Darien Top 10 of 2013: No. 1 -- Special education

David DesRoches, via a kind reader:

Darien's issues have highlighted a special education flaw that exists across the state and nation. The question over what is appropriate has drawn a deep divide among residents. Parents from several states and Connecticut towns have contacted The Times, saying that Darien's problems happen everywhere, and in most cases, the problems are worse.

Sue Gamm, the Chicago attorney hired by the Board of Education to investigate how deep the special education problems went, told The Darien Times that her work in town was the most difficult job in her 40-plus year career. Gamm formerly was a top administrator for Chicago Public Schools and a division director for the U.S. Office of Civil Rights. She has performed similar duties in more than 50 school districts across the United States.

John Verre, the man charged with overhauling Darien's special education program, has also noted the difficult challenge Darien presents.

"Darien is a particularly challenging combination of problems," Verre told The Times shortly after he was hired in October. "It compares to the most challenging situation I've ever found."

A number of people have resigned from their top-earning positions, including the schools' superintendent, Steve Falcone, along with Matt Byrnes, a former assistant superintendent, Dick Huot, the finance director, and Antoinette Fornshell, the literacy coordinator. Most recently, one of the people who has been consistently named as having contributed to the illegal special education program, Liz Wesolowski, announced to fellow staff members she was leaving Darien for a position with Shelton Public Schools.

Fornshell and Wesolowski played key roles in the implementation of the district's SRBI program, which Gamm criticized for its lack of data and poor implementation due to staff being poorly trained. There was also no manual for SRBI, which is an intervention program designed to give children extra help if they fall behind in their class work. It's intended to prevent children from needing more expensive special education services, but critics say it is more often used to delay providing special ed to children with legally-defined disabilities.

Posted by Jim Zellmer at January 7, 2014 3:44 AM
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