BRSD special education gets $300K boost

By: Anthony Coppola
   BORDENTOWN TOWNSHIP — Bordentown Regional School District officials say a $300,000 state grant they have received will help them to expand special education services and keep more disabled students in the district, instead of sending them to costly private schools.
   "I think it was very generous of the state to provide us with this amount of money," said Louise Sullivan, director of special services for the school district.
   The full name of the grant is the Governor’s Initiative: Enhancing and Expanding In-District Program Options for Students with Disabilities. The program made $9 million available to districts statewide.
   The grant was approved in May following a statement from the district describing the basis for requested funds. The district’s grant application included a description of the programs it would help fund, including professional development for teachers.
   Bordentown educates approximately 500 special needs students ranging from 5 to 21 years old, none of whom are sent outside the district for services.
   There are 40 special education teachers in the Bordentown Regional School District. The staff also includes five speech therapists, four social workers, four learning consultants, and four psychologists.
   "Teachers will receive professional development on addressing the needs of diverse learners," Ms. Sullivan said. "This includes learning differentiated teaching strategies, recognizing different learning styles, and assessing performance through differentiated assessment strategies."
   Ms. Sullivan says it’s important to keep special needs students in the district, rather than sending them away to a privatized learning center. She said she feels it can be detrimental to students if they are forced to adapt to different environments.
   "We try to keep students in-house to assure they maintain social relationships with typically developing peers and those students whom they play with in the neighborhood," Ms. Sullivan said.
   Half of the special needs students in the school district participate in general education courses. Those in self-contained classrooms mix with general education students for art, music and physical education.
   Ms. Sullivan said Bordentown is working to create an environment where role models can help educate and motivate special needs students.
   "The process is important because we ultimately educate students to work and live together as adults," Ms. Sullivan said. "Therefore, it is important that students work and play together as children."
   The school district has succeeded in achieving this goal to a certain extent already, she said. General education and special education teachers work together to ensure all students are included in activities.
   "When observing integrated activities, one can not tell if a student has a disability or is a general education student," Ms. Sullivan said. "Each works as an integral part of the presentation."
   According to Sullivan, money also will continue to be dispersed to buildings throughout the district in order to accommodate specific inclusion needs.