There’s a lot to learn about Special Education, but one thing’s clear; it takes a special person to teach. I interviewed Special Ed teacher Kristin Vogel, who also happens to be my older sister, about her place in the field of Special Ed. We conducted the interview on the phone, and I drafted notes based on her interesting responses.
1. What is the name of the school/institution where you teach?
Seneca Center-Fremont Day Treatment, located outside of San Francisco in Fremont, California. It’s a Day Treatment Center, but it’s important to note that there are different levels of treatment. The highest level is 14, lockdown level, and that is the level that Kristin has. Some of the students she has taught have been in Residential as well. The environment is highly structured for students with severe disabilities.
2. What is the student-teacher- para ratio?
The ratio is 13:1:3. There is one staff person for every four students, and the ratio cannot go below that.
3. Where did you receive Special Ed training and certification?
Kristin attended a one-year intensive program at New York University, where she graduated in 2006 with a Master’s in Early Childhood Special Education in NY. When she moved to California, Seneca had her enroll in a program at California State University at Sacramento for credentials in Moderate to Severe Disabilities. In California, Special Education credentials are based on disability, whereas in New York they’re based on age. In other words, as long as she’s certified in different levels of disabilities, she can teach anyone from birth to twenty-two years of age.
4. Why did you decide to go into Special Education?
She always wanted to be a teacher. She also wanted a challenge, and the ability to work with students that “no one else wants to work with.”
5. What is the age range of your students?
She teaches students ages seven to twelve; developmentally pre-K through seventh grade. This is an important differentiation, because students may or may not be tested at their age level. An example is a twelve-year old whose reading is at a seventh grade level, but can only perform second grade math.
6. What do you find to be the most common disability among your students?
Most of the students have emotional disturbances. However, she also has a student with one of each of the following: mental retardation, specific learning disability, autism and OHI (other health impairments.) Regardless of the disability, all students receive health services through the county.
7. What do your lesson plans look like? How do you incorporate different learning styles and Bloom’s Taxonomy in your planning?
She doesn’t refer to Bloom’s Taxonomy or use daily lesson plans. Instead, she focuses on long-term planning and project based units. For Science and Social Studies lessons, students work in mixed groups, and for Math and ELD(English Language Development) they work in groups depending on their ability.
8. Describe a typical day in your classroom.
When students arrive, there’s quiet reading. This continues for the first fifteen minutes of the school day, whereupon Kristin puts up a journal prompt that gets the students writing for another fifteen minutes. After this, announcements are made and Kristin talks about what they’ll be doing in class that day. The English Language Development lesson begins, and students are broken up into their ability-based groups. Kristin explained that it’s referred to as ELD and not ELA because many students are still developing the language. (ask her more about this.) After a short break there’s a Math lesson, and students are shifted into their ability-based groups for Math. Looking back at the example of the twelve-year old with seventh grade English and second grade Math skills, these may be completely different groups as well. After lunch, the day becomes more flexible. On certain days, there’s either sports or Group Therapy, and afterwards there’s either Social Studies or Science. The day closes with a thirty-minute session of group therapy.
In addition to the regular class day, there is an on-site therapist who meets with students one-hour per week of individual therapy. With few exceptions, this is for psychotherapy.
9. On average, less than 10% of students with IEP’s(Individual Education Plans) receive diplomas. As a K-12 institution, how does Seneca fare in comparison to schools with mixed special and general Ed populations?
This is a difficult question to answer, because most students who are on track to graduate are mainstreamed to their home school. Students are generally mainstreamed if their emotional disabilities improve, while others go to a vocational school and/or get their G.E.D. Unfortunately, some students wind up in either Juvenile Hall or prison. Kristin made it very clear that Seneca students can achieve as much as General Ed students, that they attain diplomas at an equal rate of their Special Ed counterparts who are mainstreamed. However, the exact statistics remain unclear.
10. How are students referred to the school?
Before being placed at Seneca, the school district has a lot of options. Most of her students have at one time been in General Ed, but after many interventions, have been referred to Seneca. The school district also pays for the students. It’s a non-public school, but it’s not private either since students don’t have to pay. In California, non-public schools are specialized schools that are funded through the public school system. Seneca Center is a not-for-profit business
11. What kind of relationship do you have with the parents?
It’s balanced. Some parents are good in that they’re seen picking up their kids every afternoon, while others Kristin rarely or never sees. She’s had some students for two years, and she’s never met the parents! There is a range of financial situations represented in the student body; some families are well-off while others are dirt poor. In her experience, well-off parents tend to be more involved, but there’s always an exception to the rule.
Thank you, Kristin!
