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Grossmont board takes a closer
look at district’s special education
By Lori Bledsoe
The Alpine Sun
EL CAJON — At the Nov. 12 Grossmont
Union High School Board meeting, something special happened that
truly caused everyone to take a moment to think.
John Hengesbagh, a senior at Grossmont High school, and
a Special Ed Student, not only lead the board and all the
attendants in the Pledge of Allegiance, but he made a
presentation to the board regarding the Students with
Disabilities Act.
His presentation asked the board to “give us a chance,
we can dream big”.
Superintendent Robert Collins opened up a presentation
to the board about the Students with Disabilities Act by quoting
Gandhi. He said, “I believe that a civilization is measured by
how it treats its most vulnerable members.”
Collins went on to remind everyone of the concern that
they, the district, have for a population that is 12 percent of
their student population. He said that, in the past, many
children with disabilities lived at state institutions where
they received limited or no educational or rehabilitation
services, and another 3.5 million children attended school but
were warehoused in segregated facilities and received little or
no effective instruction.
The Students with Disabilities Act allows students with
disabilities and educational challenges to be schooled on our
public school campuses. This Act requires schools to provide a
Free Appropriate Public Education in the least restrictive
environment for students who have disabilities, meaning an
environment where a student with a disability can have the
opportunity to be educated with non-disabled peers, to the
greatest extent possible.
At GUHSD, the Special Education Program works
tirelessly to fulfill its obligation to the full extent of
possibility.
Their programs include; Transition programs, employment
programs, and how to live as an adult programs. Their programs
also encompass the Viking Center, which houses students with
severe disabilities. The true measure however of their success
was presented when John Hengesbagh made his presentation.
Mary Sue Glynn, the Director of Special Ed, introduced
Hengesbagh, who wanted to impart how important it is to him to
belong to his own school.
He began his speech with, “Give us a chance to follow
our dreams, In America we believe in freedom. I know about Civil
Rights, this is not the dark ages, let all the students shine,
we can dream big. Just give us a chance.”
Hengesbagh went on to say that his older brothers were
very involved in sports, theater and drama. He said that he too
wanted to follow in their footsteps, and through the Special
Education Department of Grossmont High School, he can. He is
involved in all three of these extracurricular activities. He
wanted the board to know that he was following his dream with
the help of his teachers and his school.
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