| LOCAL TEACHER’S POWERFUL PLEA TO SAVE THE DEPT OF ED
Dismantling the Department of Education has real consequences for students with disabilities. But don’t just take our word for it. Listen to Nicole Wyglendowski, a K-2 special education teacher, who shared her first-hand knowledge in a commentary published in the Philadelphia Inquirer.
As a special education teacher for the School District of Philadelphia in North Philly, I am very aware my students rely on varied sources of funding — including state and federal sources. Which is why the potential dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education is so alarming to me.
Federal funding makes up about 10% of all Pennsylvania education funding and helps provide additional resources through programs like Title I and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act to students who need them the most at schools like mine, which serve high numbers of students with disabilities and students experiencing poverty. The $600 million in IDEA funding that Pennsylvania receives each year provides resources for students with disabilities — helping fund not only my salary as a special education teacher but also resources, assistive technology to help students communicate, sensory objects, speech therapists, occupational therapists, and much more.
My school is so underfunded that we did not have a speech therapist for four years. Not only is it wrong to put my students through schooling without the support to help them effectively communicate, it is also illegal. This is the first year we finally have a speech therapist, and I have seen my students make so much progress.
My school is so underfunded that I have to crowdfund for basic materials and sensory objects my students need to get through the day. Those objects include elastic kickbands to keep them from fidgeting in their chairs, textured stickers for their desks, and special vests to help calm them. These objects are not optional and extra — they are necessary tools that enable my students to learn.
My school is so underfunded that I reuse and recycle and make copies of the curriculum because we cannot order new consumable workbooks. My students deserve better than copy paper workbooks and a teacher who is tired from fighting with the copy machine.
My students with disabilities rely heavily on the resources schools provide them. They need every last resource, speech therapist, occupational therapist, and sensory object. I cannot imagine the devastation to my students’ lives if these resources are picked apart.
But with the Trump administration considering cutting the Department of Education and its funding, my students’ fixtures are on the chopping block. We must remember that before the department was created in 1979, there were no processes in place to ensure students with disabilities were receiving a free and appropriate public education.
This is the time to fight for my students, and students all over the United States. This is the time to call our representatives, call our senators, and be present in the community. I am not choosing between books or buildings. My students need both — just like they need both the federal and state governments to fund their schools.
Read Nicole’s full commentary here. |
