Comprehensive Service Site in FCPS

[Anonymous]

I would contact the region superintendent if there were several grade levels in one room, trying to deliver SOL instruction. With no textbooks, most lessons are on the Smartboard in classrooms, and they can’t all be doing that at the same time for a math block, for example. The school is in need of more staff for this exceptional circumstance. It is also hard for the first grade to be on the Smartboard lesson for science, say, and then the other grades are distracted and can’t do anything but watch the lesson.

[Anonymous]

My child’s class had a smart board but all their work seemed to be in worksheets. This was a K-3 class. The wing was built with just two classrooms so obviously the intent was to have the ridiculous multi grade classes. There is no way a child is learning the same curriculum as the general Ed.

[Anonymous]

We toured a CSS site that had two classrooms for grades k-6. It seems to be a pretty common set up and there's no way anyone is getting a decent education.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:CSS programs are for kids that really need a small group for most, if not all, of the day. The classes are small and have a teacher and an instructional assistant all the time. When the students go to large group classes, like PE, the IA goes with them. They have small group art and music classes with a music or art therapists, and often have times to work with those people one on one. There is a social worker and school psychologist just for the CSS program, although one or more of them may be half-time at the CSS. This allows for weekly counseling groups with their class, and individual counseling as needed. There is also a support room staffed by a full-time counselor, who is available for both upset children, and for kids who just need to talk or take a brief break. This person knows all the kids well.
Many students spend part of their day in the general education large classes, either with some special ed support, or without. Many of the kids are AAP eligible, and many of the kids also have LD, ADHD, and/or autism.
The curriculum is the same as general ed, and the teachers are part of the general education grade-level teams.
The student usually are referred because they are not making academic progress in their base schools, because they are missing too much instruction due to their behavior. They are usually half identified as ED, and half as students with autism. These two don't really belong together, as they can have very different needs, but that's how the county does it.
Some kids stay for a year or two, and some stay all the way through high school graduation. Some kids mainstream to general education right away, and some only after about six months, or never.
Many, many kids and parents say that their child is finally successful, feels understood, and has friends. Everyone in the program knows their name and cheers their successes. At the same time, there certainly are stronger programs than others across the county, and measures have been started to make them more uniform and more successful overall.

This is helpful and gives me hope. Thank you.

[Anonymous]

That poster is literally reciting everything we were told by FCPS about css sites in iep meetings.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:That poster is literally reciting everything we were told by FCPS about css sites in iep meetings.

is this an accurate representation?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^Sorry and 18:18 must work at Gatehouse. The curriculum is NOT the same as general ed. That's laughable. LAUGHABLE,. You have 3 or 4 grades of kids at all different levels and 1 teacher in each classroom, and every single child has such severe problems that they get kicked out of their neighborhood school. Its worksheets, worksheets, and more worksheets.

Forgot to mention that almost every child had a super long bus ride.

That’s your experience but as the PP said, CSS sites in FCPS are very different and so much depends upon having a. Great CSS administrator to hire awesome teachers, keep them supported so you retain them, and make sure classes are staffed adequately. I taught at a school with a CSS for 10 years and felt, overall, the program did a great job. Teachers usually taught only 2 grades at most and they definitely did grade level content…and honestly I thought some of the teaching was way better because CSS teachers were freed from the expectation of being in lockstep with other grade level teachers like automatons. I saw some real miracles happen…kids who were completely distressed, raging, oppositional, depressed, unable to self-regulate as 1st and 2nd graders went in to be fully mainstreamed by 6th grade. I was a mainstream specials teacher and was really in awe of the kindness, energy, patience, and skill of our CSS staff.

That said, I heard some nightmares from CSS staff who had taught at other CSS schools. And when we got a really hands-off, passive, fear based principal, the CSS program quality markedly declined because all of our great teachers save one have now jumped ship due to lack of support. So much depends upon a good principal.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We toured a CSS site that had two classrooms for grades k-6. It seems to be a pretty common set up and there's no way anyone is getting a decent education.

Wow, that sounds awful. I’m the 2nd PP that had worked at a CSS. When I first started working there, it had a K/1 class, then 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. A couple of years when staffing was tight, there would be a combined 3/4 class or 5/6 class, but that was rare. There was a dedicated music therapy room, art therapy room, and a support room.

Whether due to budget cuts or who knows what, the classes did get condensed more under the most recent principal, and the program greatly suffered. But there definitely was plenty of space for 5-6 full classes plus full support classrooms.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:That poster is literally reciting everything we were told by FCPS about css sites in iep meetings.

is this an accurate representation?

PP here, not the teacher who posted the first cSS overview, but my experience of a school with a CSS was very much like that one for many years. I’m at a school without a CSS now and I see a couple of kids who would do SO much better with small group instruction, lots of embedded behavioral supports, therapy, a support room, incentives, etc. in a huge classroom he is SO miserable, so overstimulated, so lost, so disruptive and oppositional and my heart breaks for him because he never gets to experience success or self-efficacy at school. If all CSS sites were like the one where I worked (at least for some of the years I was there) I would heartily recommend it. But it’s very clear that quality varies along with the quality of administration. I would want to spend time and tour a CSS and talk with parents and staff if possible before making that choice.

[Anonymous]

Those of us who work or have worked at good CSS sites are heartbroken at how some of them are now run. They used to be under the management of one district person, who had worked in ED as a teacher. When they started lumping all the special ed together, there was a clear breakdown. The current CSS teachers need a lot of support from experienced people, and the staffing needs to be increased, so that there are not multiple grade levels in one room. Just having two grade levels is very hard, especially without textbooks.

[Anonymous]

Just came across this thread and need more information. If a child is ADHD, has learning disabilities, and is below grade level, but has NO behavioral issues, are CSS classes the right place?

[Anonymous]

No. CSS classrooms are for kids who need behavioral support. Every kid should be on a point sheet and even small successes are celebrated, and kids find that they are understood and they feel seen and that they can learn. Instead of getting notes home to parents complaining about them, they get point sheets with happy faces for whatever they were able to do well, and return the next day with the expectation that it’s a fresh start to another day. They are not the bad kid all day.

I feel so badly for the kids who need a placement like this and can’t get one until they have failed for years.

Many of my former CSS students are happily enjoying their high school years in their neighborhood school, because they had the intervention they needed in elementary school. Many of my former students went on to college, including four-year universities.

Current district leadership appears to equate a CSS with the JDC, and it’s not anything like that.

[Anonymous]

You either choose CSS or honors. I don’t even think you can get general ed in CSS. It is basically self contained and I would not describe it as good education

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You either choose CSS or honors. I don’t even think you can get general ed in CSS. It is basically self contained and I would not describe it as good education

The old system with ED centers was much better. Some of those students were far ahead of their peers and got appropriate services.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Just came across this thread and need more information. If a child is ADHD, has learning disabilities, and is below grade level, but has NO behavioral issues, are CSS classes the right place?

In my experience, every CSS program is different so you should talk to your IEP team. Why are you considering CSS instead of services at your neighborhood school?