<center>People Making a Difference in Public Education</center>
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Updated: 1:23 PM Jun 12, 2002
People Making a Difference in Public Education
MEA
Posted: 1:23 PM Jun 12, 2002
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Early intervention by Public School Social Workers makes a HUGE impact on kids with special needs.

Currently, Michigan has about 200,000 special education students, about double the number a decade ago. This is in part to the dedication and determination of the Social Workers that are in the Public Schools. Many years ago several special needs children were misplaced, misdiagnosed, and allowed to go unnoticed. Today, thanks to people like Sheryl Smith, Public School Social Worker, families, educators and students are given a chance to work together to develop a special formula that works for the success of the individual student.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) has categories of Disabilities:

  • Autism
  • Deaf-Blindness
  • Deafness
  • Hearing impairment
  • Mental retardation
  • Multiple disabilities
  • Orthopedic impairment
  • Other health impairment
  • Serious emotional disturbance
  • Specific learning disability
  • Speech or language impairment
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Visual impairment, including blindness

In looking at these disabilities it is important that Social Workers work together with teachers, administrators, and parents to properly diagnose and understand the disability so that a solution can be found for the success of the student. It is important to find out why the child is not doing well in school.

According to Sheryl Smith, “You need to look at the role of the child at school, at home and also in the community to thoroughly understand what is bothering the child and making them act out the way that they do.”

What are the steps they use? Well the first step is to use what is already known about the child. Talking with the teachers, looking at school files and recent test scores and decide if the child has a disability.

Step two allows the social worker to collect more information from home interviews and interaction with parents, talking with community members that interact with the child, by observing the child in the school setting and also in the home setting.

As Sheryl Smith stated, “It is important to get a picture of the “whole child”.”

Evaluating the child completely will help the parents and the school decides if the child has a disability. The groups involved are teachers, school social workers, school administrators, parents, the student and sometimes people with knowledge or special expertise about the child.

Step three allows the schools to make decision about the child’s needs and their level and type of disability. This will answer such questions as, “Is the child eligible for special education and related services?”, “What kind of disability are we dealing with here?” and “What is the solution?”

Sometimes it might be a problem in the home that has needs for counseling and other times it may require special modifications in the learning environment.

The last step involved developing the child’s educational program. This is and Individualized Education Program (IEP) for the child. The OEP will describe the child’s educational program, including any special services the child might need.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO YOU?

Well, thanks to caring people like Sheryl Smith and other Public School Social Workers, this means that fewer children fall through the cracks. This means that there is a 45 percent graduation rate among students with learning disabilities. It means that students with disabilities are given a chance to have higher academic achievement, higher self-esteem, more probability of attending college, and even better physical health. The inclusion process in the Public Schools promotes diversity in schools and helps all students to learn to accept others who are different from them, mainstreaming children with special needs into the classroom through the diligence of social workers benefits general-education students and society as well.

Public School Social Workers are people who are making a difference in public education, in our community, and in our future.

Michigan Education Association would like to thank Sheryl Smith and other Public School Social Workers for everything that they do.

The Michigan Education Association brings this award to you.

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Bernero Wins Another Four Years
Bernero Wins Another Four Years
  • Posted By: Sandito all of you who voted for Virg. Well most of the jobs went to out of town workers, like the guys who did the streets, from OHIO!, the workers down town who are from all over but Lansing. The people who have tried to work with him in neighborhoods know that its either his way or his way. He does not care what was told or promised to you, he makes sure it's his way. If you don't like it TOO BAD FOR YOU!! If you opossed him on something gee something is not right in you neighborhood and it is not the citys fault. You and your neighbors are doing something ilegal. How do I know? I have one of the letters they sent to my neighborhood. Good Luck Lansing
  • Posted By: Congradulations to the City of Lansing! You re-elected someone who is totally beyond belief. A man who thinks if your a developer your the best thing to happen to the city, even it your less than honest. But if your a home owner who lives here... So you wanted him and we are now stuck with him for another 4 years. A man who went into QD for donuts, and had to have the clerk put them in a box for him because he did not know how. What a great guy for the mayor. Most of you have never had to try to deal with him, for fight him and his people for what was promised to them and then changed. You wait your turns are comming.
  • Posted By: BradBOY THATS JUST GREAT. I GUESS I'LL NEVER WORK IN LANSING THE NEXT FOR YEARS,BUTIM SURE VIRG WILL HIRE THE SCABS FROM GRAND RAPIDS AND HEAR HOW GREAT THE CITY IS DOING. THANKS VIRG FOR YOUR GREATGUIDENCE AND FABULOUS LIESD
  • Posted By: kI think you people are neglecting the real culprit for Lansing's troubles as well as the state of Michigan.Look who we have in the capitol sitting there in her office,telling us all a bunch of lies and making promises that she knows she can't keep. Don't be so hard on our Mayor when it's our governor who needs to be scrutinized.
  • Posted By: BillMy condolances to the residents of Lansing. You had your chance to rid yourself of your major embarrasment but chose not to. I hope it does not come back to haunt you in the next 4 loooooong years.
  • Posted By: BillGREAT! ! ! Michigan is still going to end up downhill. Why dont we just re-elect Granholm for Governor? Better off, why not elect Jim carry for president?, since this all seems to be such a comical situation... GO MICHIGAN! ! ! Move here!, NO JOBS! but it is such a pretty state.. Keep up the good work VIRG! ! Why cant you people making thousands take a cut? I personally think because taking from the middle class and the poor puts so much more in your pockets 2 thumbs down for you and our Govenor. Best wishes on continuing to bring down our state.
  • Posted By: BillThank GOD that Carol Wood did not win! Anyone who thinks that neighborhoods generate revenue needs to get their head out of the clouds and take an introductory economics course. Jobs come BEFORE better neighborhoods, not the other way around.
  • Posted By: Shocked...Congrats Virg...and I mean that with the utmost sarcarism...I do not live within the city of Lansing, thus could not vote but had I been able to I would not have voted for him. I am a city of Lansing employee and Virg has done NOTHING for the cities employees but cut jobs, benefits...take take take. Nor for the city in general...His motto in the last election was "Lansing Works" ironic that ALL of the construction on Michigan ave was done by scab's from Grand Rapids, and let's mention all the mums he planted along that road to the tune of $30,000.00 that only lasted one year and then died because they were not properly winterized, so the next spring they all got dug up, thrown away and more were planted to the tune of another $30,000.00. Tax payers money hard at work there. City employees have been working without a contract for nearly three years, no raises in site but his staff got a 20% increase last year alone...WAY to GO Virg...shame on you and your corrupt misguided politics...
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