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Ravenswood Fights CPS Cuts That Would Segregate Special Ed Students

By Patty Wetli | October 2, 2015 8:59am | Updated on October 2, 2015 9:00am
 Nate Manaen, principal of Ravenswood Elementary, welcomed students on their return to school in 2014.
Nate Manaen, principal of Ravenswood Elementary, welcomed students on their return to school in 2014.
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DNAinfo/Patty Wetli

RAVENSWOOD — Many Ravenswood Elementary special education students would be taught separately from the rest of the student body if the district goes through with its plan to cut five jobs at the school.

Seventy percent of Ravenswood's "diverse learners" receive instruction in an "inclusive setting," meaning a special education teacher works alongside the general education teacher.

"It can be an incredibly powerful model," principal Nate Manaen said. "We see students thrive."

At an open house at the school Thursday night, he cited achievement growth of 74 percent in reading and 85 percent in math for diverse learners placed in inclusive classrooms.

But cuts announced by Chicago Public Schools on Monday would mean Ravenswood would lose five special ed staff members and instruction would have to shift from inclusion to a "separate setting" format, in which diverse learners are removed from the general student population and placed in a classroom with other special ed students.

"It will be students across multiple grade levels and multiple content areas," Manaen said.

That was precisely the situation state Rep. Ann Williams (D-11th) protested in a letter she sent to CPS CEO Forrest Claypool, the contents of which she made public.

Clustering diverse learners "in settings with a broad range of ages and curriculum will likely create a wider achievement gap," Williams said.

Though state guidelines do allow for such clustering, "Our goal should be to provide the optimal situation for our children, and not look for ways to just meet the minimum standards," she wrote.

"I join my constituents in being extremely concerned that we are shooting to meet only the minimums," Williams continued, and challenged Claypool to "explain the rationale for this approach."

Under the inclusion approach, "exciting things are happening for our diverse learners at Ravenswood," and for the entire student body, Manaen said.

The school's achievement overall rose 19 percent in reading and 56 percent in math, gains he credited to inclusion.

Co-teaching has an impact on students across the board. Inclusion benefits every child," Manaen said.

The cuts infuriated many at the open house and Manaen said he has filed an appeal.

Manaen said schools are accustomed to having their budgets adjusted after 10th day enrollment numbers are released. "What we're not used to is losing positions," he said.

Ravenswood's special education enrollment had actually increased slightly over last year's, so the loss of two teachers and three classroom aides "came to me as a significant, shocking surprise," said Manaen.

Budgets released by CPS late last Friday were only accessible to most school administrators Monday morning.

"The media knew before any principal could take action. That's wrong ... and I'm angry," said Maria Dimond, co-president of Friends of Ravenswood School, as she introduced the #RavenswoodRaiseYourVoice campaign.

"Be angry with me and we can get this to change," she said. "If we fight for Ravenswood, we fight for all schools. Fight for this school, fight for these teachers."

Parents were given the phone numbers and email addresses for Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Kate Anderson Foley, deputy chief officer of diverse learners. They were also encouraged to contact Ald. Ameya Pawar (47th), Rep. Williams and State Senate President John Cullerton (D-6th), all of whom have been sympathetic to the school's plight, Dimond said.

Further actions will be shared via email and Facebook, she said.

Though principals were eventually given until Nov. 2 to dispute the cuts, Manaen said he had already filed his appeal on the initial deadline of Sept. 28, a statement that was met with applause.

"I have crunched these numbers every way I know how and we're still 13,000 minutes short per week in servicing our students," he said. "I really truly believe our appeal will be granted."

While still hoping for the best result in terms of his appeal, he prepared parents for the worst.

"Again, I don't believe this will happen, but I want us to be eyes wide open," Manaen said.

Though some schools have begun fundraising to cover the cost of special ed staff salaries, Dimond said that wasn't an option at Ravenswood.

"Our school community gives a lot. What we've asked them to give in the past is for enrichment," she said. "We can not, nor should we, fundraise for basics."

She feared that with this latest round of cuts, CPS had given families "one more reason to be scared to walk into public schools," but Dimond wasn't ready to wash her hands of the system.

"It's not just about us. We are going to fight for our kids as we fight for others," she said. "The one take away from this is that this place is inspirational. I am inspired by Ravenswood."