Miss-Delectable
New Member
- Joined
- Apr 18, 2004
- Messages
- 17,164
- Reaction score
- 5
Elimination of deaf class from Merced schools riles parents - Local - MercedSun-Star.com
Angelina Chavez doesn't feel comfortable having her soon-to-be 7-year-old in a classroom with older students.
Her daughter, first-grader Adeline Orozco, is deaf. She will be in a K-5 classroom beginning next school year. Chavez is concerned her daughter won't get the same education that she would if she was in a classroom with only students her own age.
"We are really mad about this. Our kids are special, our kids don't deserve this," she said. "Their education is their future."
Orozco is among several students who will be affected by a decision by the Merced County Office of Education to eliminate three Deaf and Hard of Hearing classes. A class will be cut at the elementary, middle school and high school level.
Officials say the move was a result of declining deaf enrollment and budget challenges.
Susan Coston, assistant superintendent of Special Education for MCOE, said just as with any other organization, she's been going through her budget to try to identify opportunities to save resources and shift them to other needs in the organization.
Historically, the number of students in these classes has been small, Coston said, and has been decreasing over the last five years.
At the same time, officials have seen an increased need of classes for students with emotional disturbance, autism and intellectual disability, Coston said. The resources used in the elimination of the three Deaf and Hard of Hearing classes will be shifted to offer five more classes that will help address the need in those other disabilities.
Officials estimate that there could be up to 10 students at the elementary level who would be affected. Coston said those students could be put together in one K-5 class. That's a common approach in special education,
Coston said. "You put them all in the same room, and you have interpreters help individualize their instruction," she said.
In addition, there are eight students in middle school and about six in high school who would also be affected. Officials will look at each of those 14 students' Individualized Education Programs to determine what the best options are for each student, Coston said.
Those students could either attend the California School for the Deaf in Fremont, a residential school where students only come home for the weekends, or they would be fully included in their school district and would receive interpreter services, she said.
Coston said it wasn't an easy choice and she understands those families who aren't comfortable sending their children to Fremont. There was a mixed reaction from parents, she said -- some were fine with the decision and others weren't pleased. "It was a tough decision, but it was a financial decision that I had to make," she said.
Officials had been holding back on making this move, but it was necessary in the tough economic climate. Coston said the Fremont School for the Deaf offers incredible opportunities that officials aren't able to provide locally. "The students really get immersed in the deaf culture up there," she said.
And parents don't have to pay anything.
But parents such as Chavez aren't convinced. She said those children don't deserve to travel miles and miles and be gone for a whole week. "We shouldn't be thinking about relocating to a different county just because Merced doesn't want to do anything about it," she said. "Our kids deserve the same education that other kids have."
Angelina Chavez doesn't feel comfortable having her soon-to-be 7-year-old in a classroom with older students.
Her daughter, first-grader Adeline Orozco, is deaf. She will be in a K-5 classroom beginning next school year. Chavez is concerned her daughter won't get the same education that she would if she was in a classroom with only students her own age.
"We are really mad about this. Our kids are special, our kids don't deserve this," she said. "Their education is their future."
Orozco is among several students who will be affected by a decision by the Merced County Office of Education to eliminate three Deaf and Hard of Hearing classes. A class will be cut at the elementary, middle school and high school level.
Officials say the move was a result of declining deaf enrollment and budget challenges.
Susan Coston, assistant superintendent of Special Education for MCOE, said just as with any other organization, she's been going through her budget to try to identify opportunities to save resources and shift them to other needs in the organization.
Historically, the number of students in these classes has been small, Coston said, and has been decreasing over the last five years.
At the same time, officials have seen an increased need of classes for students with emotional disturbance, autism and intellectual disability, Coston said. The resources used in the elimination of the three Deaf and Hard of Hearing classes will be shifted to offer five more classes that will help address the need in those other disabilities.
Officials estimate that there could be up to 10 students at the elementary level who would be affected. Coston said those students could be put together in one K-5 class. That's a common approach in special education,
Coston said. "You put them all in the same room, and you have interpreters help individualize their instruction," she said.
In addition, there are eight students in middle school and about six in high school who would also be affected. Officials will look at each of those 14 students' Individualized Education Programs to determine what the best options are for each student, Coston said.
Those students could either attend the California School for the Deaf in Fremont, a residential school where students only come home for the weekends, or they would be fully included in their school district and would receive interpreter services, she said.
Coston said it wasn't an easy choice and she understands those families who aren't comfortable sending their children to Fremont. There was a mixed reaction from parents, she said -- some were fine with the decision and others weren't pleased. "It was a tough decision, but it was a financial decision that I had to make," she said.
Officials had been holding back on making this move, but it was necessary in the tough economic climate. Coston said the Fremont School for the Deaf offers incredible opportunities that officials aren't able to provide locally. "The students really get immersed in the deaf culture up there," she said.
And parents don't have to pay anything.
But parents such as Chavez aren't convinced. She said those children don't deserve to travel miles and miles and be gone for a whole week. "We shouldn't be thinking about relocating to a different county just because Merced doesn't want to do anything about it," she said. "Our kids deserve the same education that other kids have."