Some parents are upset that two pre-kindergarten classes were combined in the middle of the year into one trailer to make room for an additional autism class.
The North Bergen Board of Education started their autism-specific program for pre-kindergarten students last year after receiving $1.9 million in federal stimulus funds.
After starting the autism program with 16 students, eight in each classroom, Special Education Director Robert Kornberg said that the district’s child study team had many new referrals of pre-k age students for the program. Because of state and federal mandates, they had to expand.
As a result, officials combined the two smallest pre-k classes into one trailer on Feb. 1.
She said she got three complaints from parents.
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“[Pre-K] was a wonderful program until a few weeks ago,” said Mary Cruz, a parent who wrote a letter to the Reporter.
Enough space?
Cruz said that her son’s play space is now limited and that there is now only one bathroom for almost 30 children.
Superintendent Robert Dandorph said he can understand why parents are upset, but that students are being given ample space. He said that two classes of 11 to 13 students were combined. He said they have the benefit of two teachers and two teacher aides.
He also said that the new class splits up into the two old classes for special lessons like physical education.
Dandorph said that they did not want to split up the various classrooms mid-year and rearrange all the kids.
“It is the same size [classroom] that they are going to be in [when they get to] kindergarten,” said Dandorph. “I understand their point, but we are really mandated with special education [requirements]. We really have quite a few more situations and cases then we ever had. You have to respond to those needs quickly.”
Dandorph said that there is a timeline for the district, after a child is diagnosed with autism, to place that student into school.
Parents offered options
Preschool Director Ester Alamo said that a letter was sent out to parents in the two classes before the classroom changes on Feb. 1, and that they received a total of three complaints from parents.
She said that the half-day program has a total of 311 students and is the highest enrollment they have ever had. Students are housed in 15 trailers. She said that while trailers once housed around 10 children, the increased need has increased class sizes to 15 to 17 students.
After the complaints, Alamo said that they offered parents the option to put their child into a different pre-K classroom, but that no one took them up on their offer.
Alamo said that the trailer that houses the two classrooms was retrofitted by carpenters and custodians to make sure that they had a “positive structural environment.”
Special needs growing
Kornberg said there will be an additional student in the autism program beginning this Monday, and two more students that are still being evaluated by the child study team. He said that the autism classrooms will reach its maximum capacity of eight students by April.
Possible trailers on the horizon
Dandorph hopes to be able to rent two additional trailers by fall of 2010. He said that one trailer will be for general education pre-K, while another will be used in the case of a similar space situation.
Tricia Tirella may be reached at TriciaT@hudsonreporter.com.