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 in response to Ivy League of Special Needs Pre-Schools to Close?

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 in response to Ivy League of Special Needs Pre-Schools to Close?

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 in response to Ivy League of Special Needs Pre-Schools to Close?

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 in response to Ivy League of Special Needs Pre-Schools to Close?