Volume XII, No. 1 • New York City • SEPTEMBER 2006FoR PaRENTS, EduCaToRS & STudENTSwww.<strong>Education</strong>updatE.com10 Special <strong>Education</strong> ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ December 2007New Programs for Gifted &Talented StudentsBy Richard KaganOver 100 parents came out on a chilly eveningto hear the latest Department of <strong>Education</strong>’s(DOE) proposals for their gifted and talentedstudents.Dr. Marcia Lyles, Deputy Chancellor forTeaching and Learning, Terrence Tolbert,Executive Director for Intra-governmentalAffairs, Ms. Anna Commitante, Director ofEnglish Language Arts, Social Studies, andGifted and Talented <strong>Education</strong>, Marty Barr,Executive Director for Elementary SchoolEnrollment, and John White, Chief OperatingOfficer of Portfolio Development, were presentfor the hearing. Parents got a three-minute windowto ask questions or make comments.Dr. Lyles presented the department’s proposalthat targets pre-K to 3rd grade. Opportunities foropenings in the upper grades will be determinedlater in the year when tests are administered. TheDOE said two tests will be used in assessing whomight be eligible for the gifted and talented programs(G&T). The Otis Lennon School AbilitiesTest (OLSAT) and the Bracken School ReadinessAssessment (BSRA) will be given to studentswhose parents send in the Request for TestingForms, which can be gotten at local schools oronline. Tests will be given at the students’ localschools and those students who score 95 percentwill be eligible for gifted and talented programsat the district level. Students who score 97percent will be eligible for the citywide Giftedand Talented School, located in Manhattan.A test score will be weighted to include 75percent of the OLSAT, which was first used inNew York City last year,and 25 percent of theBSRA, which replacesthe Gifted Rating Scalemeasurement, this year.School officials stressedthe importance of havingas many students aspossible take the test.School officials notedthat greater resourcesand attention would be available to makesure teachers are adequately prepared for theG&T curriculum as well as measurable levelsof assessment of both teachers and students,throughout the program.Key dates in this year’s application processinclude: December 3-January 3rd, Request forTesting Forms completed. January 22-Feb15th,OLSAT/BSRA testing at school sites for publicschool students. In late January to earlyFebruary, testing will be held at selected sitesfor non-public school students. By March 31st,score reports and application mailings will becompleted, By April 23rd, applications will bereturned with program choices, and by May31st, placement offers will be made to parents.Parents were keen advocates for their childrenand asked many questions about the levelof teaching competence at the G&T program.They wanted to know if teachers were properlycredentialed. Parents asked for the possibilityof having a citywide facility for the Giftedand Talented program outside the borough ofManhattan. When Mr. Torrence said that theyAward awardWinnerSUBSCRIBEtoBack-to-School 2006PRSRT STD.u.s. postage paidpermit No.500VooRHees, NJSPECIAL EDUCATION (part ii)<strong>Education</strong> <strong>Update</strong>Only $30 Per YearName: _________________________________Address: ________________________________________________________________________City: ___________________ State: _______ Zip: ______________Payment Method: o Check o Credit CardCredit Card (Please circle one): AMEX VISA MCCard Number: ___________________________Expiration Date: __________________________Signature: ______________________________________________Please make checks payable to EDUCATION UPDATE, INC.Mail to: <strong>Education</strong> <strong>Update</strong> Subscriptions695 Park Avenue, Ste. E1509. NY, NY 10065-5024Or Call us at (212) 650-3552would review this issue, a hearty round ofapplause by the parents was heard.Marcia Kolb is a parent who has a child in 5thgrade in District 24, in Woodside, Queens in aGifted and Talented program. She is skepticalabout the quality of the proposal and how itwill be executed. “I think with everything, theyalready have their minds made up as to whatthey’re going to do,” said Kolb. “They don’ttake a lot of the stuff that we think is importantand incorporate it into their proposal.” TheDepartment of <strong>Education</strong> is currently evaluatingparental input it received in the recentmeetings.#Don’t let a psychiatric disorder take your child.The NYU Child Study Center is dedicated to giving childrenback their childhood by preventing, identifying, and treatingpsychiatric and learning disorders.To learn more, call (888)7-NYU-MED or visit AboutOurKids.org.
Private Placements for Childrenwith Disabilities: Who Pays?by Martha McCarthy, Ph.D.On October 10th, the U.S. Supreme Courtdivided evenly in Board of <strong>Education</strong> of NewYork City v. Tom F., which affirmed the SecondCircuit’s decision without setting a nationalprecedent. Justice Kennedy excused himself fromthe Supreme Court decision, which made thefour-four vote possible. As customary with tievotes, there was no written opinion, so we canonly speculate as to the justices’ reasoning.The Second Circuit had vacated the districtcourt’s ruling in light of its opinion in a companioncase, Frank G. v. Board of <strong>Education</strong> ofHyde Park, which in effect became the appellateholding in Tom F. Essentially, the Second Circuitruled that parents can get reimbursed for privateschool tuition for their child with disabilities eventhough the child has never received any specialeducation or related services from the publicschool district. The appeals court concluded thatthe private placement need not satisfy state educationstandards as long as the program allowsthe child to receive educational benefits and theproposed public school program is not consideredappropriate. Of course, parents who unilaterallyplace their child in a private school do so at theirown risk. In prior decisions, the Supreme Courtruled that parents can get reimbursement forunilateral private placements only if ultimatelydetermined through the appeals process that theavailable public school program for the specificdisabilities is not appropriate. It was assumedDecember 2007 ■ EDUCATION UPDATE ■ Special <strong>Education</strong>until recently that parents would have to give thepublic school program a fair trial period for the“appropriateness” determination to be made.The Tom F. case is significant because somefear that it will be very costly for school districtsand will provide an incentive for parents to selectprivate programs over public school offerings.Also, there is some sentiment that the rulingfavors wealthy parents. Those without financialmeans may not be willing to take the risk of unilaterallyplacing their child in a private school,since ultimately they may be responsible for thetuition. The New York City school system arguedthat the Individuals with Disabilities <strong>Education</strong>Act (IDEA) was not designed to allow parentsto enroll their children with disabilities in privateschools without giving the public school programa chance to meet their needs. School officials areconcerned that some parents who never intendedto enroll their children in public schools will seekto have their child qualify for IDEA servicessolely to be eligible for private school tuition.Only New York, Connecticut, and Vermont arecovered by the Second Circuit ruling, but otherjurisdictions may decide to follow this decision.The Supreme Court declined to review the FrankG. case, and until it renders a decision on themerits of this issue, the legal requirements mayvary across jurisdictions. #Dr. Martha McCarthy is the Chancellor’sProfessor and Chair, <strong>Education</strong>al Leadershipand Policy Studies, Indiana University.ADVERTISE ONwww.<strong>Education</strong><strong>Update</strong>.comChoose an animated or stationary online banner ad. Call (212) 477-5600 for rates.From the NYU CHILD STUDY CENTER: ASK THE EXPERT“Play is a child’s job”By Glenn S.Hirsch, M.D.My grandson Tanistarted kindergarten thisyear and I don’t rememberthe process beingthis stressful when myown children startedschool and I certainly know that we believed thatplaying was the major task of children this age.Nowadays, getting ready for kindergarten seemsto start shortly after birth. Children barely (ornot quite) out of diapers are being taught to singthe alphabet, recognize letters and watch BabyEinstein. Prepping for the preschool interviewtakes precedence over allowing time for imaginationand creativity and fun. The fact is, however,that play actually enriches children’s developmentand prepares them for learning. The yearsfrom 2 to 6 are often called the “play years” sinceplay thrives during these years.A child at play is working hard; in addition tohaving fun, she’s busy learning lots of things.Make-believe and imaginative play really relateto her everyday life; she’s finding out how herworld works and where she fits in. Play reflects achild’s world in miniature; through play childrenact out relationships—they assume the roles ofparents, bus drivers, storekeepers, doctors andeven television characters. They set up scenesfrom different points of view and explore differentways of mastering situations. Play can helpchildren deal with changes in their lives such asthe birth of a new baby, moving, parental separationand other events.Play is a safe way of expressing emotions thatmay be too complex to verbalize. In play a childcreates a magical world in which he can safelybe anyone and do anything, such as playing anaggressive game involving punching, hitting or11tearing down a structure. He may create scenesreflecting anger, fear, disappointment or jealousy.Play can also help a child cope with fears;in play he can master scary situations by beingbrave and fearless—a doctor sewing up a cut, arunner winning a race, a lifeguard saving a strugglingswimmer.Learning through play is happening all the time.In addition to conventional toys, children are constantlyexperimenting with whatever is available;they construct things, tear them down, compareobjects and use them in different ways. As theyexperiment they learn about math, words, symbolsand science (what floats, what sinks; heavy/light; large/small; in/out; backwards/forwards).It is through play that children gradually learnwhich activities they enjoy and excel in—frommusic to science to sports to art. Through groupplay they learn to get along with others and tounderstand the viewpoint of another person.Parents can encourage their children’s play bymaking space and props, and most of all, uninterruptedtime, available. For preschool childrenmaking time for play is more critical than timefor structured classes in reading, math, and ballet.Play reflects the predicaments of childhoodand can give parents insight into what their childis thinking, worrying about, and wishing for.Finally, play is just plain fun, so get down on thefloor and join in.This monthly column provides educators, parentsand families with important informationabout child and adolescent mental health issues.Please submit questions for ASK THE EXPERTto Glenn S. Hirsch, M.D., Medical Director atthe NYU Child Study Center at glenn.hirsch@med.nyu.edu. To subscribe to the ASK THEEXPERT Newsletter or for more informationabout the NYU Child Study Center, visit www.AboutOurKids.org or call 212-263-6622.#Do As I Do, And As I Say: ExperientialTraining for NYC’s PrincipalsBy Marisa SuescunOn a recent school day, the large wall calendarhanging in Phuong Nguyen’s office at East BronxAcademy for the Future—a small public middleschool where she served as a principal in training,an understudy for the role she will fulfillon her own next year—was jam-packed withcolor-coded tasks and appointments, all writtenin Nguyen’s neat print.If the calendar was full, it reflects only a fractionof what Nguyen—a 2007 participant in NewLeaders For New Schools, a national non-profitthat selects and trains accomplished educatorsto become urban principals—got done in a day.Nguyen is part of a growing cadre of educatorsacross the city and country who are training tobecome principals by spending a year essentiallydoing what principals do, guided by targeted supportand rigorous training.During her residence year, Nguyen’s typicalwork day looked like this: she arrived at school by7 am for an hour of what she called “quiet time,”which amounted to completing hefty amounts ofpaperwork, including writing observations andsuggestions for teachers whose classrooms shehad visited. At 7:45, Nguyen walked the hallsand greeted students and staff; at 8 am, she performed“morning duty,” supervising breakfast inthe cafeteria. For the rest of the morning, onceclasses began, Nguyen visited classrooms andworked on three ongoing projects: developing amath literacy curriculum, enhancing data driveninstruction, and building instructional leadersamong her staff. Then, it was lunch duty in thecontinued to page 17Neuropsychological, learNiNg Disability aNDatteNtioN Deficit DisorDer evaluatioNs aND treatmeNtExtended time evaluations, Cognitive Remediation,Neurofeedback, Tutoring, PsychotherapyChildren, Adolescents, Adults1J. Lawrence Thomas, Ph.D. DirectorFaculty, NYU Medical CenterInternational Dyslexia Association, Board of Directors19 West 34th st., peNthouse, NeW york, Ny 10001 • 212.268.8900Nurosvcs@aol.com • WWW.thebraiNcliNic.com
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