|
From
the Director of Programs
 The
2003-2004 school year has been marked with characteristic industry - a busy agenda, replete
with planned academic and therapeutic events and the inevitable surprises, challenges,
and obstacles that typify the not-at-all ordinary Leary School year. At
Leary School, Prince George's County, a comprehensive restructuring of our academic delivery,
from a self-contained model to a departmental model was launched. Staff and students dedicated
themselves to personal growth. Staff and students grew together, celebrated together and
grieved together and together prepared to launch our prospective graduates into the next
tasks toward responsible adulthood.Similarly, in Virginia, the JobSite program will shortly bring to a close yet another successful house project with customary fervor; the main campus will also look back on a year of growth, challenges and accomplishments. For all of the programs, however, this school year has also been distinctively marked by initiatives to bring the academic programs in line with the challenges and requirements of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation.  Nationwide,
schools are preparing students for increasingly rigorous criterion-referenced testing and
are putting in place mechanisms to more accurately gauge overall, yearly academic progress.
Relatedly, the programs are preparing to bring the teaching teams into the "highly qualified" range
to meet NCLB standards.While many of us in special education remain concerned with assessment methods struggling students will encounter, there is also much agreement. We all want what we have always wanted - the students to be prepared to be productive, contented, and accomplished adults.
Francesca Creo, M.A. Director of Programs |