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| Instructor Lee Ramaley works with Nancy Nguyen at Jessie Baker. |
Outside in the warm sunshine, students scream joyously as they practice for the upcoming Jessie Baker Games — the school’s own version of the Special Olympics. Inside Lee Ramaley’s classroom, pairs of students play the “match game,” taking cards with assorted colors and shapes and placing them next to matching cards.
Whether they are playing games outdoors or indoors, everyone is considered a winner at Jessie Baker School, a campus serving 163 students with severe disabilities from preschool to age 22.
The Elk Grove campus was the first school in the state for students with severe developmental disabilities. When it opened in 1963 — and for years afterward — it was considered the model for teaching severely disabled students.
Since the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), however, schools for special-needs students have become less commonplace. With public schools mandated to teach students in the “least restrictive environment” under IDEA, the norm has become “full inclusion,” where special-needs students are placed in mainstream classrooms whenever possible, usually with an instructional assistant.
“Some people consider us archaic,” says Ramaley, who teaches the oldest students, age 20 to 22. But he and other Elk Grove Education Association members at the site believe that there is still a need for Jessie Baker School, where students are free to be themselves — without worrying about “fitting in” or being different from other students.
“At this school these students are always allowed to shine,” explains Twyla Rowe, who has been at the school 18 years and teaches students who are middle school age. “When they are on a general education campus they can never be the top dog. But here, there’s never a question that they can’t do something. This is a place where everyone is the same and everyone feels comfortable. They are learning to cope with their differences, but they are not so different from everyone else that they become ostracized.”
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| Twyla Rowe, Elk Grove Education Association, works with student Jameson Starlin. |
Full inclusion may work wonderfully for some students, but not every student, says Ramaley, who worked as a full inclusion special education teacher for six years before moving to Jessie Baker.
“Families have chosen to have their child start at Jessie Baker, go to a full-inclusion placement and then come back to Jessie Baker,” he says. “Elk Grove school district has a very effective full-inclusion program, as well a range of placement options. I feel that it boils down to choices. And parents should base their choices on what is best for their child.”
For those who choose to enroll their children at Jessie Baker School, there are plenty of benefits. For one thing, there is not the huge turnover in special education that is commonplace at other campuses. Most of the staff have been there for years and have no plans to leave. Teachers there say they feel strongly supported by administration, staff, parents and the community. (Studies have shown that special education teachers in mainstream campuses often feel unsupported, isolated and stressed, which is attributed to an extremely high turnover rate.)
Campuses that are inclusive tend to have a large number of substitute teachers and uncredentialed, inexperienced instructors teaching special education classrooms. At Jessie Baker School, however, all of the teachers hold special education credentials and have received training in curriculum development and behavior management for students with significant learning disabilities.
Students also have a full range of services available on campus; there are a speech and language pathologist, an adaptive physical education specialist, an occupational therapist, a school nurse and a school psychologist. Unlike other schools, special educators accompany their students to these pull-out programs, and incorporate what students learn there into everyday classes.
“A full-spectrum education addresses students’ academic, social, emotional, behavioral, self-help, community involvement, vocational and recreational needs,” notes the school’s online Accountability Report Card. “This approach recognizes that all students have unique gifts and needs. We have designed an extensive, excellent and evolving curriculum to support all children and prepare them to become productive and contributing citizens. We have high expectations for all of our students, and they make progress by leaps and bounds toward fulfilling their maximum potential.”
But nothing says it better than seeing the happy faces of students who are thriving at the school, where learning is made fun. Students especially love a parent-funded music program that emphasizes movement, and a program where students regularly ride horses.
Project Ride, a therapeutic horse riding program, is located on the campus and run by volunteers. Some students who are nonverbal begin to communicate with horses, much to the amazement of staff.
“I like to pet them, and I really like the boots,” says an enthusiastic Lupita Medina, before mounting her horse and riding around the ring.
In the early grades, socialization is the focus more than anything else, says Lisa Nizzoli, who teaches 3- and 4-year-olds.
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| Andrew Vo enjoys himself during a therapeutic horse riding program. |
“A lot of these kids have been by themselves a lot and don’t know how to play,” says Nizzoli. “But they have to learn to socialize and share. So we pass a lot of things around and practice saying ‘thank you’ and ‘please.’ If I can get them to play and have fun with music, they don’t even know they are learning.”
Students are also encouraged to learn appropriate behavior and to verbalize their feelings. It is common to hear students tell one another “That hurt my feelings” and “I’m sorry” everywhere throughout the campus.
Older students learn life skills and enroll in vocational programs designed to help them become contributing members of society. The school has a partnership with the federal government’s WorkAbility Program, which matches students with disabilities to employers who need workers. And students go to the local Big Lots store for job training. Higher-functioning students can also learn computer and keyboarding skills.
“From an early age, our emphasis is on skills necessary to hold a job,” says Ramaley. “We have classroom jobs, campus jobs and jobs in local stores for some students.” In his own classroom, older students are learning how to manage money, how to use calculators, and basic life skills.
“We want to send out really good citizens when they leave here that either go to work, or into an adult day program,” says Ramaley. “We have high expectations and expect them to do as much as they can for themselves.”
Those who work at Jessie Baker School say that students are not the only ones who benefit from the positive environment at the special education campus. Staff find it extremely rewarding.
“I love it because we get to work with entire families,” says Kim Forsythe, who teaches 11- and 12-year-olds. “Staff has formed bonds and friendships with these students and their families, and with community volunteers. And we have been able to educate families and the community about students with disabilities — and all the things they have to offer back.
“A lot of people may think these students are just receiving from us, but they are also giving us a great deal in return. They’re important in society just like everyone else, and they have a role to play in society. And that is why we are here.”
Sherry Posnick-Goodwin
