BRUNSWICK, Ohio — Northeast Ohio parents are raising concerns that remote learning, due to COVID-19, will have a significant negative impact on the academic growth of their children, especially young students who are on an IEP, or Individualized Education Program.
Concerned Brunswick parents protested and collected signatures on a petition in front of the Brunswick Board of Education on Aug. 17, demanding the district offer an in-class option for parents and students when the school year starts on Sept. 14.
Chelsea Boor, a single mother of two, who is working two jobs, told News 5 she's worried about her third-grade son, who needs special assistance with reading and is on an IEP.
“Some of us don’t have the option of being able to do virtual schooling with our children because of work or our children have special education needs,” Boor said.
“It’s absolutely better, especially for the special education and IEP students to be in-person, that way the teachers can be there for them and get them to slow down."
"Over the computer that just doesn’t happen, their attention span is not there, they’re all over the place, they need that in-person attention.”
Charde’ Hollins, Behavior Health Prevention Specialist with the ADAHMS Board of Cuyahoga County, told News 5 her agency has multiple agencies and a text and phone hotlineto help students and parents deal with difficulties in making the transition to remote learning.
“During this time we can not be too careful,” Hollins said.
“We’re prepared to support to support each district however they choose to go back to school, whether it’s in-person or virtual.”
“Our providers provide telehealth as well as come to the school buildings, providers who are willing to come. Because we want to meet the clients where they are, wherever they may be because this is a crisis situation.”
Mary Powers-Wise, Student Wellness Coordinator with theService Center of Northeast Ohio told News 5 her agency provides assistance to 46 local school districts in five counties and will dispatch "system navigators" who will sit down with parents, students and school districts to solve IEP difficulties.
“Children who are trying to navigate Zoom and everything, and they have special needs on top of it,” Powers-Wise said.
“It’s a catch 22, you want to make sure you service the child, but you also don’t want to expose them to risk.”
“I would definitely make sure you have a copy of your IEP to look at that, but also to definitely keep the communication open with instructors and district leaders."
"So many parents are asking what do I do when my child has an outburst, how do I have three children in the home and hold my job, and keep them on school tasks online.”
Brunswick Superintendent Michael Mayell told News 5 his district will open with just remote learning on Sept. 14 but he hopes the district will be ready to switch to face-to-face learning on Oct. 12.
Mayell said engagement teams have been set-up to help parents and students who may be having remote learning issues, and he hopes to have additional options for students on IEP's in the coming weeks.
