Special ed success stories start with the basics

Shakespeare comes in many different forms at the Patrick O'Hearn School. While one child reads it with his eyes, another does so with fingers. One student interprets it with a drawing, another performs a skit. There is no uniform way to learn, and there is no single benchmark for success. But most children do succeed at this Dorchester elementary school. The philosophy is simple: "Wherever you are, we take you higher," says Principal Bill Henderson. The nation still has ways to go in meeting the 1975 federal requirement of teaching all students, to the extent possible, in an "inclusive" environment. But there are pockets of excellence across the country and Massachusetts, that offer a roadmap.
At O'Hearn, close to one-third of students are on a special ed plan, and half are identified as low-income. Students with autism, down syndrome, cerebral palsy and significant development delays are in the same class as their non-disabled peers. Test scores are among the highest in the city, and the school is held up as a model by educators and advocates.
The school is close-to-home proof that while money talks, it doesn't dictate. There are many more ingredients to creating an enriching environment for special ed and regular ed students. To learn more, go to patriotledger.com

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[FlameAssassin3]

i remember being at this school like it was yesterday

[mikester228]

LIKE THIS IS YOU ARE IN SPED 780!

[miunolove]

Glad to see that this school is doing well. I really love this school. I hope that this school sees much success in the future! :D

[queenofsheba1000]

@TwinBullet -- i know i really hate it

[Tisamoja]

i used to go there and i know every person shown in this video it was renamed the Henderson Inclusion in honor of the principal who retired

[megbet95]

my schools been doin that for 11 years in TN

[45leonellopez]

1= I think that the video is really good and that the kids seem more comfortable in a a "regular" environment.

2=kids get more social

3=that it may be a little hard to adapt them into a full inclusion from one day to another

4=introducing kids little by little to the class where they would be

[GymnastRockz]

I am in special ed and sometimes kids make fun of me by saying your in special ed and I really don't like it when kids say that to me which is really unapropriate to say to others that are actually in special ed like me but i'm in the resource classes in special ed.

[SamTheNormoKiller]

you must be a normo

[Tierneytop]

this school is great. i went there in 4th and 5th grade and played kickball all day