NCPSSERS National Coalition on Personnel Shortages in Special Educationand Related Services!

SUCCESS STORIES

Guatemalan 'Oliver Twist' thrives academically in Virginia
Michael Alison Chandler
Washington Post
September 20, 2010

Onelio Mencho-Aguilar entered high school in Northern Virginia at 14 with a sixth-grade education and a grown man's burdens.

He had survived homelessness, hunger and depression in a torturous journey from the Guatemalan highlands, sneaking across the border in Arizona, roaming the streets of Los Angeles and landing in the Washington suburbs. There, he reunited with his father, whom he had not heard from in a decade -- only to be abandoned by him two years later, left to survive on his own.

Many students who face smaller troubles drop out of school.

But Mencho-Aguilar graduated in June from T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria with a 3.6 grade-point average and a faculty award for his fortitude and "strong desire to achieve." Now he is a full-time student with a $3,000 scholarship at Northern Virginia Community College.

"I compare him to Oliver Twist. He has been through some incredible obstacles," said Patricia Gordon, an English teacher for nonnative speakers at T.C. Williams. "He is the kind of student every teacher wishes they had a room full of."

Many teenagers struggle to feel motivated at school. For those who trail academically or don't speak fluent English, the challenges can be overwhelming. And for immigrants who are focused on survival, school seems like a luxury. Many are reluctant to ask for help.

Mencho-Aguilar, who came to the United States alone, was especially vulnerable. But rather than checking out, he knitted together a surrogate family of teachers, social workers and counselors.

High school students participate in Misericordia University’s Occupational Therapy Summer Career Exploration Camp
Misericordia University
August 12, 2010

DALLAS, PA — Twenty-six high school students from five states gained valuable insights into a popular health care field at the Misericordia University Occupational Therapy Summer Career Exploration Camp in June 2010.

The three-day and two-night residential camp gave students the opportunity to learn about the occupational therapy profession, meet faculty and students in the Misericordia University department, and tour clinical sites in the region where occupational therapists practice. Community site visits allow students to observe the wide range of services offered by therapists, including inpatient and outpatient rehabilitation services, hospital treatments and pediatric services.

School Nurses Are in Short Supply
Anya Martin
Market Watch
August 4, 2010

DECATUR, Ga. (MarketWatch) -- Whether your child is in good health or not, a registered nurse at school can recognize medical issues you may have missed and be a powerful advocate to ensure your school has life-saving equipment.

But thanks to strapped education budgets, many schools today don't employ a full-time nurse. And in schools that still have nurses, they're faced with more specialized tasks, making it important for parents to ask questions at the start of the school year, experts said.

It Takes A Team
August 18, 2008

The bell rings and Jillian is not quite certain where her book bag should go. She turns to the little girl standing next to her and pats her shoulder and points, but the little girl is uncertain of why she was tapped and walks away only after a few seconds of asking Jillian, “What?” “Do you want something?” Jillian doesn’t speak, she signs the word “help” but no one around her, including Ms. Allan, the second grade teacher understands or recognizes the gesture. In frustration, Jillian drops her book bag and sits in the first chair closest to the cubbies and screams loudly in a humming tone. All eyes turn to her, silence envelopes the room…

Budget Cuts Force Teachers to Act as Nurses
The Associated Press
July 16, 2008

During the past two school years, teacher Julia Keyse had to enforce an unusual rule in her kindergarten and first-grade classroom: No interrupting while she pricked Caylee's finger to check her blood sugar and adjusted her insulin pump.

"They were so good. They would just sit and wait," Keyse said of her class at Etowah Elementary School in Henderson County, N.C.

It's a task Keyse never imagined when she became a teacher, but medical duties have become a part of the job for educators across the country as schools cut nursing staff or require nurses to work at multiple locations. The change comes at a time when more students are dealing with serious medical conditions, such as severe allergies, asthma and diabetes.

It's a change that's unsettling for teachers, school nurses and parents.

New Microphones Are Bringing Crystal-Clear Changes
Jay Mathews, Staff Writer
Washington Post
March 31, 2008

The little black devices, the shape and size of small cellphones, have begun to appear in hundreds of Washington area classrooms. Hanging from the necks of elementary school teachers in Alexandria and kindergarten and first-grade teachers in Prince George's County, they might herald the most significant change in classroom technology since the computer, some predict.

They are infrared microphones, designed to raise the volume and clarity of teachers' voices above the distracting buzz of competing noises -- the hum of fluorescent lights, the rattle of air conditioning, the whispers of children and the reverberations of those sounds bouncing off concrete walls and uncarpeted floors.

Eureka Elementary School District - Eureka, California

Eureka, California is a mid-sized community outside of the state capitol, Sacramento. Assistant Superintendent, Rick Schrichfield, of the Eureka Elementary School District was concerned about the shortage and turnover among the district special education professionals, including speech-language pathologists, occupational therapists, school psychologists, and special education teachers.

He proposed to the district superintendent and board of education that the district offer a stipend to attract and retain special education personnel.

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