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The problems experienced at Harlem Park Middle School are symptomatic of problems experienced by other students, families and educators. There is much discussion on the national level concerning the need for educational reform. Any attempt at reform, though, that does not take into consideration the needs of the entire student body, including students with disabilities is not good reform. Information and research for this article was provided by Leslie Margolis of the Maryland Disability Law Center (MDLC), Joe Rigert of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, a variety of individuals from Computer Curriculum Corporation and Education Alternatives, Inc., and Sabrina's mom, a Baltimore parent.
Promises and reality...sometimes they just don't match up. Computers have the tremendous promise to promote access to education for students with disabilities and, through adapted access, level the educational 'playing field.' Education Alternatives, Inc. (EAI), a for profit educational management company, builds it's instructional curriculum around computers. Instead of 'leveling the playing field', however, recent developments suggest that the reality has not yet matched the promise.
EAI, a Bloomington, MN based company that promises to create 'world class' schools using the Tesseract' education model is a national leader in the privatization of public education. The Tesseract' model is used in 12 schools nationwide, including 9 in Baltimore. The name Tesseract comes from the children's book, A Wrinkle in Time, which describes a Tesseract as a fifth-dimensional corridor leading to worlds otherwise beyond reach. The appeal of the Tesseract' model is obvious, key elements including:
One of the cornerstones of the Tesseract' model is the use of computer based instructional software supplied by Computer Curriculum Corporation (CCC). An appeal of the instructional software is that students can work at their own pace with an infinitely patient tutor. Unfortunately, according to sources from MDLC, when middle school students with learning disabilities working on elementary math level skills sat down at a computer, they found themselves working with age inappropriate 'bouncing bunnies.' Mark Ogborn of CCC acknowledged a lack in the curriculum for students with disabilities, but indicated they were working to correct the situation with the Supported Learning Environment, a collection of peripherals and system modifications including a trackball, TouchWindow, keyguard, and IntelliKeys. According to Michelle Sung-Lee of CCC, the Supported Learning Environment is '...designed to aid students with difficulties in perceptual skills, hand eye coordination, fine motor tasks, vision, or who have language or cognitive delays.' Ron Fortune, President and CEO of CCC, commented that, 'The Supported Learning Environment can help establish equity in learning for all students.'
Assistive technology devices are only one small component, though, of successful education for students with disabilities. The definition of assistive technology includes services as well as devices and there must be a commitment to provide appropriate services. Education Alternatives CEO, John Golle stated in a news release he was 'excited and enthused' about what a contract to run schools in Baltimore would mean for the children of the city. What it meant for hundreds of students receiving special education services at Harlem Park Middle School has been a reduction or elimination of services and inclusion in classes inadequately prepared to meet their needs. What it meant for EAI is a $1,000,000 savings by cutting the number of special education teachers.
Although inclusion is seen as a good idea, and education in the 'least restrictive environment' is a mandate, there are still policies and guidelines to follow. Documents received during a court case brought by the Maryland Disability Law Center to assure compliance for special education students in the system points out flagrant violations by EAI. Hundreds of students were included in regular classes without consent of their parents. Needs were not assessed. Education plans were not established and services were not provided.
In a letter obtained by Tapping Technology, Thomas Hehir, Director of the Office of Special Education Programs in the U.S. Department of Education indicates that the way EAI went about it's inclusion program, '...violated the fundamental rights of eligible students with disabilities to receive a free appropriate public education...'
Specifically, on August 27, 1992, the Maryland State Department of Education sent a letter to Education Alternatives attorneys approving EAI's plan to serve students with disabilities in it's Tesseract model under certain conditions. Chief among those conditions was that parents must be notified of and consent to the inclusionary placement of their children. The promise was that would happen. The reality was that out of 394 students in special education, parents of 64 students consented to inclusion. 330 never provided consent, yet their children were nonetheless moved.
Sabrina was one of those students. A sixth grader at Harlem Park, she transitioned from a ten person class at Harriett Tubman Elementary School where she was receiving Intensity IV services (up to 20 hours per week of special education) including pull out sessions for math and reading. A counselor at her elementary school recommended Sabrina attend the EAI school at Harlem Park because, '...they use computers and are really innovative.'
The Individualized Education Planning (IEP) team at Harriett Tubman recommended that Sabrina still receive Intensity IV services in sixth grade. During her initial Admission, Review or Dismissal (ARD) meeting at Harlem Park, Sabrina's mom questioned a recommendation that services to her daughter be cut by half. She reported being told by the ARD manager that she should '...feel lucky that [her] daughter is getting the amount of services she is.' Additional concerns were, in her words, 'ignored.' When her mom attended school with Sabrina one day, she found her daughter in a class of 47 where the students were described as, '...rampant. There were behavior problems and if a kid got restless or bored, they'd just leave the room.' When she complained to teachers at a meeting, she found frustrated teachers ready to walk out because they had no materials, no support, and no training with special needs students. Mom took her concerns to the principal from whom she ultimately obtained a transfer for Sabrina, out of an EAI 'world class' school to a regular public school where Sabrina is once again receiving special education services, including pull out sessions. Because services were illegally withdrawn, Sabrina was awarded 350 hours of 'compensatory' services. For other students at Harlem Park, EAI was ordered to provide almost 137,000 hours of 'compensatory' services.
EAI officials indicate their difficulties in Baltimore are being resolved, however no one from EAI was available to give specific details. With all the difficulties at Harlem Park, EAI promises continue. Hartford, Connecticut recently voted to give EAI management responsibilities over its 32 city schools.
Promises vs. Reality
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