To the editor:
I attended the Beverly School Committee meeting last Wednesday night at which it discussed the school budget for the upcoming fiscal year. I wanted to write regarding the proposed changes to the TLC program (Therapeutic Learning Center) in the elementary schools, presented as part of the effort to balance this proposed budget.
I am hoping that the citizens and parents in Beverly understand the importance and incredible impact this program has in our elementary schools.
I do agree with the Centerville School parents who spoke to the committee about class sizes for the upcoming year, but I wanted to speak to the TLC program change from both a personal and a long-term planning perspective.
I am a parent who has first-hand knowledge of how the TLC program helps children who have behavioral and social issues at the elementary school level. To me, this program is the first reach-out, giving help and understanding for these most vulnerable children at a young age.
The program gives children the help they need to fit in and feel safe. It is where trained educators give them the tools they need to succeed in their home school. If these children succeed because of the sort of "early intervention" offered by the TLC program, then Beverly, as a school system, has succeeded.
If the proposed changes to this program are made; and, due to staffing with less educated and trained personnel, the program doesn't have the same success, what happens? Will we see these children a year or two or three from now, needing a more specialized classroom in their home school, or a specialized classroom in a different school, or a specialized school outside of the school district? We will have created our own downward spiral in terms of the huge costs associated with these kinds of placements, and we will have a much bigger issue in the future. We will also have failed these kids who, if given the help and tools early on, may have been able to remain in their home schools and thrive.
I understand that we must have a balanced budget. But I feel strongly that the changes being recommended are an immediate fix to a bottom line that will have a disastrous impact down the road for both the children, and future school budgets affected by soaring special education costs directly related to this change.
(Maria) Judy Martin
Beverly
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