Concord, MA: Elem school sees "biggest influx" of SPED kids; 'more complex than it’s ever been before' **
Green T-shirts representing Mill Brook School filled the Concord School Board meeting Monday, showing support for the school’s special education students and staff.
Clad in green, Lindsay McGee, the lead special education teacher of the autism program at the school, said she was short two educational assistants and was struggling to meet the needs of students.
“I’m able to see one first-grade reading group right now. I’m supposed to see three different grade levels twice a day for 30 minutes for reading and math, and that’s not happening,” McGee said.
The elementary school, serving pre-kindergarten through second grade, had the biggest influx in students requiring additional support this year. Lacking educational assistants, staff said they are stretched thin.
Across the Concord School District, 19 educational assistant requests have been made as of last week, reported Superintendent Timothy Herbert. Mill Brook had requested six.
McGee said her current caseload is 10 students, who are all diagnosed with autism and who are minimally speaking or non-speaking, with complex needs. She said at least 10 more students in Mill Brook could use the placement and support of the autism program.
“I don’t feel like a teacher right now and it’s really, really heartbreaking,” McGee said. “I got into teaching to help students learn and grow, and I don’t feel like I’m able to do that with the lack of EAs in my program and within our building as a whole.”
Among the dozen or so wearing green was Lucas Gallo, a parent and employee of Concord schools, who invited board members to visit the elementary school for themselves.
“I believe to really know something, it’s important to experience it,” Gallo said during public comment. “I could sit here and tell you about the overwhelming amount of complex needs, the stab injuries sustained just this year alone; of the hard work, teamwork and dedication of every staff member, from the principal to the custodian, that go way above and beyond the duties of their own position on a daily basis.”
Herbert said the percentage of students coming into the district with special education needs has increased. Many Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) — for students who have moved into the district and those who were with the district last year —now require additional support, creating a greater need for services.
“More and more we hear the profile of the child that’s arriving is so different, more complex than it’s ever been before,” Herbert said. . . .
“This, to me, seemed like an emergency type of personnel request coming in,” Herbert said. “The sheer numbers and the fact that the majority of these were unpredictable circumstances.”
An occupational therapist, working at Broken Ground School who was helping with charter school and out-of-district placements, also recently resigned. The therapist cited the inability to meet the work demand, Herbert said. Now, the district needs to fill the role.
Vicki Hopkins had originally come to the board meeting to support Mill Brook, but decided to speak on the occupational therapist position. As an occupational therapist who has been with the district for the past 17 years, Hopkins explained that these specialists work with students from pre-school through high school, meeting with teams and families, as well as providing evaluations, screenings, consultations and services for students’ physical and mental health. She said a caseload does not always encompass an entire workload.
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