45°
DARIEN, Conn. Darien schools are rethinking the way they use special education staff, and administrators believe structural tweaks have led to more efficient instruction. At the elementary level, special education students are clustered together more, while at the high school level they are spread out.
Elementary schools students who needed services were placed in different classrooms, making it difficult for special education teachers to work with the students together, said Judith Pandolfo, assistant superintendent for elementary education. "One special education teacher might have children with 10 different teachers. They would have to collaborate with 10 different teachers," she said.
The solution was to cluster students together so special education teachers could make more efficient use of their time. They also pushed elementary schools to set up service schedules early. Pandolfo said she has received a lot of feedback from special education teachers, telling her that their schedules are much better and they are able to get their programs up and running quicker.
At the high school level, a special education teacher would go into a classroom and assist the students who needed help. But it was found that the special education teachers were not needed every day. So students in the same subject who need help were spread across different sections of that class, so that special education teachers could service different sections on different days, depending on what was happening in class.
"We're creating teacher schedules for the students, rather than student schedules that fit their program," said Matt Byrnes, assistant superintendent for secondary education.
The learning centers at the high school have also been restructured so they are organized by subject instead of by grade level. Now students are able to get more specific help in topics useful to the subject they may be struggling in.
Superintendent Stephen Falcone said 612 students are currently enrolled in the special education program, and the administration will continue to keep an eye on that as the year progresses.
Follow The Daily Darien on Facebook and Twitter.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Darien and receive free news updates.
