Parochial school’s special education program enhances learning

 Correspondent PHILLIPSBURG — This school year started with extra help for several students at Saints Philip and James School. A new program was developed and implemented at the parochial school to help students who need a little extra support in the classroom. For the past five years, the school has been offering support from a part-time spe-cial education teacher. In preparation for this school year, they looked at the needs of all the students and realized there were more students who could benefit from additional support. With the approval of Father John J. Barbella, pastor, St. Philip and St. James Parish, and the diocesan Of-fice of Schools, this year the school hired a full-time special education teacher, Audrey Nelson, in addition to the part time teacher. Donna Kucinski, principal, created the program. “What we were finding is that al-though we differentiate in all the class-rooms there were still students who needed additional support,” she said. “Students who have individual service plans work with the child study team in Phillipsburg to make sure that they get the services they need, but we wanted to make sure that all the students who need extra help get what they need as well.” In naming the program, they were looking to the saints who were devoted to the Blessed Mother and wanted something to show their Catholic identity. St. Berna-dette was the perfect choice, Kucinski said, because, she was young and had trouble reading and understanding the Catechism. “She was relatable to our children who are having difficulty understanding and comprehending,” Kucinski added. “We are teaching them the Catholic faith and we want them to be able to read and understand it.” Together as a team, Kucinski, special education teachers and grade-level class-room teachers and parents work to write an accommodation plan and modify les-sons where additional help is needed. This can differentiate each student according to their specific needs. The special education teachers are also scheduled to work in all the class-rooms and offer support to the teachers in addition to working with the students separate from the class to help with testing. There are both in-classroom and out-of-classroom services available. This support is offered for all of the core subjects: lan-guage arts, math, social studies and science with a large focus on writing. When a student receives this extra help, they are being taught the same les-son the regular classroom teacher is teach-ing, but they are taught one on one or in a small group. The students benefit from the specialized attention being taught the same material in a slightly different way. Kucinski notes, “We are trying to make this as natural as possible for the stu-dents being given extra help. Instead of go-ing into the regular classroom they know which periods they go to another room for help. There is no stigma involved; there is just a natural flow to the other classroom. This is not replacing the regular classroom just something in addition to offer addi-tional support once or twice a week.” There are 193 students enrolled at the school. About 20 students partici-pate in the St. Bernadette Program. “This is some-thing that we are hoping will grow so that we will be able to offer support to more students who need it. We wanted to let the people of the diocese know that we are offering this to our students and it is benefiting them,” Kucinski said. Dr. Mary O’Sullivan, who teaches middle school social studies, said she has seen an increased willing-ness by the students to use the extra help. “There is no hesitation,” she said. “When Mrs. Nelson shows up, they willingly go to her and ask for help if they don’t understand the lesson. In the past, there may have been a little stigma but not at all with this. I see confidence and relief because she is modifying the assign-ments for these kids.” The classroom lessons for the week are given to the special education teachers and they modify the lessons to accom-modate the students’ strengths and weak-nesses. “The beauty of this help is our stu-dents are in and out of the classroom. They are not stuck in a resource room. They are very much a part of the class,” O’Sullivan added. “From a teacher’s perspective this is something that has been taken off our plate and we know the students are getting the extra help they need which we don’t always have the time for.” Nelson has been working with special edu-cation students for the past five years and is happy to be a part of the St. Philip and St. James family. “What I’ve noticed in the past five months is an increase in the students’ skills,” she said. “I am able to sit in the back of the classroom with them as the teacher is teaching a lesson and help them figure out the problems by breaking it down for them.” Nelson said that working with the students one-on-one helps them to stay on task. “My main thing here is meeting their needs,” she said. “I have a passion for students with special needs. I like being able to use my skills to help the students. I try to do the best I can to ensure their growth.” One of the seventh-grade students, whom the school requested remain anony-mous, said, “I like being here. It is helping me with my grades. I feel more relaxed and like having the individual attention. I don’t mind leaving the regular classroom because I know I need the help and Mrs. Nelson is nice and makes learning fun. I feel more confident this year.” The parent of the student, who also re-quested to remain anonymous, said, “This program has done wonders. My son went from struggling to being confident. He wants to learn. He is not afraid. He raises his hand now. He is a different person.” She expressed how upsetting it is to watch a child struggle and credited Kucin-ski with pushing forward and finding the help that was needed for her child. “I was afraid he wouldn’t be able to stay in Catholic school,” she said. “I didn’t know what I was going to do with him. I have seen a big difference. It’s unbeliev-able what this has done for him. I prayed for help and we got it.”