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'Bergen County towns will vote on school-district consolidation' The Star-Ledger ............................... 'Shot in the arm' for special ed' Herald News
Bergen County towns will vote on school-district consolidation
By The Star-Ledger Continuous News Desk
October 30, 2009, 7:50AM
MONTVALE -- Montvale and Woodcliff Lake voters will decide Tuesday whether to create one school district for both towns, a report in the Record said.
If that is passed, the report said the outcome of the ballot question could eventually lead to the dissolution of the 54-year-old Pascack Valley Regional High School District, which educates high school students from Hillsdale, River Vale, Montvale, and Woodcliff. But some officials are doubtful because the mayors of River Vale and Hillsdale oppose consolidation that would lead to higher taxes for their residents and lower taxes for others.
If the regional district is dissolved, it would be the third state district to ever do it. The state is encouraging consolidation of elementary-only and high-school only districts to create kindergarten through 12th grade districts to reduce costs and share services.
'Shot in the arm' for special ed
Monday, October 26, 2009
BY ANDREA ALEXANDER
Herald News
STAFF WRITER
Special-education staff and parents are using terms like "historic moment" and "wonderful thing" to describe how federal stimulus funds are spurring North Jersey districts to transform programs for disabled children.
Some districts have embarked on major overhauls: Wayne plans to reorder and consolidate early childhood programs, in hopes of becoming a state-of-the-art magnet of such services.
Others are solving specific problems: Lyndhurst has brought 20 special-education high schoolers, previously sent out of district, home by providing classrooms and staff tailored to their needs.
And still others prominently Paterson are working to integrate special ed programs so disabled children are provided ample opportunity to mix with "regular ed" students.
In all, over the next two school years, New Jersey will receive $371 million in federal stimulus earmarked to enhance such special education and preschool programs for the disabled.
The Paterson schools are receiving $7.5 million by far the largest allocation in North Jersey for its 2,800 special-education students in a district of about 26,000 children.
"This has been a shot in the arm to go ahead and get some things for our students that we would ordinarily hold off on, so I think it's very significant," said Donald Merachnik, an interim assistant superintendent in Paterson.
"It's historic," Beth Marmolejos, president of Wayne's Special Parents Association, said of her district's plans, "because we are headed on the right path toward helping these children become members of the community; to be able to provide them with the tools, the support and the opportunity to achieve the American dream."
Wayne intends to consolidate eight preschool classes for disabled students now spread among six buildings under one roof. School officials also anticipate some students who attend outside programs the district pays for will be able to return to local schools. Additionally, the plan is expected to generate revenue to cover future costs by attracting receiving arrangements with other districts.
Lyndhurst used about $400,000 to build two classrooms for 20 disabled high schoolers who had attended tuition-based programs out of district. With its own program, Lyndhurst expects to save about $800,000 in tuition and transportation costs. Three teachers work in each class of 10 students.
"There is more individualized attention, and there is an ability to track these kids so they don't get lost," said district Superintendent Joseph Abate Jr.
Other districts are using the money for special ed teacher training, technology and textbooks:
* West Milford plans to use a portion of the $893,223 it's receiving to hire a consultant to help students attending outside programs come back to the district.
* The Paterson district is hiring teachers, improving facilities, adding classes for autistic students and increasing the number of "inclusion" classes that give special education students a chance to learn side-by-side with their general education peers. Money also is being used for a Saturday and summer program to avert having to place some children in special-education programs.
Merachnik says the extra inclusion classes are a big plus for students. Besides their own special ed classmates, "They begin to make friends with regular ed kids as well as special ed kids, and it changes their whole demeanor. It's a wonderful thing because special ed kids, once they finish school, are in a regular society, and we've got to integrate them in that society, and I think that is what our role is in schools."
Wayne where about 1,000 of the 9,000 students are classified as having special needs wants to use a large part of its $2.2 million to create an early childhood learning center for disabled children and classes that serve both general education and special education students. The rest of the funds will be used to add technology in special education classes and hire seven special ed staffers, including a new reading specialist, a social skills trainer, and a transition coordinator to help students plan for life after graduation.
Some of the new staff and services are geared toward improving services for autistic children, said Walter Caruso, director of special services, including hiring a teacher for the autistic in Grades 3-5.
Marmolejos, who has a son in preschool disabled class and a second child diagnosed with high-functioning autism, points to such critical refinements as having another transition coordinator: Before, the district had one person, who split time between both high schools.
The changes will also be instantly beneficial for current hard-pressed special ed staffers: For example, having to travel among three elementary schools, preschool speech therapist Janis Bain loses an hour and a half a day she could be using with disabled students.
"There is a tremendous amount of waste in that," Caruso said, and such problems will be resolved with the consolidation plans.
The West Milford schools are using the money for a teacher training program in partnership with William Paterson University. A professor visits each of the eight schools at least once a week, training teachers to work with students of all abilities in one classroom. Money also is being used to hire a consultant to identify which of the 70 students who attend outside programs could return to their hometown, and to help students make that transition.
Howard Heller, West Milford's director of Special Services, agreed with officials in many districts who said the stimulus funding is a significant boost to help students with special needs: "With this amount of money, we can do a lot of things that we simply are not able to do with the regular money [for such services] we receive each year," he said.
Staff Writers Alexander MacInnes, Meredith Mandell and Barbara Williams contributed to this article. E-mail: alexandera@northjersey.com
Special-education staff and parents are using terms like "historic moment" and "wonderful thing" to describe how federal stimulus funds are spurring North Jersey districts to transform programs for disabled children.
Some districts have embarked on major overhauls: Wayne plans to reorder and consolidate early childhood programs, in hopes of becoming a state-of-the-art magnet of such services.
Others are solving specific problems: Lyndhurst has brought 20 special-education high schoolers, previously sent out of district, home by providing classrooms and staff tailored to their needs.
And still others prominently Paterson are working to integrate special ed programs so disabled children are provided ample opportunity to mix with "regular ed" students.
In all, over the next two school years, New Jersey will receive $371 million in federal stimulus earmarked to enhance such special education and preschool programs for the disabled.
The Paterson schools are receiving $7.5 million by far the largest allocation in North Jersey for its 2,800 special-education students in a district of about 26,000 children.
"This has been a shot in the arm to go ahead and get some things for our students that we would ordinarily hold off on, so I think it's very significant," said Donald Merachnik, an interim assistant superintendent in Paterson.
"It's historic," Beth Marmolejos, president of Wayne's Special Parents Association, said of her district's plans, "because we are headed on the right path toward helping these children become members of the community; to be able to provide them with the tools, the support and the opportunity to achieve the American dream."
Wayne intends to consolidate eight preschool classes for disabled students now spread among six buildings under one roof. School officials also anticipate some students who attend outside programs the district pays for will be able to return to local schools. Additionally, the plan is expected to generate revenue to cover future costs by attracting receiving arrangements with other districts.
Lyndhurst used about $400,000 to build two classrooms for 20 disabled high schoolers who had attended tuition-based programs out of district. With its own program, Lyndhurst expects to save about $800,000 in tuition and transportation costs. Three teachers work in each class of 10 students.
"There is more individualized attention, and there is an ability to track these kids so they don't get lost," said district Superintendent Joseph Abate Jr.
Other districts are using the money for special ed teacher training, technology and textbooks:
* West Milford plans to use a portion of the $893,223 it's receiving to hire a consultant to help students attending outside programs come back to the district.
* The Paterson district is hiring teachers, improving facilities, adding classes for autistic students and increasing the number of "inclusion" classes that give special education students a chance to learn side-by-side with their general education peers. Money also is being used for a Saturday and summer program to avert having to place some children in special-education programs.
Merachnik says the extra inclusion classes are a big plus for students. Besides their own special ed classmates, "They begin to make friends with regular ed kids as well as special ed kids, and it changes their whole demeanor. It's a wonderful thing because special ed kids, once they finish school, are in a regular society, and we've got to integrate them in that society, and I think that is what our role is in schools."
Wayne where about 1,000 of the 9,000 students are classified as having special needs wants to use a large part of its $2.2 million to create an early childhood learning center for disabled children and classes that serve both general education and special education students. The rest of the funds will be used to add technology in special education classes and hire seven special ed staffers, including a new reading specialist, a social skills trainer, and a transition coordinator to help students plan for life after graduation.
Some of the new staff and services are geared toward improving services for autistic children, said Walter Caruso, director of special services, including hiring a teacher for the autistic in Grades 3-5.
Marmolejos, who has a son in preschool disabled class and a second child diagnosed with high-functioning autism, points to such critical refinements as having another transition coordinator: Before, the district had one person, who split time between both high schools.
The changes will also be instantly beneficial for current hard-pressed special ed staffers: For example, having to travel among three elementary schools, preschool speech therapist Janis Bain loses an hour and a half a day she could be using with disabled students.
"There is a tremendous amount of waste in that," Caruso said, and such problems will be resolved with the consolidation plans.
