Broach School

Jeremiah Working on His Individualized Reading Lesson at Broach School

It has been a very long time since I posted anything about Jeremiah. That's because it has been a very unpredictable time for him and I wasn't entirely sure about what to post. 

Anyone who knows me well, knows I do NOT like change...period! I am getting better, be it ever so slowly (slower than a bead of sweat rolls off an Eskimo's nose in winter).

We had been in prayer about Jeremiah's school situation for over a year when we began to seriously consider other placements for him. Read the article I published with Autism Parenting Magazine titled, When Special Education Fails to Be Special (Issue 81) for a glimpse at some hints  about why we were looking for a new school in the first place. It had become a necessity, not optional.

We applied at two schools. One put us on a waiting list that could see Jeremiah well past the age of 22 before he ever won that lottery. One school, after reading his ABA report said, "Thanks, but no thanks." Looking back, I can see God's hand in these closed doors, as they were charter or public school options and Jeremiah would not have been allowed to have his one-on-one ABA with him...a sure recipe for disaster.

We had pretty much resigned to another year of his current placement when we were in line at Dairy Queen for the end-of-season ice cream party for Buddy Baseball. I was talking to another player's mom and we were commiserating about the perils of special needs and puberty in our sons. She mentioned how blessed and thankful they were for his school. My ears perked up. After more conversation, I went home, looked up the school online, and talked it over with John. We prayed for a week or two and then decided to apply.

Broach School is run by Children's Education Services, a Christian education provider. The principal called me the week before Thanksgiving break and set up a time to speak with John and I. She was gracious, kind, sympathetic to our plight to find the best possible education for Jeremiah in the time he has left in school, and super informative. She didn't sugar coat things and didn't try to sell us the moon. She simply said that Jeremiah would learn and be loved at her school. She offered to let him shadow for one whole day before the holiday break and we agreed.

After that day spent in a classroom with his ABA (who wholeheartedly approved of the new school) and surrounded by peers closer to his age and ability, we made the decision to switch schools, but wait until after the Christmas break to do so. We knew the transition would be easier that way and it worked out best for his McKay scholarship so that the new school would not have to rely on the old school to send them funds for part of that last quarter.

Still, it was a hard decision, not made lightly or without much prayer, and ultimately, only time would tell if we had truly made the right decision or not. And, as is my obsessive-compulsive, leave-no-stone-unturned way, I made a physical list of the pros and cons of switching schools so that I could see in black and white what my heart already knew what was the best choice for Jeremiah...notice I didn't say the comfortable choice for me! Giving our notice to the old school and answering all of the questions as to why we were relocating him was most uncomfortable.

Here is my list:

Former School:
Pros:

• Garden – However, Jeremiah has not done any actual gardening in the garden since his first year there. Gardening was supposed to be each class’s science. The last two years, no gardening has happened at all.
• Sensory Gym – Jeremiah needed and loved this his first two years. Now he is simply too big for it and it is unstructured time that tempts him to misbehave.
• Better technology and newer/more updated building/classrooms/playground – nice paint on walls, flat screen TV’s in all of the rooms, new carpet, etc…
• Close to home – about 7 minutes away.
• Lunch Service – Though at $5/day, we only order once a week for Jeremiah anyway. He packs his lunch the rest of the week.
• Calm down room – admittedly, Jeremiah has had to frequent this room often.
• Community-based training for older kids.
• School run by two families with special needs kids of their own.
• On-site speech therapy.

 Cons:

• Approximately 3 hours of unstructured time daily – leftover elective time, task box time, sensory gym time, recess, quiet time, time spent waiting for other kids to have PCM implemented or teacher to regain control of the classroom due to behavioral issues, movie times on Fridays.
• Most classmates are non-verbal and so there are no peers that Jeremiah can learn/practice social cues from/with (eye contact, conversation skills, etc…)
• Neither teacher nor aide are licensed teachers with college education in special needs education. This year’s teacher is a parent of a student at the south Tampa campus. Last year’s teacher was principal’s brother-in-law.
• No continuity of teachers – though Jerry has for the most part stayed with the same kids/class from year to year, including the two teachers who filled in one year when one of his teachers resigned/was let go early, he has had 6 different teachers in 3 ½ years (Jessica, Tiffany N., other Ms. Tiffany, Gaby, Paul, Edward).
• No standardized testing or other testing of any kind to assess where students are or the progress they have made – though tuition package includes $500 for testing.
• When originally toured the school, we were shown classrooms specifically set aside for life skills, such as folding clothes, putting away and hanging clothes, dishes, bed-making, etc… Those rooms have long since been emptied to make room for more students.
• Was told the goal was to keep the student population at no more than 50 or so students to maintain small class size and low-student:teacher ratios. Currently nearly 100 students in the building, along with more than twenty staff when you consider administration, teachers, paraprofessionals, and ABA/speech/physical therapists.
• Car line…need I say more.
• $17,000 tuition – over and above what McKay pays for Jeremiah and so we have had to pay out-of-pocket.
• Two bathrooms with a total of three toilets in the building for approximately 130 people, some of whom are kids not toilet trained or who have very little control over urges to relieve themselves. Clear violation of OSHA regulations/standards. Parents told to send change of clothes to school daily in case of accidents.
• Parents not communicated with regularly on what kids are learning in class on a weekly/daily basis. Haven’t had a parent/teacher conference for Jeremiah since year two.
• Everyone is on a certificate track. There is no differentiation between the lower and higher functioning kids by classroom.
• School less than five-years-old…still growing and learning and working the kinks out.
• $500 curriculum fee per student. Approximate cost per classroom for Unique Learning Systems curriculum and access is $600-$700.  Times the $500 curriculum fee by ten students in the classroom and the fact that we are all asked to provide reams of paper to print the curriculum on and we are being grossly overcharged for curriculum.
• Jerry has been there 3 ½ years and he is still working towards meeting the same IEP goals from 2015.

Both Schools:

• Private and accept McKay Scholarship.
• Unique Learning Systems curriculum used.
• No structured P.E., art, or music…other than crafts in the classroom and playground time.
• Volunteer hours mandatory – I am the Box Top momma!
• Pizza day every Friday.
• Can have one-on-one ABA with him daily.
• Active PTO.
• Teachers PCM trained.
• Field trips and fun events at school/in class.
• Life skills training is a part of the daily curriculum.

New School:
Pros:

• $5,000 less tuition totally covered by Jeremiah’s McKay Scholarship and so extra is being applied to bus fare so…
• NO CAR LINE! Also, taking the bus from door-to-door saves me time and gas and promotes independence for Jeremiah.
• Community-based training for older kids.
• More run like typical school in the sense that they elect student body positions and really give the kids a say in “extras” at the school.
• Uniforms – no more school clothes shopping and everyone is on the same page!
• Classmates are all verbal and so there are peers that Jeremiah can learn/practice social cues from/with (eye contact, conversation skills, etc…)
• Teachers are all licensed teachers with college educations in special needs education. Most also have ABA background.
• Continuity of teachers – met the lead teacher who stated that she would “never want to work anywhere else.” That is the sign of a healthy school!
• Standardized testing three times a year to assess where students are or the progress they have made – done verbally for non-readers.
• Independence of students encouraged. They walk to the lunchroom with their lunches unsupervised and are allowed to go to the restroom unattended.
• Small student population – definitely under 100 students for small class size and low-student:teacher ratios.
• Ample bathrooms to accommodate number of students/staff.
• Parents given access to a communication app where they can login to student’s classroom and see daily notes/updates from teacher on what class is working on and how their student is doing.
• App students with phones or iPads can access to answer teacher questions and play learning games that boost their grades and record for the teachers their response times to questions and give them a more accurate indicator of where they are. Laptops and iPads available for students who don’t have their own.
• There are three tracks for the kids to be on, regardless of elementary, middle school, or high school. There is high school diploma track, certificate track, and life skills track, each tailored to meet the individual needs of students.
• Children’s Educational Services runs the 7 schools statewide and they have been around since 2009.
• Christian-based – They teach character as a part of their curriculum.
• Develop sports teams and arrange games between different CES schools in the state.
• Only unstructured time is approximately 20 minutes at the end of the day to pack up and get ready to go home.
• Statistically, students that begin attending this school behind “catch up” to where they need to be or at least make significant progress by the end of the first year.
• Each child is given their own login to Unique Learning Systems where curriculum tailored to their level is available. They actually complete a portion of their daily work online. Teacher also prints worksheets from their profile to match their level. Whole class may be covering kinetic and potential energy in science, but each child in the class is taught it on their level so they can understand it.
• They teach ASL the last hour of every day to all of the students.

 Cons:

• Further away – but this was already resolved with the pro of him taking the bus.
• Campus/classrooms/playground older and not as up-to-date.

So there you have it, a sneak peak inside my crazy train brain! But making this list helped me see things objectively, from a good perspective, and not through the lens of my emotions. Jeremiah had been at his old school for three years. He had friends there. He was comfortable and knew the routine there. They had seen him through some pretty rough years between puberty and his superior mesenteric artery syndrome. 

But when it came right down to it, Jeremiah goes to school to learn. Period. And when learning is not taking place and regression is even occurring, you have to make decisions that may make people uncomfortable, hurt feelings, and even offend others. But doing what's best for Jeremiah has got to be my only objective as his mom and advocate.

He has been at Broach for four months now and, while the suspense may be killing you, I am going to make you wait until the end of this school year to update you on his progress at the new school. Hint: There is so much to share!