Letter: Darien Schools Should Work Faster on Special Ed Reform

To the editor:

One critical, but largely unmentioned, consideration in Darien's Special Education controversy is the effect of delay. When services are withdrawn, unilaterally modified or poorly delivered, children can backslide, resulting in the need for even more services and, tragically, lost potential.

The Board of Education and administration have been spending time and taxpayer money on investigations, additional staff /consultants, and legal and public relations advice for themselves, instead of acting resolutely to solve longstanding problems that affect children. Their answers to questions raised by parents during the July 11 Special Education Parents Advisory Committee meeting showed a tolerance for delay that concerned parents can't share.

As the parent of a dyslexic child, I know that the window for effective, school-based intervention for special needs children is open briefly. A child is young for only a few years. The system lumbers on forever.

To regain trust, the Board of Education and Public Schools Administration must be committed to including parents in making the decisions that affect their children, and actually do it.

Otherwise, every press release and statement will be viewed with the same weary skepticism I felt 11 years ago as I watched my second grader struggle to read and write, and was told to be patient, because “with time, she would grow out of it."

Vickie Riccardo
Darien, CT