Last Updated on October 5, 2023 by Editorial Team
While schooling can be the most crucial phase in an individual’s life, it helps the little ones gather knowledge and become ready for adulthood. With the changing times and more awareness about the needs of special kids, Public elementary schooling has been getting better, especially for special education.
Various public schools are available that may ensure attention to special students. However, parents may need to do good research for a good option. To help you with the same we here listed out our choices of eminent public elementary schools for your special little ones.
In this post, we dig deeper, and understand what features parents and guardians should look out for, and which schools can they consider for their kids.
Features to look out for in public elementary schools for special education
While there is no denying that public schools are equipped with great facilities and infrastructure; however, there should be some special features in certain public schools, which should be made sure of if you are on a quest to find the best public elementary school for your kid who needs special education. Some of these features are:
Evaluation services for special education
Federal law requires public school districts to seek out and examine students who are suspected of having disabilities. This is known as the “Child Find” criterion. It applies to students who attend private school, public school or are homeschooled.
1. Services that are reasonable
You can enroll your child in a public school that provides a full range of special education services. You can also keep your child in a private school. However, public schools are said to be much more reasonable economically, than private schools.
2. Teacher certification
Special education teachers in public schools must adhere to stringent guidelines. The federal statute (IDEA) and the education statutes of each state stipulate teacher qualifications. Consequently, parents must check if the staff has these certifications. This way, quality may be warranted.
3. Making decisions on where to put things
When a school district determines that a child is eligible for special education, it chooses the most appropriate learning environment and services for that child. Parents and caregivers are part of the group that makes this decision. Hence, pick a school that helps and encourages parents to make crucial decisions for the education of the younger ones.
Some elementary public schools for special students
1. Alfonso B. Perez Special Education Center
The school believes in keeping parents in the loop so that they can be active participants in their child’s education. With just 10 students per class and 40 years of experience, this special public school offers more than 25 extracurricular activities for students to choose from.
The school also has about 13 sports teams and clubs for special children. The school focuses on enhancing the self-esteem of students by promoting understanding and acceptance. Paying extra attention to communication, the school works on a model that helps students become job-ready.
2. Glastonbury Public Schools
With teachers who have received special training in special education, Glastonbury Public School has high schools, preschools, and elementary schools under it. Each of these has a special branch for kids with special and different needs. The departments for these comprise teachers, educators, and researchers who work constantly to make education easier for these kids.
By providing specialized instruction and accommodations to these students, the school tries to maintain a healthy collaboration between students and parents to get the best possible results. Apart from this, the curriculum too is designed in a special way so that these kids can cope, and get an equal opportunity to achieve in the least restrive environment.
3. Bloomfield Hills School
The school caters to all students, including children with special needs. The school caters to students with social, emotional, and learning impairments. With exceptionally trained staff that aims to cater to the needs of the students, the school has a special education handbook that is revised each year.
With this, the school aims to provide the best education to special kids by assimilating into traditional classrooms. The school aims to provide academic skill training to students with learning disabilities through various special education programs.
4. Farmington Public School
The Farmington Public School focuses on enhancing learning by providing students with research-based programs and involving students in activities that help them reach their highest potential. The school aims at providing a safe environment, which focuses on development in all areas.
By following patterns of Strengths and weaknesses to evaluate students with vision, hearing, speech, and language disabilities, the school aims to provide various government-prescribed models to help them get informed and educated. The special education teachers are trained in a way to be more compassionate towards students so that the maximum of their potential is tapped.
5. Lincoln Elementary School
This elementary school focuses on promoting lifelong learning through a collaborative partnership. The school demands parents, teachers, educators, the special education team, and students to work together for the best possible outcomes. Besides this, Lincoln Elementary School also focuses on providing academic success along with the development of skills and confidence.
With a teacher-student ratio of 18:1, this public school has more than 200 moderate to severe special needs students in grades preschool to 6th. The teachers are knowledgeable and equipped with the latest techniques and programs like Touch Math, SRA Reading Mastery Program, and TEACCH.
6. The Ernest P. Willenberg Special Education Center
With 186 special students in Kindergarten through 12th grade and a 9:1 teacher-student ratio, this education center works as a transitioning center, where it focuses on teaching special students, along with providing them with many programs that focus on transitioning the students in terms of development, confidence, skills and much more.
The school has a team of Occupational Therapists, Physical Therapists, Speech and Language Pathologists, Adapted Physical Education Teachers, and Vision Specialists who help the students through the education system, in overcoming barriers in between.
7. Irwin O. Addicott Elementary School
With 51 students in grades Kindergarten through seven, this school gives the special students an equal opportunity to play and learn together. The program and curriculum are designed in such a way to help students become more understanding, and observant.
Besides having a well-equipped infrastructure for special students, and a team of teachers who excel in the programs that help kids with disabilities, this school also provides the students a chance to participate in peace patrol, student council, and other competitions like a spelling bee. This makes the children more confident and helps them develop a varied number of skills.
Advantages special kids get in special schools
- Class sizes are lower, and in certain circumstances, one-on-one assistance is available.
- In both teaching and evaluation, learning styles and skills are tightly linked.
- Children have a peer group with similar needs, so they don’t feel isolated and can make friends more readily.
- Staff members are well-versed in the requirements of children and how to properly teach them.
- The project’s development is thoroughly documented and monitored.
- Students are given the help they need to get the most out of their education. It is possible that accommodations, adjustments, or remediation will be necessary.
- Qualified teachers have received specialized training in special education.
- Individualized instruction: Instruction is tailored to the specific learning needs of each learner.
- Exceptional resources and services: It is possible that you will be able to obtain special resources and services. This includes academic and psychological counseling, tutoring programs, speech-language therapy, physical and occupational therapy, and learning aids.
Conclusion
With more and more kids needing access to special education, it is crucial for caretakers to realize the benefits of opting for a public school. While admitting a student with special needs into a school, and choosing the school for them, parents and guardians must remember to interact with teachers to understand how capable they would be in handling their child.
Moreover, the school should have amenities that help the student become better in academics. Parents should also pay regular visits to understand the development of their children so that they can be equal partners in the education system.
An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’,