MCBOE Discusses Special Education
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Special Education and the Montgomery County Schools Department of Exceptional Learning (DEL) was a hot topic at the District’s Board of Education meeting on Monday, March 18, as members of the community and staff spoke on various topics regarding students.
Penny Ennis, who identified herself as the great-grandmother of a student with special needs at the Montgomery County Elementary School, took to the podium first during the meeting. She spoke on her appreciation for the work of the current DEL Director Alicia Hartley.
“I think one thing that Mr. Davidson did that was really, really good was bring in the Director of Special Needs to our school. She has done an outstanding job, [and] I’m proud of her,” Ennis began.
She went on to share that her family was told that her great-granddaughter, Zoe White, would possibly never be able to do basic tasks, such as walking and talking. “That child is reading,” she emphasized. “Why is she reading? Because of this program. I am very proud of this program.”
Ennis added, “When she comes in from school, I say, ‘Well how was school today?’ [She’ll tell me,] ‘I got 27 smiley faces.’ To me, that means she’s happy. She’s happy where she is.”
The great-grandmother told the Board that having worked as a paraprofessional in the school system for 11 years, she understood several aspects of education, and saw where things could be improved. “My thinking is that if the teacher, the Special Needs Director, and the parents all get together, what a wonderful program we would have. But it takes all of us to work together — not just for us, it’s for our children. It’s for my Zoe,” she remarked.
Ennis continued, “When she’s happy about coming home from school with 27 smiley faces, that makes me happy. That makes Mom happy. That makes Dad happy. That makes our whole family happy, and our whole family worked together for her — but mostly her mama and her daddy. They work hard, and they will work with everyone to see that she is happy and gets a good education. Right now, she is getting a good education. The Special Needs Director has done a fantastic job, and I hope you realize that.”
Following Ennis’s address was her granddaughter, Montgomery County Elementary School Special Education Teacher Lindsey White, who spoke to the Board not as a staff member, but as a parent of her daughter, Zoe.
“At the age of 23, I was told that my child would have Down Syndrome. I was told that my child may never walk, talk, or have the ability to ever do anything,” she told the Board. “But when she was three, Zoe’s great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents, dedicated a whole entire summer to the Chick-Fil-A playground and the park to teach Zoe how to play so she could be on the playground at the age of three.”
White said that Zoe began the Preschool Intervention Program (PIP), which serves children with special needs, at age three before entering Pre-K at age four. “I was like, ‘Pre-K will be good; none of them really obey; they don’t know the rules.’ But guess what? Zoe got kicked out pretty quick. Zoe pulled a girl’s ponytail. So, that didn’t work,” she shared. “So, then, kindergarten — age five — I was like, ‘We’ll just try half a day for the teacher’s sake.’ Well then, I realized that Zoe was unable to keep up with her peers. So, at the age of five, she started her journey [in self-contained special education classrooms].”
She continued, “I have attended many IEP meetings as a parent over the course of Zoe’s schooling, and never once felt intimidated because I have been taking the initiative from the beginning to make all IEP goals a priority for her future. I didn’t care if she knew the math standards — I didn’t care if she could read or make the writing standards. [I cared that] she was able to be a functioning child in society. So, because of the initiative, it was easy for her therapists, teachers, and paraprofessionals to work together for her goals to be met. Due to all the hard work from her therapists, teachers, and paraprofessionals, at the age of 10, Zoe is able to read, she’s able to communicate, she’s able to follow rules and able to walk to her class without any assistance. She is able to get all of her work done. She is able to serve with others — her students, her teachers, and everyone in the hallway.”
According to White, Zoe even passed a standardized math assessment last year, which she said is a credit to the team effort of the school and Zoe’s family. “Although DEL has been amazing, all of Zoe’s success did not happen at school. She is able to order her own food at Mexican restaurants, scan and pay for her own items at Dollar General, and communicate with friends and family on a cell phone,” she commented. “The last three years have been the best three years of growth and maturity that we have seen in Zoe, and that is all due to the right leadership. If all parents would actively join in with their child’s IEP team instead of bullying and making outrageous demands of them, then they could take off their blinders and see that their child has had success every single school year.”
White added, “This is the reason she has been through three different teachers and multiple paraprofessionals. Her success rate could be better, but she has not been given a chance at consistency because not all parents are team players.”
She emphasized the importance of celebrating all successes, rather than focusing on the negatives of situations. She said that every child is different and cannot be compared, especially those with the same disability.
“We never asked to be parents of a child with a disability, but here we are, and we are striving. We one day will pass away, but we know that Zoe will have everything that she needs to be a successful member of society,” White said, before thanking everyone for their help in Zoe’s growth. After addressing the Board as a parent, White remained at the podium to speak to the Board about the Special Olympics. She shared that it had come to her attention that some parents feel that Special Olympics is not important or beneficial to the students. White listed numerous aspects, such as competition and meeting others, that benefit the students socially, physically, and mentally. She also told the Board that two fundraisers have been planned to help raise money for the team.
Current Montgomery County Elementary School Special Education Teacher Kaylee Coleman provided the Board with an update on the progress of her selfcontained class, and formally announced her resignation during the meeting.
Coleman, a 2016 graduate of Montgomery County High School, shared that she has noticed a positive change in the Special Education Department, as she was able to get resources more easily for her students. “It’s no secret that the 2023-2024 school year has brought many obstacles and changes for many people individually, as well as for DEL as a whole,” she began. “While many changes have taken place, there are two things that have remained constant: the dedication that our DEL teachers have to our students and the Department, and the support that has been shown by our administration.”
Some of the improvements which she listed included providing new classroom furniture. “My first year, we had to go find tables because it was open house and I didn’t have any tables yet. When Mrs. Hartley got here, she made sure that every single classroom was furnished with new desks, new chairs, new small group tables — things that we had never gotten before,” she said.
She continued, “Prior to that curriculum being purchased when Mrs. Hartley got here, I had purchased 837 items from Teachers Pay Teachers [curriculum trading website] using my own money to provide for our students to make sure that they were being taught what they needed to be taught. Since that curriculum was purchased, I have not had to pay a dime because anything that I ask for, my administration makes sure that I’m provided with.”
In addition to these improvements, Coleman said that she and other teachers have been able to go to any trainings they wished, including a week-long workshop to learn how to best teach students to read. “I say these things to show that while it may seem that things are dark, our administration is constantly working to make sure we have what we need to provide the best for our students,” she emphasized.
Coleman also informed the Board of the academic progress of her students. “Before Christmas, I worked in the Reading Resource room, and students in my class there grew (based on iReady reading scores) by a total of over 500 points from the beginning of the year to the middle of the year. On System 44, they collectively completed over 200 topics,” she explained. “After Christmas, I began full-time in the self-contained classroom, and since then, my nine students have reached mastery in 175 IXL (math and other assessment) skills, and achieved proficiency in an additional 215 skills. They have answered a total of 7,010 questions. We have had the opportunity to complete multiple sensory activities, kitchen activities, and more. Just today, we had a special guest come in to teach us about whole grains, how to make our own flour, and using that flour, to bake. Students were even able to make their own tortillas.”
She added, “In the short time that I have been in this classroom, I’ve grown to love these students even more than before. I’ve felt nothing more than appreciated and loved by my administrative team from the bottom to the top. With that being said, every day is not easy. I know that I speak for many teachers when I say that we truly love your children like our own. I spend more time with your babies than I do mine. I spend time at home reflecting on how I could’ve been a better teacher, or how I could’ve done more, and I spend hours planning to meet their individual goals because they all matter to me.”
Coleman continued to elaborate on the stress of the job. “We are humans; we may miss messages or get behind, but I can assure you that it’s not because we don’t care. It’s because we pour every ounce of ourselves into teaching and loving our students,” she remarked. “While, for the most part, I have been encouraged and supported, I can say that there have been times that I have felt that no matter what I do, I haven’t done enough. I ask that as parents, you extend compassion and grace to teachers and you present us with an opportunity for communication rather than accusations. I ask that we work together on a united front to do what is best for our students.”
After sharing these thoughts, Coleman announced that she had submitted her resignation, which will be effective at the conclusion of the current school year. She told the Board that she loves Montgomery County and never wants to be elsewhere, but due to some situations in her personal life, she must step away for the time being. She ended her address by telling the Board that she hopes to someday return to the school system.
The Board accepted Coleman’s resignation at the conclusion of the meeting, along with the resignation of Montgomery County High School Counselor Rebecca Phillips, which will also be effective at the end of the school year.
Several new hires were approved by the Board including Josh Harrell, high school physical education teacher; Devonte Osborne High School Credit Recovery teacher; Tracy McNeal, middle school principal; Sequoia Joseph, high school counselor; Destiny Dixon, substitute bus driver; Samantha Robertson, PIP instructor; Bo Boatwright, elementary school assistant principal; Leatte Williamson, 49% high school RTI instructor; and Payton Spell, high school math teacher.
Board members also agreed to increase substitute bus monitor pay to $25 per route, which became effective on March 19.
