colleges and in your own homes. Keep that conversation open and honest with your kids. Know where they are, what they are doing and who they are doing it with.
I am not sure how this 'blog' got sidetracked from school budget to gang activity, but I'd like to find out how we can find out the answers to just what goes on at the East Street annex (staff, salaries, etc.)and just what exactly a kind of lock-down facility it is. I am thinking perhaps it may be a sort of reformitory (day) school. I always thought these were run by the state and not individual towns. I am also amazed that it has been kept such a well hidden secret by the powers that be. South Amherst Campus is another well hidden school in this district. I have never read one article, anywhere about it ever.
Alison--are you familiar with Building Blocks? The kids in this program also are known to attack their teachers. Yes--one broke an arm/bone of their teacher another put their teacher's arm in a sling--bruised it but didn't break it. These kids were there, in school, the next day. Expel? Private school?? Who would pay for this?
While I like the idea of blogging and electronic dialog, I am troubled by what can happen to create false information. One person in this thread asserted that East Street is a lockdown facility. This was followed by other people saying "really? I didn't know that." Once that gets repeated often enough, it appears to be a fact.
It is not a fact. Here is a quotation from the minutes of the August 19 school committee meeting:
***************
Ms. Anderson asked if the ESAH campus is a lock-down facility. Mr. Jackson explained that people entering the building must be buzzed in at the front entrance, and students are wanded as they enter in the morning. Students are not “locked in,” however, since they are able to leave the building if they choose to. Mr. Jackson noted that these practices are indicative of the particular challenges of the students.
***************
I recognize that there is a great thirst for information about the school system. One of the reasons that I read these blogs is to find out what people are wondering about, to see if perhaps I can post some more information on the ARPS website. The process of preparing this information takes time and resources, of course, and may not always happen as quickly as people would like it to. Unfortunately, the desire for information is increasing at the same time that resources are diminishing.
I would encourage people to try searching for something on the ARPS site (using the search feature) and if you don't find it, go to the Contact page and let us know what you are looking for. This will help us to build a better site.
Thanks.
There is a huge problem in our society if kids are allowed back in school after hurting a teacher. Of course if there are no consequences, how can they learn right from wrong? And it goes back to the parents - it is their responsibility to teach their kids right from wrong. If parents knew their child would be expelled if they used physical force on a teacher or other authority figure, parent would lay down the law. Otherwise they know they would have to find another school (private school? homeschool?) for their troubled kids.
Only in Amherst do you have parents who complain when the bus driver yells at their kid for misbehaving. Or complains to the administration when a teacher is too tough on their kid. Parents need to teach the kids to respect authority. Parents need to respect the school authorities first in order for this to happen.
What are we teaching our kids? We are raising a generation of selfish entitled brats who think they can whine their way out of any situation. The kid who breaks his teacher's arm is NOT going to stop there when he is miffed at his job as an adult. That's when he or she thinks it's OK to punish whoever admonished him at work with violence.
Anon 4:50,
right you are. but the kids don't have to go downtown or umass, they can ask the kid next to them in class, or on their team. Amherst is just like any other town regarding drugs and alcohol. Sad.
The building blocks program certainly warrants extensive scrutiny as to whether its budget is justified. Many have alluded to complaints or issues about the program, and others have outright stated that at least two of the 12 kids have harmed teachers. For that we are spending almost 5 FTEs on this program? (That would be what, $50,000 x 5 = $250,000?) It clearly is not money well spent, as the kids are not in control, the parents are not interested in controlling their children, and the teachers are in harm's way. The program is clearly not well run if teachers can be hurt. How much learning can be occuring for the other 10 in this situation?
How long has this program been in place? Are there any studies on its effectiveness in Amherst?
I can see spending money on SPED initiatives that are helpful. I understand when parents say that there is no other way for their SPED children to learn. However, when I read about kids harming teachers in a program that costs us a quarter of a million dollars - well, that hardly seems fair to the taxpayers or the MAJORITY of the student body. What a waste of MY tax money and MY kids' scant education resources.
That amount could cover half the elementary music program. Language teachers for 5 languages. More than a third of the cost of keeping MM open. We wouldn't have half the town pitted against the part of town that wants to keep MM open. Talk about hidden costs in the budget. For 12 kids!?! Two of whom are clearly delinquents!?! That amount of money could cover costs of programs that affect HUNDREDS of children in our community.
I would like to hear from some Building Blocks parents about the benefits of this program. Please educate me.
Nina - can you or anyone else tell us how to read the chart on page 28 with the FTE/student data? (Same data posted on this blog)
Specifically, what does the first number and the second number under FTE mean? Are we to add them together?
http://www.arps.org/files/CombinedBudgetDocument.pdf
My guess is based on Intensive Learning Center at WW where the line says (2.6/13.0) FTE for 13 students. Since someone told us that this program is for the intensive needs kids (Downs, cerebral palsy) - I assume that the 13 in the second column refer to the one-on-one paras paired with each intensive needs kid. The 2.6 might be the number of administrators for the program. So perhaps we are meant to ADD the two numbers together to get the FTE count for each program?
This would be key information to understand - how to read the FTE chart - because if we are meant to add the two numbers together, that would suggest there are a LOT of administrators for these programs.
Most of the comments I know little about but I did want to share what I know about Building Blocks. Besides the numbers I posted on the chart, I know that Building blocks has been around at least 7 years (when I first became aware of it--it may have been around longer). It used to be housed at Crocker but moved to Fort River a few years ago where it occupies two classrooms. Some kids from Building Blocks (perhaps all? I only know the ones my son's age) are integrated into regular classes for "specials." Perhaps someone else will tell us more.
Nina, thanks for clarifying for everyone what "lockdown" means for the East Street School. That was very helpful.
And so we are now to be comforted in having learned the "truth" about East Street. It is not, as so stated, a lock-down facility. But, wait a minute--any building I enter where I have to be "buzzed" in and "wanded" down surely reeks of lock-down to me. Why can't we just say what it is in plain English? You can hide behind fancy language , in an attempt to explain just what East Street is, but it sounds like a prison-like school camp to me. I can fully understand why the elder living next door is told not to leave her house during school hours by her adult children.
Building Blocks may just be another East Street facility well hidden inside the elementary schools. Doesn't really matter how long it's been in existence or where it is housed--what matters is most parents and others in our community know nothing of it.
Doesn't this say something about the system running these programs??? And the administrators, the way too many administrators, fattening their pockets from them??
Thank you!
Bravo Anon 9:40! East Street certainly sounds like a lock-down to me also.
I would like to find out more about the Building Blocks program. The first I heard of the existence of Building Blocks was on this blog and Catherine's. I understand that it is curretnly housed at Fort River school and that there has been at least one incident in which a student in the progam injured a teacher. I will have a child at Fort River in a few years and I am VERY worried about her safety.
Are the Building Blocks students kept separate from the other students in the school? Are they ever allowed to intermingle? At lunch or at recess for example? My worry is that if a Building Blocks student injured a teacher they could also injure another student at the school. What safeguards are in place to keep the students not in the Building Blocks program safe? What do the Fort River parents know about this program, if anything? Are any of them worried or concerned for the safety of their children? I am very concerned and worried for the safety of my child once she gets to Fort River. How can we find out more about this program?
Thank you.
Okay--here it is. You asked and I shall answer best I can--again I am speaking from what I know. Before I begin may I say this--while working with this system we are short of threatened--to keep silent with our jobs at stake.
Building Blocks has a padded "closet" of sorts. Yes--you read correctly, a padded closet where the kids are "placed" to kick, bang, punch out their frustration. Mind blower--quite.
They can swear wile doing this and release their frustration with language and violent activity, but directed at a wall instead of a face. Bluntly put, but the most direct I can say this to get the point across. Two teachers in this prgram had their arms, wrist or whatever body bone was bruised bad enough to be put in a sling on two very different occassions during the school year a few years back. I do not blame the children for this at all. What I do blame is a system that hides these facts from its parent and other concerned parties.
I walked around the school building my first year teaching tagging a child that had never been in the 'regular' classroom until I began teaching her. I understand why I needed to be by her side. She had no understanding of pesonal space, of boundaries--none. She could not tell time by an analog clock--I only can assume she didn't know the concept of time at all and I taught her from that point. The reason she had never been in a 'regular' classroom was becasue the 'theraputic' crew kept her out in a 'space' where she watched disney movies all day long. Sad, but true. She did not know the days of the week, nor the months of the year, nor money value, nor the names of the seasons... Sad, oh yes, but quite true. I researched her dilema and found Fetal Alcohol Syndrome to be her life affliction. I grew in my own knowledge of what it is to learn while walking along side her and having our daily classes in a closed off space away from the rest of the 'regular' kids. She was able to pass the MCAS after her courageous classroom teacher got her pulled from the 'theraputic' hands and into his room.
Back to Building Blocks--I do not think you need to fear for your little ones safety because of no reports of any of these kids attacking other kids. (Wait--one child was quite viciously attacked by stones hidden in a snowball and suffered a bloodied nose, sorry that was two kids, while boarding the bus shared with a BB kid.)
How a padded closet can be hidden in a public elementary school and the fact that these kids are allowed to act out in such a violent manner is beyond me. I have witnessed one of the teachers actually sitting on the floor against the door of this closet to keep the child inside. I was told by a co-worker who later took over this office that this was all legal. Legal??? At whose expense?? The child--for learning to deal with life in a violent, very messed way??? Or legal for those who hold the door??
Thank you.
Let me be clear that I am not a spokesperson for the school system. I am not in charge of any programs nor do I have direct knowledge of them. All I do is gather and post information for the website.
The purpose of my post was to show how false information gets created and spread.
(oops hit the wrong button before I was finished typing my name!)
anyway, what I meant to say was that I think if people have specific questions about specific programs, they should contact the people at the central office who are in charge of supervising these programs.
http://www.arps.org/special-education-student-services
Do be aware that it may take a little while to get a response, especially if the question is complicated.
I know many people think that there are too many administrators, but in my experience, administrators are very busy and have a long list of things to do.
When building blocks was at CF I thought it was a program to help kids with learning difficulties, boy was I wrong! We all slowly became aware of its reality. The concerned parents at FR should talk to their administrators at the school.
Nina,
Do you actually believe that all one has to do is ask about what really goes on in these programs and they will be told anywhere near the truth?
I am also curious about just what exactly you are referring to as 'false information?'
I notice the 'new' website design and I am very curious to know at what expense this cost the school budget? Why is ESAH and SAC excluded and Building Blocks, etc. in this new set up?
If you cannot even find that these programs and schools exist in Amherst how do you honestly expect one to find out what goes on in them?
Thanks.
Anon 11:52AM: Thank you for your honest, if shocking, description of what goes on in Building Blocks. Although I have been a Fort River parent for nine years now, I had never been in the BB classrooms and really didn't know what the kids in there did, who taught them, etc.
I will say for those who wonder if FR parents worry for their children's safety because of the presence of Building Blocks in the school--I have never worried nor heard any other parent express concern. Not to say some others might be worried, but I have not ever heard anything.
At least some of the sixth-graders in Building Blocks (my son's grade) do integrate with the "regular" sixth grades for specials and assemblies. I don't know to what other extent they may mix with others. My son has never mentioned any incidents of violence by Building Blocks students.
To be honest, when Building Blocks moved into Fort River, my primary concern was that we would be losing two of our nicest (space and light-wise) classrooms!
well I guess I like to start with the assumption that people are reasonable. I do think that it makes sense to start gathering information by asking the people who are most likely to have that information. For example, if people had questions about computer programming courses at ARHS, then I would hope they would ask me before they started speculating about what we do. It would be helpful for me to learn what the questions were.
We do have information about various special education programs on the arps site:
http://www.arps.org/node/716
This came from the Student Services presentation at a January School Committee meeting. Maybe it's not enough information. If people have specific questions, they should ask them, while also keeping in mind that it may take some time to get the answer or that confidentiality may be involved.
As for the presence of ESAH and SAC on the website, you are right. They should be more visible. The administrators for those programs have always been listed on the Contact Us page of the high school web site, but there should be more visibility. I am working on that now. Had someone sent that feedback in through the website feedback form, I would have started working on it sooner. That's an example of how a communication channel can work.
When I searched on the ARPS.org website for "building blocks" all I got was this:
School Based Therapeutic Programs
Building Blocks – for students in grades K-6; located at Fort River Elementary School
Bridges – for students in grades 7& 8; located in the Amherst
Regional Middle School
Student Support Program – for students in grades 9 – 12; located in the Amherst Regional High School
All it says for each program is location and grade level - one has NO idea what it's for, except that it's under the special ed page.
Anon 12:54 - what did you mean? What was it that you saw that was an issue? Is everyone referring to the way the kids are treated (in terms of allowing them to act out, in padded rooms), or that they are out-of-control kids, or that they are not actually being educated, but more that they are being baby-sat during school hours (disney movies). Are people saying that these programs (like Building Blocks) are not well-run, not effective, or seemingly inhumane (but perhaps still within the bounds of what is legal).
12:54 again,
I was refering that due to the sweet name and with all of the ed. assistance programs going on at CF we thought it was another one. The children were violent and unpredictable. I didn't like my kids being exposed to any threat to their safety.
anon 2:37
Above the list of programs you found on the web site, there was a paragraph which described the concept of a therapeutic program:
+++++++++++++++++++++
specialized programming for students whose primary needs are social, emotional, and/or behavioral. These programs are designed for students whose needs require a smaller, structured therapeutic setting for all or part of the day. A high staff to student ratio is maintained with individualized programming to meet the needs. Services and support are provided on an individual basis and are to assist students in developing effective coping mechanisms and problem-solving strategies towards becoming more fully integrated with their typical peers when appropriate.
++++++++++++++++++++++++
I will try to reformat the page a little bit to make it more obvious that those pieces of information go together.
I think the table of FTE/students receiving special services on page 28 (and in this blog) do not reflect ALL of the SPED services/kids. I believe it JUST refers to specialized programs (like the intensive needs kids at WW who have Down's, major health issues), Building Blocks, the two alternative HS's.
Looking at page 6 of the same document, you see the number of IEP's at each school. There are 88 IEPs at FR, 38 at MM, 63 at WW, 57 at CF, and 343 at the MS/HS. Nowhere on the table on Page 28 are such large numbers of kids with IEPs addressed. No mention is made at all of IEPs or any specialized programs at MM, for example. Thus, the budget for these IEP's may be partially embedded in the "Specialized programs" in that SOME of the kids in IEP's may ALSO be in these specialized programs. However, it is clear that the majority of IEP's are not covered by these specialized programs.
Maybe this was obvious to all of you, but I only just figured this out.
Anon 9:27AM: You are right; the table I reproduced does only list the specialized programs to which Nina was referring. There are many more students who are on IEPs; many more than are in these specialized programs.
Hi Alison,
I couldn't find if you had answered the earlier query as to what the two numbers mean under FTE? #/#?
thanks
Hi Abbie: I don't know what those two numbers mean either! At first glance it might seem as if the first number is the FTE and the second is the number of staff members for that program, but some of those cells don't make much sense. For example, for the Intensive Learning Center at Wildwood, it seems strange (and potentially inefficient) that we would have 13 staff members to represent 2.6FTE. But, perhaps that is the case. I am hoping someone with more detailed information on these programs answers the question for us.
I've posted the question (about how to read the FTE column) on Catherine's blog. After all, the SC should be able to read the budget report. If they can't, well, that doesn't bode very well for the group that ultimately approve the budget.
Nina - if you can point us to someone (budget-preparer?) in the superintendent's office, that would be great too. We can't rely on Catherine for everything, as wonderful as she is.
I know that each Intensive Learning Center kid at WW (Down's, cerebral palsy, non-verbal autistic) gets a one-on-one para all day. As there are 13 students in the program that suggests 13 paras. (the second part of the FTE/FTE column). My guess is that the first number in the column may be the number of administrators of the Intensive needs program at WW. 2.6 FTE to administer the Intensive Learning Center program sounds about right to administer the program and fill out the paperwork.(I mean it sounds physically plausible, I don't mean it is morally right (or wrong) to have that ratio of admin/staff). However, it could also be a teachers/para ratio.
Has anyone looked at the Brookline school district budget numbers? I did and I like how they split out the number of FTE in each group (regular ed vs SPED, admin for each program, FTE for science vs math vs this and that). It would be nice for us to have one (or two) documents that detail the cost AND the # FTE pre group. Having the cost of admin vs staff in dollars is hard to read because you know they have different salaries.
Hi Alison.
If I understand correctly you have children in FR. Could you ask to see the Buidling Blocks room next time you are in this school where they keep the padded closet and also ask how a child is 'placed' in there? Do you think this is ethically or morally okay for our teachers to be trained to restrain and then forceably place children in this type of environment? No matter what you may have heard or not heard it is happening and has taken place many, many times.
FR uses or used another strange room set-up where a child is placed inside with a door guraded by her/his teacher and allowed to bounce a ball off the walls if s/he so chooses as some kind of theraputic punishment. The child must remain in this room until it is deemed they have controlled themselves enough to return to the 'regular' school environment. This can be found alongside the library. They also use(d) another space on the opposite side of the library where the SPED students receive(d) their math lessons. This room was so cold you needed to keep a sweater or coat on and felt like you were in a freezer! I am not exagerating sadly enough... Nice way to receive lessons.
Anon 6:52 PM: I have contacted a member of our School Committee about the now-infamous padded closet with a request for a visit. As I understand it, the request was also shared with our acting Superintendent, Maria Geryk. These are the people who can do something about the situation and should really know what is going on. I will continue to follow up to see if there has been an investigation.
Personally, no, I can't imagine the situation in which a padded room in a school is a good thing. I am not, however, a trained special education teacher, so freely admit I am not familiar with the currently-advocated educational approaches.
As to the temperature in the classroom space alongside the library, I don't doubt it! Many of the rooms in Fort River are freezing during the winter. A legacy, no doubt, of the original "open classroom" scheme now broken up by partitions. The air circulation/heating system in that building was just not designed for space as it is used today.
The writer of amherstbythenumbers.blogspot.com has written a superior article. I got your point and there is nothing to argue about. It is like the following universal truth that you can not disagree with: No one knows the origins of their metal coat hangers. I will be back.
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