“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV 2011).
As we read in the Bible passage above, God has a plan for each of us. What a blessing it is to remember this as we work with God’s children. God is guiding us every step of the way, ensuring that these children receive the message of God’s Word in a loving, caring environment. Our children come from many different backgrounds, with differing abilities. Some of these children may have various learning disabilities or special needs, including ADHD, autism, or giftedness. WELS schools should strive to serve these children. As you read this article, I want you to think about what we as WELS educators can do to help the children God has placed in our care and to keep these children at WELS schools.
For nine years, I had the opportunity to teach many students in WELS elementary schools, including many students who had special needs. As the number of students diagnosed with special needs steadily increased (Smith, 2009), my goal was to help each student learn as an individual, according to his or her needs. It was evident to me, however, that not all WELS teachers had the same passion, or the education, to properly teach children with special needs. This saddened me. I believe training in this area is imperative, because many WELS schools serve students with varying abilities, both with and without disabilities.
What will happen if the number of students with special needs continues to increase and the WELS does not have individuals properly trained in this area? What will happen to these students who are also children of God? What will happen to enrollment at Lutheran schools? These are questions WELS leaders and teachers need to consider. My hope is that these individuals will consider the role of WELS schools. WELS schools are Christ-centered. When staff cannot meet the educational needs of a student with a disability and thereby must send the student away, WELS schools have failed to provide the child with a Christ-centered education.
After obtaining my master’s degree in cross categorical special education, I was determined to find ways to help keep students with special needs at our WELS schools, ensuring that each child’s needs were met, including the need to hear and learn God’s Word. Recently, in my doctoral program, I completed a study on special education in WELS elementary schools. I strongly feel that what I found, and the conclusions I drew from the data, communicate a great need to address special education at WELS schools.
Research Study Findings
Through my study, I surveyed WELS elementary school principals to determine the number of resources available for students with special needs, the number of students with special needs WELS schools are currently serving, and principals’ perceptions regarding the implementation of special education. From the target population of 312 principals, 86 individuals responded, yielding a 27.5 % response rate. Although the number of responses was much lower than expected, adequate information was derived from the data collection and analysis. The responding principals reported serving 871 students who are diagnosed with special needs and requiring accommodations / modifications in their schools. However, those same principals reported only seven teachers with degrees or certifications in special education. Currently, many WELS schools are ill-equipped to serve all students.
WELS leaders and teachers should assess the needs at each educational facility and gain a better understanding of how to properly educate students with special needs. WELS teachers can take opportunities to learn about and obtain degrees in special education through programs including MLC’s new special education degree. MLC Vice-President David Wendler stated, “We envision some MLC students adding a special education major to their elementary education major and, upon graduation, being superbly qualified to serve not only as a regular classroom teacher but also as a resource for the school’s special needs children, their parents, and other faculty members.”
As we move forward and steps are taken to increase the number of individuals educated in this area, the hope is that we will stop turning students away because of special needs.
Written by Dr. Tracey Enser.
Dr. Enser is the elementary behavioral disorders teacher at Prairie Learning Center in Olathe, KS. She also served as as a first and second grade teacher for nine years at WELS elementary schools.
References
NIV (2011). The Holy Bible. Retrieved from http://www.biblegateway.com
Smith, L. (2009). Schools face huge rise in special needs cases. Retrieved from http: //www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/schools-face-huge-rise-in-special-needs-cases-1831095.html
I agree that this an issue that needs to be addressed. That’s why I’m doing the Master’s program at MLC with a special education emphasis so that I can be a resource. That and also the needs of ESL students for schools especially near or in urban areas. My niece attends a public school instead because of her special needs, which is unfortunate.
We have two girls, one with autism and one who is potentially ADHD (not yet formally diagnosed). The WELS school we enrolled them in had to turn the one with autism away entirely and our first grader struggled with sitting still in class and following tasks in a class of 21 kids. The noise and and cramped classroom was not a problem for her classmates, but our girl had a sensitivity out of the typical range for kids her age. She also had trouble with social interaction and keeping her hands to herself. These are all classic signs of some sort of neuro-cognitive issues that were unable to be addressed with real solutions without the intervention of the public school special needs staff in our area. We kept our oldest in the WELS school and put the younger child with autism in the pre-K program at the local public school (they had excellent speech therapists and psychologists who specialized in her special needs). Academically and spiritually, the WELS school was top notch, but when it comes to serving kids with special needs, there seemed to be a vacuum of knowledge. We were referred to Christian Family Services, but our insurance did not cover their services at a place nearby. I’m deeply troubled by solving the dilemma of providing our daughters the spiritual growth for their souls from a WELS school, but being forced to send them to public school that can serve the needs of their unique brains! What is a parent to do?
It would be interesting to find out the number of children who were not enrolled in their parochial school because there was not a spec ed teacher available.
That is a study that I thought about doing in the future. I agree that it would be interesting!
I recently worked with an autism specialist from our area public school. She admitted that when she began to help to diagnose and help Lutheran or other private school teachers with autistic children in their classrooms, she was sure that she would be recommending that these students be put into public school for special help. To her surprise, she found that these children she was asked to visit were already receiving special help. She told me that in our schools, our teachers see a need and meet it creatively or practically without being instructed in a formal way. I think that our love for the children shows in that we are willing to make changes or modify things only because we can see what is needed. We just do it! Of course, I realize that this does not apply in every case or with every special need, and specialized education would be a real gift to our synod. I just think we should recognize how many of these children are thriving in our classrooms right now!
Due to the small size of many (most?) WELS schools, as well as the extra duties assigned to classroom teachers, I am not surprised at the survey’s findings re. the small number of WELS teachers with formal special ed certification. However, WELS schools may be availing themselves of other resources to help educate students with special needs, such as visiting specialists from the local public school system and Title I funding for tutors, technology, etc. Teachers may also be pursuing training opportunities without pursuing a formal degree / certification. (As a teacher in a two-room WELS school, I received training in remedial reading practices through the local public school system so that students could stay at our school.I have also attended LD conferences and many workshops.) I am encouraged that MLC will be offering a special education degree to equip more teachers to serve all of Christ’s children.
I believe that a WELS congregation with an LES should serve all children belonging to that congregation. Unfortunately,