Focus on Education The Miracle of the Special Education Program in PSS By: Anthony Pellegrino, Part II

Daily, the Public School System strives to make possible a fresh life for 450 disabled children who otherwise would be relegated to misery and loneliness beyond belief. Thanks to the splendid cooperation between the Federal government and the PSS, these 450 students are provided special physical and educational needs. This number is increasing yearly as a better identification process finds more children needing the Special Education program. Unfortunately, some parents are still sheltering their children at home because of stigma that is sometimes associated with having a disabled child.

Students eligible to receive special education services continue to receive the majority of services in the regular education classrooms, that is, the student spends more than 50% of h/h day in the regular classroom. However, some students are unable to attend regular classes, therefore, must be provided with special classrooms and specialized instruction. Several are homebound and one student is living in a hospital in the United States because of his special needs that the PSS nor the hospital can provide here.

According to Frank R. Perez, the coordinator, Special Education Program at PSS, Saipan currently serves more than 88% of the individuals identified in the Commonwealth, Tinian serves about 5%, and Rota the remaining 7%. Distribution of students by age are: birth to 2 years = 12%, 3 to 5 =13%, 6 to 17 = 69%,and 18 to 22 years = 6%. Almost all of the 450 children attend CNMI public schools. Less than 10 students attend private schools. These few disabled children were placed in the private schools by their families.

Suzanne Lizama, the Early Childhood coordinator at the PSS, is in charge of children with disabilities from birth until 3 years old. Between Mr. Perez and Ms. Lizama, they care for disabled children from birth until the age of 22. After 22 years of age, these young adults are then cared for by the Vocational Rehabilitation Office.

Some of the disabilities that these children suffer from are: autism, communication disorder, cognitive impairment, deafness, deaf blindness, development delay hearing impairment, orthopedic or physical impairment, emotional disturbance specific learning disability, and traumatic brain injury.

All of these disabled children require certified specialists and trained staff to provide the services needed. Educational psychologist, occupational therapist, a physical therapist, and speech language pathologist are several of the specialists needed. For instance, each student who is deaf requires an educational interpreter to be with him/her in all classes to interpret spoken English into sign language. Also each student with a severe cognitive disability with behavioral aspects needs nearly onetoone supervision. Students with severe physical and orthopedic disabilities often require physical assistance in completing daily living activities such as toileting, showering and eating.

Mr. Perez stated that a staff of 141 handles the workload involved in making sure that the children receive the proper services. Fortunately, the U.S. government is funding the program by giving the PSS approximately $6,000,000 annually. However, this is insufficient to service the needs properly. As a result of high competitive salaries, certified specialists have become increasingly difficult to hire. Special buses are needed, and funds for specialized wheel chairs and other equipment are not available. Special classrooms are also needed to accommodate these children.

Call Mr. Perez at 6643730 or Ms. Lizama at 6643754 for more information.

Let us appreciate one of the little understood important phases of educational needs that the PSS is performing. This wonderful job is sadly never mentioned when we are prone to hurl brickbats at PSS.