A Special Class
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Most of the children in Leslie Anido’s 4th and 5th grade class at
Blackford Elementary School are dependent on wheelchairs. But that doesn’t keep
them confined to their San Jose campus.
In one month alone this spring, the orthopedically impaired students went
hiking at Sanborn County Park to explore forest ecology… sailed on a Marine
Science Institute research vessel to meet the denizens of San Francisco Bay… and
rode CalTrain to Sacramento to learn about state government.
“My children should have the same learning experiences as other students,”
says Anido, who has taught special education classes for the Santa Clara County
Office of Education for 30 years.
Anido does whatever it takes to make sure her students encounter the larger
world firsthand. She’s become a virtuoso at securing grants to pay for
specialized transportation, and recruiting volunteers to help with logistics.
At Blackford, special education students are mainstreamed into regular
classes for part of the school day. The school runs its own program for the
orthopedically impaired, in addition to the County Office of Education’s three
classes on campus. Anido’s charges come and go with such frequency that it takes
a five-page schedule to track their movements.
As the day progresses, half a dozen aides help children in and out of the
fleet of walkers, standers and a sporty tricycle parked outside the classroom
door. Students buzz off to speech therapy or literature class in motorized wheel
chairs. A nurse administers medication to a boy with breathing problems, while
the rest of the class focuses on the bird lesson.
“They are so busy all day long, I would call it choreographed,” says Darci
Hammond, principal of the Della Maggiore cluster of special education programs,
which includes the Blackford classes.
Students’ physical limitations are treated as merely another part of
classroom life. Adaptive technology and aides are there when needed, but
students are encouraged to be as independent as they can.
As Anido presents a science lesson on the life cycle of birds, one boy
follows along on a CCTV reader that enlarges reading materials for the visually
impaired. On the other side of the room, another child uses a computerized
“talker” to participate in the discussion.
“Everyone can do everything,” the teacher declares. “It’s just a different
way.”
Date last updated: June 16, 2009
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