After learning there weren’t any options in Belmont that would meet her son’s needs, Belmont resident Rachel Watson started sending him to a special education collaborative in Maynard to receive services.
Parents don’t have much choice in that situation, according to Watson, who serves as the co-chair of the Special Education Parent Advisory Council (SEPAC).
“It’s just a matter of which [program] and how far,” she said.
Watson started putting her 10-year-old on the van to commute half an hour each way.
“He’s tired,” she said. “His physical makeup is such that he tires more easily, [and] his disabilities mean that learning is more effortful for him. And then he also has to take out another chunk from the energy bank just to get to school.”
Some students get up as early as 5 a.m. to make their commutes, according to Watson.
“By the time they get home, they’re toast,” she said.
Choosing the right special education program can be a weighty decision for parents.
“You only have this many years to educate your child,” said Belmont resident Mary Jo Peterman. “As a parent, I’m going to maximize the academic potential of my child to the best of [their] ability.”
Belmont schools are in the process of expanding in-district special education services based on the recommendations of a special education audit received by the district last February.
The audit was conducted to determine the feasibility of increasing special education services in Belmont and what those services might look like.
According to the audit, approximately 540 students qualified for special education services in fiscal year 2023. As of June 2023, there were approximately 150 students in out-of-district placements.
Becoming “Out-of-District”
Peterman said children labeled disruptive in Belmont’s general education classrooms are often given aides to assist them with their learning, but these aides are not always trained in special education.
Superintendent Jill Geiser said during a School Committee meeting on Dec. 3 that social workers also monitor student progress by attending Individualized Education Plan (IEP) meetings and completing IEP progress reports.
Students who cannot stay in general education classrooms are referred to outside programs, including the Lexington Arlington Burlington Bedford Belmont (LABBB) Collaborative.
Although the LABBB program is housed in several Belmont schools, students in the collaborative are considered “out-of-district.”
Watson said one of the challenges with being designated as “out-of-district” is these students’ families often miss school-wide communications.
“We had to ask five times to get [students’] names on the list for school pictures one year,” she said.
The district is considering ways to reach families with students in the LABBB program more effectively.
At a Town Meeting on Nov. 20, Town Meeting members voted to authorize a contract for a new student information system to improve overall communications with Belmont students and families.
According to a special education implementation plan presented by Superintendent Jill Geiser at a School Committee meeting on June 4, “the district is [also] currently revising its communication systems, which should improve how communication is sent and make it more accessible to send to LABBB staff and families.”
Joining the LABBB Collaborative
Belmont resident Yamini Howe made the decision to transfer her daughter to the LABBB Collaborative starting in kindergarten.
“It was an emotional journey,” said Howe. “At that time, I was hopeful she could stay in the same elementary school as her sister … but there were limited choices or options presented.”
Howe found the LABBB community supportive.
“One of the things I was looking forward to, which occurred, is having teachers that just understand the needs without having to teach or explain to them what the needs are,” Howe said.
She said a challenge has been advocating for inclusion opportunities for her daughter as a LABBB student in Belmont.
“Recreational activities in Belmont have been slim for my daughter due to funding and lack of space,” Howe said.
Peterman contrasted Belmont with Burlington, where her daughter encountered many opportunities to join recreational teams and clubs as a student in the LABBB Collaborative.
“I am grateful the Burlington High School has given her inclusion opportunities,” said Peterman. “She was on the swim team. She’s in the chorus. She went to Disney last year with the whole band and chorus to compete.”
“When you create an environment that says, ‘Yes, you’re part of the team. Yes, you are welcome here,’” she added. “You know, it doesn’t have to [cost] tons of money.”
Increasing Access
As a result of Belmont’s special education audit, two in-district programs were piloted this fall: a language-based learning disability program at Chenery Upper Elementary School and a therapeutic social-emotional learning program at Belmont High School (the Harbor Program).
The language-based learning disability program supports elementary students in connecting symbols to sounds, while the social-emotional learning program supports high school students with social, emotional, and mental health development, said Geiser.
According to the district’s implementation plan, Belmont is also looking into ways to increase inclusion opportunities for LABBB students, including supporting principals in partnering with LABBB staff to identify inclusion opportunities at their schools and increasing “opportunities for disability awareness and neurodiversity education for typically developing peers to foster an environment of inclusion and belonging.”
The district is also looking into professional development opportunities for staff, including workshops “with a focus on supporting students with disabilities in the regular education setting,” according to the implementation plan.
Watson said education about neurodiversity and disability is a vital step.
“When we talk about diversity, equity and inclusion, everybody’s super happy to talk about different cultures and different races,” she said. “We need to talk about disability. We need to talk about autistic communication styles. We need to talk about what ADHD [is] and what [that] might that look like …. We need to talk about what dyslexia [is]. We need to talk about what these things are … and we need to talk about how we get along together.”