Special Education Report Nearly Completed

The long-awaited consultant's report on issues surounding Suffield's special needs students will be delivered to Superintendent Karen Baldwin's office soon but will not be available to the public until the panel's Nov. 15 meeting, Baldwin told the Suffield Board of Education at its meeting at Suffield Middle School Tuesday night.

Baldwin reported that a consultant from the Capital Region Edcuation Council (CREC) has completed a series of interviews with parents, teachers and staff members and will issue a report regarding concerns brought to light by a parent's group earlier this year.

The report may provide the Baldwin with a guide for any changes needed in administering special education in Suffield. She noted that she will review the report and discuss the findings with the panel at the Nov. 15 session.

On March 15, a group of about 20 parents brought to light numerous concerns regarding communciation between teachers, staff and parents in meeting the needs of special education students. Delivered in a booklet of letters and documentation, the parents detailed incidents involving students and staff regarding disciplinary problems, alleged verbal abusiveness and the general treatment of students with special needs.

This is the second time in the past seven years that such issues were brought to the board's attention, necessitating the formation of a committee and a report. This will be the first time an representative of CREC has been involved.

Chairwoman Mary Roy said she was pleased with the timeliness of the report.

"I think to do a thorough study [like] this has not taken that long a time," she said. "I would much rather have it done right rather than rushed. This gave the experts the time to do it right."

The panel's most important vote Tuesday ocurred with the unanimous passage of the sixth grade technology course, which was approved through the end of school year. The administration will further examine ways to further embed technology education into regular courses, part of the initiative to fully integrate technology education into overall learning plans.

In addition, the Board and administrators are working on the state-directed safe school climate policy and received a template as a guidline for meeting new requirements. This policy focusing on issues such as bullying and will be discussed and adopted in January, per the state guidelines. 

In other news, the Board expressed its gratitude to the Suffield/Windsor Locks Jets youth football organization for its donation of the scoreboard at the high school athletic fields.