Advances Made in MCS Special Ed Curriculum

"Community Closet" Aiding Students

By David Avitabile

MIDDLEBURGH - Middleburgh Central School special education teachers have new tools in their arsenal, school board members were told last week.

Special education coordinators Lisa Stanton, elementary, and Felicia Hunter, secondary, detailed the new programs Wednesday evening.

District-wide, a new program for social matters has been introduced, said Ms. Stanton. This program helps students with conflict resolution and other issues, with the help of school counselors. Social and emotional learning and mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and trauma are the main points.

Teachers, counselors, and social workers are "super excited" to use it, Ms. Hunter said.

The program also works with family members and is multi-tiered, and begins with basic skills, the teachers said.

In addition to the new reading curriculum in the elementary school, the students also went on a spectrum sensory field gym to a gym in Albany. The trip helped the students work on occupational therapy, communication skills, and social and emotional goals, Ms. Stanton said. The older students took the younger children "under their wings," and were the "best big brothers and big sisters you could have," she added.

In grades four to nine, there is a new "read naturally" program, that has been very popular with mostly non-fiction works, Ms. Hunter said.

In addition to the new programs. Ms. Stanton said the students have been aided by a new children-aid program called "Community Closet" in which students can turn in a confidential ticket and receive needed clothes and other items. It has been very well received and the school has gotten donations from the community, including a large donation from the Esperance Fire Department. "Community Closet" is an important layer of support for students.