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December 15, 2008

Ivy League of Special Needs Pre-Schools to Close?

montessori-1208.jpgIn October, parents received the unwelcome news that the Berkeley Carroll Childcare Center would close (the Methodist Hospital wanted the space back). Now, the Brooklyn Heights Montessori school's Little Room, which enrolls 27 special needs kids and has been in operation since 1970, is facing demise, according to the NY Times. "Dane L. Peters, the head of school, said that the Little Room does not fit in with Brooklyn Heights Montessori’s future plans, and that the school has been filling a gap between the program’s expenses and reimbursements from the state," they write. "Tuition for special education students is free." The school, they say, is harder to get into than Harvard, but apparently works like the ivy league of special needs preschools. Folks on Park Slope Parents have been trading laments over the closing and praising the school, including this testimonial: "The changes that I have seen in my child and in other children there have been nothing short of miraculous. The teachers and therapists at this school are of the highest caliber, and are among the most kind, caring, dedicated people that I have ever known." The Board of Trustees is meeting tomorrow to vote on The Little Room's future, and parents encourage others to email Chair of the Board of Trustees Helene Banks and/or head of Brooklyn Heights Montessori Dane Peters.
Prospect of a Beloved Preschool’s Demise Alarms Brooklyn Parents [NY Times]




Posted by lisa at 9:18 AM | Comments (17)
Categories: Brooklyn Heights, Schools

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why do i have a strange feeling these "special needs" are nothing more than over-diagnosed, often times faux conditions.. and harder to get into than harvard? what does that even mean!!! still it does suck when a school closes i guess.

*rob*

Posted by: PitbullNYC at December 15, 2008 9:26 AM

How, if anything, will this affect other special needs schools in the area (Childrens School)

Will they have to take on more of these kids?

Posted by: jasetheace at December 15, 2008 9:30 AM

Unless being used metaphorically, 'Harder to get into than Harvard' means that the ratio of applications received to students accepted is higher at the Little Room than at the college in Cambridge.

Posted by: altervoce at December 15, 2008 10:00 AM

"Tuition for special education students is free."

With that kind of incentive, what are the chances that parents make up bogus learning disabilities?

Posted by: Sparafucile at December 15, 2008 10:11 AM

How can it cost MORE than $1.2 million a year to educate 9 pre-schoolers even with specialists like speech pathologists etc factored in (they cannot be full-time)?

Posted by: BH76 at December 15, 2008 10:17 AM

I'm a Little Room parent and just wanted to clear up the confusion:

1. The $1.2 million figure is the whole budget of the Little Room, which means the center based program which is 27-30 students per year, plus all the related services (speech therapy, etc.) that are provided to community children, totally about 120 children served by the program per year.

2. Tuition is indeed free and paid for by the state. However, the state performs extensive evaulations before it approves payment for a child to be in a center based program. It does not approve your 'garden variety' child who doesn't sit still or can't behave.

3. Children coming out of the Little Room program have a 40% mainstreaming rate. That means they no longer require supportive services to function in the classroom. This is an extraordinarily high success rate and over the course of a child's life will end up in thousands and thousands of saved special education dollars.

4. The Children's School is an elementary school so they will not have to take these kids, who are preschoolers. They would have to be placed at other special ed preschools in the city or Brooklyn; probably bussed at great distances which also results in higher costs for you, the taxpayer.

5. The Head of School and the Board have been completely duplicitous throughout this whole process. It's very sad, because had they just come to the parents with the problem we could have all worked together and strategized. I've lived in the neighborhood for many years and have seen this school change, and not for the better.

Posted by: mmck at December 15, 2008 10:56 AM

My child is at the Little Room. Before he started at age 3.6, he didn't speak in sentences, couldn't transition from activity to activity, could not jump or climb and could not play. I would like nothing more my son to have a bogus learning disability rather than a series of pervasive developmental delays. My child is a happy thriving 5 year old now; these last 18 months have made a world of difference.

To lose a school is always sad, to loose a school this good that has impacted so many is tragic.

Posted by: mom22 at December 15, 2008 11:50 AM

As a Little Room alumna (my son received services), I'll be sorry to see it go. His therapist was wonderful and everyone from there seemed pretty terrific. That said, I always had a sneaking suspicion that we were getting services we didn't really need. I took him there for evaluation because his pre-school teacher had reservations about his shyness and lack of interaction with other kids. On my own, I would not have sought help. His personality (not that different from mine!) made sense to me.
Also, think about it. ANy kid who is receiving pre-school services has probably been evaluated in a pre-school setting which is, by definition, private, as city schools don't start until 4.

Posted by: Cobblekrill at December 15, 2008 12:04 PM

If your son was receiving services he didn't need, I'm envious. My son really needs all the services he is getting at the Little Room. I wish he didn't; believe me, if we didn't have to be there we wouldn't be. I'd like nothing better than to never have heard of Early Intervention or the Committee on Preschool Special Education. However I'm glad they are there and I'm glad my son is able to get the help he needs, and I don't want to see further groups of children suffer because they can't.

A child can be evaluated for placement in a special ed program without already attending preschool. I'm not clear if you are suggesting these kids come from priviledged backgrounds. The children in the Little Room are a very socio-economically diverse group, probably because the tuition is free.

Posted by: mmck at December 15, 2008 12:11 PM

It is really disheartening to hear about people disparaging the support services provided free of charge by the state to children with special needs. As far as I can tell, with two children who do not receive services, the bar for receiving services for children older than 3 is pretty high. Giving those services to young children should have a pretty strong lifelong positive impact. While some of these children might have adequately compensated for their delays or problems (as did Cobblekrill, apparently), many others would have struggled and made difficulties in a regular classroom setting.

The Little Room serves pretty disabled preschoolers, as far as I can tell. It would be a big loss to the community.

The Children's School does have a public pre-kindergarten program, but presently that pre-k program is completely filled with siblings. Also, as a CTT school, it cannot work with severely disabled children, as it appears that The Little Room has been able to.

While BHMS is struggling, for reasons both macroeconomical and issues around educational quality, it is awful to see it chuck onto the street the most vulnerable among their population.

Posted by: Brooklyn Chicken at December 15, 2008 1:05 PM

Interesting that you say BHMS as a whole (as opposed to just the Little Room program) is struggling. Perhaps they are using the Little Room issue to deflect examination of that. I do know that when they presented the Little Room parents with financial information about the deficit the program is running, they also sheepishly admitted they hadn't filed the necessary paperwork to bring their reimbursement from the state up to current levels, denying the program about $180,000 of additional funding per annum. So perhaps the problem is really within the administration of the school as a whole, rather than just the Little Room.

Posted by: mmck at December 15, 2008 2:03 PM

"...when they presented the Little Room parents with financial information about the deficit the program is running, they also sheepishly admitted they hadn't filed the necessary paperwork to bring their reimbursement from the state up to current levels, denying the program about $180,000 of additional funding per annum. So perhaps the problem is really within the administration of the school as a whole, rather than just the Little Room."

Wow, you guys are being so polite and nice about this. This sounds just plain irresponsible. BHMS board should be reviewing the staff and management of that school immmediately. Filing paperwork should be like clockwork and not something that gets lost in the 'shuffle'. A serious gap would be one thing and somewhat understandable, but BHMS should be more than sheep-ish about this, they should be ashamed.


Posted by: cobblehiller at December 15, 2008 2:21 PM

I cannot fully express how painful it is to read that anyone would think that parents would in any way ‘fabricate’ disabilities for their children in some sort of imagined tuition scam.

The evaluation/placement process through the special education system is arduous and often painful. The Little Room program, through intensive instruction, speech/language, occupational and physical therapies has given my child the ability to communicate, play and learn in ways she could not accomplish on her own. If she is able, someday, to be mainstreamed it will be because of this unique program.

This school should be allowed to continue because it has given a voice to so many children who could not speak and there are, unfortunately, so many more that will follow.

Posted by: LRMom at December 15, 2008 2:32 PM

Agreed. Although ultimately the Board is responsible, since they supervise/appoint the Head of School.

Posted by: mmck at December 15, 2008 2:32 PM

I just need to pause for a second - I feel like people think that students with special needs are getting a *free* education..

for children with special needs, NY state is paying for them to go to school - they are not getting a free ride, these children are not getting a private school education for free while other people have to pay for their kids. the school is indeed getting paid.

NY state and the city have determined that the public schools and programs can not provide the education these children need and therefore that money that would have been spent in public classrooms (pre-school etc) is considered to be better spent by putting those children in the right place.

it is the same money that would be spent on children attending public school and actually saves all taxpayers money in the long run - many of the children would need one-on-one paras - costing schools upwards of $25K a year in addition to the teacher and materials vs. the amount paid to LR. again families with children with special needs are not getting a freebie that other people have to pay for.

it is not a free education and students enrolled at BHMS are not paying for something these kids get for free.

additionally, the evaluation process done for pre-schoolers to receive services is actually quite comprehensive - there are several evaluations all done by different evaluators who are skilled in their fields (teachers, psychologists, physicians, social workers, speech pathologists, ocupational therapists and physical therapists). these professionals then file reports with a committee whose job it is is to screen out potential abusers of the system as well as to ensure that the right services are being provided to meet a child's needs. they read all the reports, analyze them and look for discrepancies.

you can have a private evaluation done - but you also need to have the evaluators that are DOE certified and employed so that there is as little abuse of the system as possible. no system is perfect but still... parents can not just make up "bogus" learning disabilities. well, they can but one would hope they get caught.

Posted by: debglauner at December 15, 2008 2:51 PM

Following on the "easy" or "bogus" evaluation theme, I had one of my own children evaluated because I was concerned about a possible speech delay. We met for a couple hours with three therapists who grilled me and put her through her (play) paces. The verdict: she was fine. No services for her. I found it reassuring, and we went on our merry way.

Posted by: Brooklyn Chicken at December 15, 2008 8:58 PM

I could only imagine what The Little Room Parents are experiencing at this point. Having worked with both children and adults with disabilities for a number of years, I completely understand how difficult and painful it is locating and keeping services for a disabled child, let alone EXCELLENT services where a child is benefiting greatly. If the board members are in search of a space to continue their program I know of an excellent property that could support the number of students enrolled in the program as well as more. Their are a number of children who could utilize the services that the Little Room provides, it would be disheartening to see children displaced and at lost for these needed services. I know first hand, while providers of all sorts take advantage of the funding and $$$$ that come along with a disabled child; The Little Room deserves every dollar and cent and a great space to continue their efforts in assisting these children.

Posted by: siIluvBK at December 16, 2008 10:15 AM

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