Goal is to bring students up to speed
John Saccenti
MONROE — The Monroe Township School District has been focusing efforts on special education students since the early 1980s.
The goal is to bring them up to speed with their fellow students.
The district’s pre-school special education program targets students with speech, mental or physical disabilities and provides special instruction in the areas of speech and language, self-awareness, gross and fine motor skills, self-help, cognition and socialization.
“Our expectation is that children will benefit from the program and will not need any other special education program,” said Joe King, director of school pupil personnel services.
The half-day program runs five days a week and is open to disabled students who are between three and five years old. Students enrolled in the program receive speech, occupational and physical therapy services if needed, according to Mr. King.
“We have kids with all types of disabilities. Some have speech and language problems, some attention problems and others with motor skills (problems),” said Teacher Barbara Hirsch.
Children who need the program often are identified by physicians or through a screening process offered to children who are less than three years old. The screening process is advertised in newspapers, on the district’s Web site and is offered to all children living in the township. Tuition for the program is built into the district’s yearly school budget.
“I think it’s critical, just for peace of mind,” said Mr. King. “So many parents wonder how their children will fair in school. We do a fairly good job of picking up children who have disabilities, whether that is speech, cognitive, emotional or physical. Sometimes it’s very difficult for a new parent to see their that their child doesn’t reach development milestones.”
Before entering the program, children are assessed by a child study team. Students typically attend the program until they are five years old and ready for kindergarten, said Mr. King.
“The goal is to address (the student’s) needs early on and to lessen the need for long-term special education instruction,” said Ms.Hirsch. “We find that a lot of kinds in the mainstream were in a special education program.”
However, it is not uncommon for students to supplement their regular kindergarten instruction with special education instruction, according Ms. Hirsch.
An average day at Ms. Hirsch’s pre-school class begins with an opening meeting. Students gather together in the front of the classroom and go over numbers, letters, colors and listening exercises.
From there it’s on to the “circle activity,” where gross motor skills are strengthened by listening and dancing to music.
A small group session is next, where students zero in on different concepts they are studying that week. To strengthen the fine motor skills, students practice writing their names and trace pictures.
Ms. Hirsch said that someone who is observing the class would have a hard time telling that the students have disabilities. The classroom is covered in brightly colored drawings and posters, many created by the students. There also are blocks and games and toys, all designed to strengthen a student’s ability to learn.
Playing with blocks and puzzles can help a child develop problem solving and perceptual skills. Such toys are helpful because they are fun, as well as educational.
Students attending the Woodland School program receive attention in both arge and small groups, and on an individual basis, depending on their needs, said Ms. Hirsch. Instructors also try to incorporate everyday play activities into their instruction.
“Students need to understand concepts, such as opposites and prepositions. A lot of kids don’t understand this and this is where they’re introduced to them, because they don’t develop naturally,” said Speech Therapist Halice Rubin. “Many kids have problems understanding verbal language, so they don’t understand what is expected of them, so they need to be taught.”
For more information about the district’s pre-school special education program, call Mr. King at (732) 521-3200.