Parents of children receiving special education services who responded to a South Orange-Maplewood School District survey, were mostly positive about the services their children receive, but had concerns, including communication and inclusivity, that District leaders say they are taking steps to improve.
Assistant Superintendent for Special Services Kathy Gesumaria last month presented the results of the spring Special Services’ parent experience survey to the Board of Education, along with an action plan aimed at improving communication and student support across all grade levels.
The survey results were just a small sample of the overall number of special education students with only 91 of the almost 1,500 families responding. Gesumaria acknowledged the low response rate, but said that the feedback still provides valuable insight into parent experiences.
“We’ll take all the feedback we can get,” she said.
Gesumaria said 58% of respondents were “satisfied or highly satisfied” with the Child Study Team (CST) process in general and parents described case mangers as “amazing,” “excellent,” “fantastic,” “responsive” and “knowledgeable.”
“The kindness and caring knowledge of special education teachers and classroom teachers were definitely highlighted,” she told the Board. “Many noted the program’s positive impact with their child making significant progress. One was quoted as saying that they are miles ahead of where they were after receiving the necessary supports. So that’s fantastic.”
However, she said, they also had a lot of concerns for the District to address.
“A lot of people talked about communication being a strength, but just as many talked about it being a deficit and cited a lack of follow up and follow through responsiveness from the staff. And they felt that they needed more feedback on their child’s progress.”
According to the presentation, some parents also said that the Child Study Team process is slow and difficult to navigate. Parents were also concerned with high staff turnover and vacancies, large case manager caseloads and inconsistent implementation of IEP accommodations and modifications, particularly at the middle schools and high school. Families also reported increased difficulty during transitions between schools, classroom management practices perceived as punitive rather than restorative, and uneven support for executive functioning, counseling and behavioral services.
Gesumaria said several initiatives are planned or already underway to address parent concerns, including improving communication and progress reporting, helping with transition to middle school and high school, and expanding professional development to support inclusive practices across all classrooms with peer-led training sessions for managing challenging behaviors and writing effective IEP goals. They are also looking to better define the criteria for students to gain entrance or to “graduate” from the Evidenced Based Learning program, she said.
To address staffing shortages, she said, the District is strengthening partnerships with universities, offering internships, and increasing the use of outside agencies when necessary to prevent service gaps.
The results of the survey were as follows:
- 58% of respondents were satisfied or highly satisfied with the Child Study Team (CST) process.
- 66% felt their questions and concerns were addressed at their most recent IEP meeting.
- 62% were satisfied or highly satisfied with the District’s sense of inclusion with respect to climate and culture.
- 62% were satisfied or highly satisfied with related services, including speech, occupational therapy, physical therapy, counseling and behavioral support.
- 66% were satisfied or highly satisfied with their child’s academic progress.
- 61% were satisfied or highly satisfied with the child’s social-emotional progress.
- 70% reported a clear understanding of the purpose and goals of paraprofessional support.
- 82% said there is a need for executive functioning classes or programs, especially at the middle schools and high school.
The full presentation is here:
