I am posting today to let people know that having a child placed in a self-contained classroom is not some type of prison sentence. Whenever I share with people that my youngest son is in a self-contained classroom they offer instant pity and wonder why I allowed such a placement. They say things like “oh he is
not going to learn in that setting” or “be sure to find a good vocational program when he gets to high school.” I know that all programs vary but I want people to know there are some out there that work. My sons class is a 4th grade cross-categorical room with anywhere from 4-15 students in it throughout the day.
Some students only come for the language arts block, others only math, social skills training, or group speech. All these students are mainstreamed for science, social studies, art, music, recess, and lunch. The classroom teacher has a full time aide, the speech teacher, reading teacher, and social worker all have times
where they come and work with the class as a whole, the students also receive pullout services with the speech teacher and the social worker. Reading is done both as a class as a whole and in small group. The class reading consists of the whole class reading the same book, working on vocab, and mapping the story.
Then their is smaller group instruction where students are grouped based on ability. Writing instruction is based on child need, my son for example is working on legible printing by writing small teacher directed essays. The special ed teacher and the aide accompany the students to their mainstreamed classes and help co-teach. My son has made great progress in this setting. At the start of 2nd grade he was on a pre-primer reading level he is currently at an independent reading level of early 3rd grade, with a frustration level of early 4th. Last night he was able to draw the diagram of the step of a volcano eruption and explain how its eruption changes the shape of the earth. I personally feel he would not of made this growth if he was “included” all day long. I just wanted to share that there are programs that work.
Too clarify this is considered a self contained class because their are 5 students including my son who are in the room the majority of the day. They are only included for a small portion of the day. It is like it is a combination resource/LDI room.
Re: self-contained classrooms
I am sorry you had such a bad experience. Any type of setting, anywhere, can be fraught with pitfalls that set a teacher up for failure, but in my experience, most classrooms, self-contained or regular, can be effective if the teacher has the right knowledge, tools, support from administration, and a manageable class load. I am blessed to have a great situation right now(I am a self-contained teacher, ED/BD/LD), but once I had a situation that was simply not workable. It was in North Carolina, a 2nd-3rd grade ED class containing kids of multiple disabilities with limited resources to work with and kids being pulled out first thing in the morning every day at different times on a day-to-day basis for regular class exposure. It was awful and I left the position after a year.
As with most things in life, self-contained classrooms can be a blessing or a curse. I think the poster you were responding to was simply making the point that it is not wise to put all self-contained classrooms in a box and label it “failure and frustration.”
Re: self-contained classrooms
Jim was absolutely correct I was just trying to get people to note that this can be a useful model if done right. If you noticed I said the program had good support. There is a full time aide, and also support personnell who work in the room on a routine basis such as the speech therapist, social worker and reading specialist. The students who spend the most time in the classroom are the ones who fall on the autism spectrum. The class has 3 kids who fall on the spectrum (1 autism/1 PDD-NOS/1Aspergers), the others consist of kids with ADHD, CAPD, and other LD’s. We are fortunate in that our district has seperate classrooms for the ED/BD kids. There have been students in this district that “graduate” from 1 level of service to another. Let me explain. We also have available a seperate school for kids with severe ED/Bd and also a school for Austic students. Then there are seperate classrooms for the students, and their of course is a mix of the model, and lastly full inclusion. Students at the seperate schools get the most intense services with the lowest ratio with the goal being to get them back to their “home school.” Students in the self contained classes get smaller classroom size and a variety of services. The goal of the small class is to get the kids remediated enough to get back into the regular ed class. I have seen this model work first hand. My oldest son when he started this district was placed in LD self contained classes for 50 percent of the day, these classes were in reading, writing, and math. Although his reading skills are still below grade level he went from a 3rd grade level in 7th grade to a 7th grade level at the start of 9th, so in two school years he jumped 4 grade levels. As a freshman in high school he is only taking 1 special ed class. Next year as a sophmore he is expected to be on a consult only basis. The best part of the whole thing though is the kids are happier and more self confident.
Re: self-contained classrooms
Casey, sorry to hear you had such a horrible experience but it sounds like your program was not staffed or funded right. We are fortunate in our district that the program gets good funding, support, ect. It is sad when a teacher has to leave the profession because a valuable asset has been lost. The majority of special ed students in our district do go on to graduate with a good percentage of them going on to college. I feel very fortunate for having found this district—I know from experience they are not all like this. I just thought that it would be nice to share a positive experience. Good luck to you in your future endevors, I do hope teaching is included.
Re: self-contained classrooms
Sorry about the vent….in rereading my post I realize I’m not as over that year as I thought I was (I really though that the bitterness had dissipated)!
You are absolutely right, given the right mix students, teacher, and supports, a self-contained class can be a wonderful place for a student with LDs. Too many are accommodated, but not remediated, throughout their academic careers, which often means that they will never graduate from high school. An appropriate self-contained class can actually teach the students what they need to be successful later on in life.
I did quit teaching entirely after last year, but found that I really missed it, and was back in a school before Christmas. I’m now teaching writing at a college prep school for students with LDs and/or ADD. This school REALLY tracks students by achievement levels in LA and math. It is such a luxury to be able to tailor my instruction to the learning styles of my students each class period. I feel much more effective than I ever have, because I know how each small group learns best and am able to adapt my lessons to their learning styles.
I’m really glad that your child is in a good setting. I wish a similar appropriate place was available for more of our children.
I can’t tell you how happy I am for you that your son is making such great progress in a mixed-model classroom. I left teaching in the public school due to the same model, however. I believe that, although it can work wonderfully, it can also be a disaster.
I had up to 12 students in my room at a time, with a part-time assistant. My caseload was as follows: 2 autism spectrum, 3 SED, 1 Downs, 4 ADHD/OHI, and 2 LD. One student with LD had been administratively placed in my classroom due to major noncompliance issues at the school down the road a piece. The diversity in my classrom was due to a central office decision to return a students with special needs to their home schools. It left me with countless observations by advocates, attorneys, and school system officials. My students had reading levels from K.1 to 4.2. I’m not a good enough teacher to meet all of those needs in a single classroom. I’m over beating myself up, but I want you to be aware of the potential downfalls of the classroom setup you described. When it became clear to me that the students in my room with average to above average intellegence would most likely NOT graduate from high school (I was in an elementary school) I had to leave.