Parents win battle to save special-education program
September 14, 2009
Kristin Rushowy
EDUCATION REPORTER
In a surprise move this morning, the new supervisor running Toronto's Catholic board has reinstated a small but successful special education program that effectively ends a legal challenge launched by a group of parents.
Children already enrolled in Arrowsmith will be allowed to remain in it until June 2012, Education Minister Kathleen Wynne told the Legislature this morning regarding Richard Alway's decision. No new students will be accepted.
Alway, who took control of the Toronto Catholic District School Board last month after Norbert Hartmann and Norm Forma resigned, said their original decision last June was the right one for fiscal and human resources considerations, but that allowing current students to continue would be the "least disruptive."
Since school began last week, several parents have complained their children have attended school without any alternate programming in place. About 60 children were placed in Arrowsmith for this school year.
Alway said in a letter that legal action, begun by a group of parents, will be dropped. The parents had argued that by cancelling the program, the board and supervisors violated their commitment to the children, who were placed in Arrowsmith upon the recommendations of the board's special education services.
Arrowsmith costs the board $175,000 a year and runs at seven schools, and is unusual in that it attempts to "rewire" the brains of learning disabled children though intense cognitive exercises. Mainstream special education programs generally work with students to accommodate their disabilities.
With files from Andrea Gordon
thestar.com