Tuesday, November 20, 2007

Education Reform for Special Needs in Small Town

Smaller towns come with many advantages and disadvantages. The life free of traffic and overly busy stores it wonderful; knowing almost everyone in the town and having endless acres of undeveloped land is irreplaceable. Family is one thing that everyone values in our community and everyone prides themselves on raising their children well. However, the obstacles we face are devastating. One of the biggest burdens we face is the lack of educational options and the ability for reform within our few choices. City students may have the option of going to a different school, if it is affordable. However, in our community, we have one high school. The school board we have is what we have to deal with. The classes offered is all we get. For many students, this is may be fine. However, any child that may have different needs suffers. The U.S. Department of Education has clear laws about educating children with disabilities. Unfortunately, in our small community it is hard for our schools to fully meet the needs of special needs children.

Florida recently started an entire school devoted to children with special needs. With state and corporate grants, this was made possible. The Educational Services of America is a for-profit company, but one that seems to make it work. Smaller towns will most likely not be able to have something as large as Florida does, but we can strive to at least push for education reform in order to give all the children a chance in getting a decent education.

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