Issue link: https://fredparent.uberflip.com/i/1077807
18 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • February 2019 Ask the Expert a sk t h e e x p e rt INTERVIEWED BY BRENDA SAPANGHILA Q: Do you mind sharing a little of your background? I always knew I wanted to be a special educa on teacher. In college, I was taught that stu- dents with learning disabili es would always have them. "That's how they are. That's how they will always be … they will have to learn how to deal with it." We didn't learn how to "fi x" the disabili es. We just learned how to accommodate and modify. For example, if they couldn't read, we would read it to them. When I taught at the elementary school level, I believed when my students went to middle school their teachers would con nue to work on fi xing their weaknesses. I had no idea that where they were in their reading level when they le me — in fi h grade — was likely where they would be when they graduated high school. It was heartbreaking. I taught sixth grade my last year of teaching. I had 17 students with learning disabili es that were reading between a kindergarten and a fourth-grade level. I had 45 minutes per day to teach them to read. The focus was on ge ng them prepared to pass the state test. They were allowed to have their tests read to them. No one really cared if they could read, just that they could pass the test. My stu- dents were bright and could pass the test as long as it was read to them. The weight of knowing I wasn't going to be with them when they went to take their driver's test or fi ll out a job applica on was overwhelming. Who cared if they could pass the test if they didn't have the cri cal skill of reading? I came home crying almost every night. There had to be something more that I could do. I began searching for ways to help my students and found a website that talked about how they were diff erent from a typical tutoring center or school. Their work was based on how the brain processes informa on and with the right training, the brain could be strengthened to get rid of whatever caused the learning disability in the fi rst place. We're thrilled to have Chris na Carson from Thurgood Marshall School and Leadership Academy as February's expert! This amazing school has such a touching story and purpose behind it. Thurgood Marshall School and Leadership Academy The Marshall School This was so diff erent from what I heard before, but it made sense to me. For the fi rst me, I felt a sense of hope that I would be able to help my students. I a ended the training and was so excit- ed to use these strategies with my stu- dents. I spoke to the administra on and the special educa on supervisor at my school and was told it wasn't possible to use these strategies in the school. It didn't ma er how eff ec ve they were. (A er all, while it's not the schools' fault, the way they measure success is the number of students who pass the SOLs.) I was so frustrated! My hands were ed. I had the knowledge but wasn't able to use it. I couldn't take it anymore, so I opened our learning center in December 2002. There was such a need for our specialized work that we grew quickly. I stopped teaching full- me in order to focus on running the center. A few years later, I realized many of our students were under stress trying to memorize informa on for the SOL tests. Once again, it didn't ma er that many of them were working below grade level as long as they passed their tests. In 2006, I decided to start a school where students would come for a year or two, catch up, and then go back to their schools. A few years ago, we realized that our methods worked so well for our students that they may want to stay with us long term. We have now expanded our school to include all grades.