LWV OBSERVER REPORT FORM

Board or Commission: West Hartford Board of Education

Date of Meeting: October 7, 2008

Members present: All

Nature of meeting Routine ___X____ Special_____________

Called to order (time):7:05 pm Adjourned (time): 9:02 pm

Action taken:

The main agenda items were a review of West Hartford’s special education program and a staff report on high school test score results.

The special education review was presented by Dr. David Riley and Dr. Elise Frattura of the Education Development Center (EDC), consultants hired by the district to assist its efforts to improve outcomes for students with disabilities. The full EDC report is available at http://www.whps.org/WHPS%20-%20A%20Report%20of%20the%20External%20Core%20Team%20(2).pdf.

EDC’s review found significant weaknesses in every aspect of West Hartford’s delivery of special education services, despite a strong desire by parents and staff for high quality, state-of-the-art programs and a shared belief in the excellence of the school district. Those weaknesses include an organizational structure that isolates special education from general education and relies too much on specialized programs, a referral process that is not pro-active and which over-identifies minorities, and a record of student achievement that is lower than it should be.

The consultants laid out 27 specific recommendations which, taken together, would require integrating special education with general education in every respect--from the district’s overall mission statement on down to the instruction of individual children in their home school classrooms. This would involve restructuring the Pupil Services Department so that it is aligned with Curriculum and Instruction, reallocating staff from centralized programs to neighborhood schools, delegating to principals the hiring and supervision of special ed teachers, adopting collaborative teaching and teaming methodologies, and delivering instruction to students with disabilities in the general education classroom first.

Implementation of these recommendations would necessitate a shift in the way special education and students with disabilities are viewed, both within the district itself and in the community at large. It would also involve significant additional investment in professional development. Specific costs were not outlined, but the consultants did assert that integrating special and general education is more efficient over time than maintaining specialized programs.

The board voted unanimously to receive the EDC report.

The meeting was cut short after the EDC report so that those in attendance could watch the presidential candidates’ debate. Remaining agenda items will be addressed at the next meeting, scheduled for October 21 at 7:00 pm in room 314 at Town Hall.

Observer name: Kathy Wilson