After a two year fight, Councilman Lew Fidler announced today that IS 278 will, in fact, get the program that the school and community have asked for: the NEST program for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. This is a sharp turn around from a series of prior DOE proposals for other uses of available space at the school, each of which was fiercely opposed by the community.
Prior DOE plans included a charter school, a high school and an elementary school, each operating independently in the Intermediate School’s building. In response, the IS 278 community asked the Department to allow the school to run a NEST program. There are no other intermediate school NEST programs in the entirety of southern Brooklyn, forcing children with autism of middle school age to travel long distances to either northern Brooklyn or Queens. Often, the bus trip takes an hour and a half each way.
IS 278 Principal Debbie Garofalo identified the need for this program to come to Southern Brooklyn, and began the process of establishing the program at her school. Once the necessary evaluation work was done, it was determined that ~IEST would be a perfect fit to fill the void, white utilizing the available space most effectively.
“The dire need for this program, combined with the availabie space at the school, resulted in a win-win situation” Councilman Fidler said. “lt’s been a long and, at times, confrontational journey, and I am thrilled that the needs of the community are finaliy being given the credibility that’s desewed. Having worked closely with Deputy Chancellor Marc Sternberg and with my colleagues in government, I am thrilled that we have prevailed. This is truly a sweet victory. ” Fidler continued.
“Credit goes to our active and involved parents, to our dedicated school administration, to our local Community Education Council, to our local civic associations and community boards each of whom Worked for this together with my office and Assemblyman Alan Maisel, Senator Marty Golden and Congressman Anthony Weiner,” added Fidler. “Just as was the case with PS 114, this proves that DOE can, in fact, listen when you maintain a positive dialogue and you have merit to your case. I cannot express my gratitude strongly enough.
Assemblyman Maisel added, “I am very pleased that the NEST program has been approved for IS 278. A program for children with Autism Spectrum Disorder is long overdue in our community. Credit for this amazing accomplishment goes to Principal Garofalo and Councilman Fidler for their foresight and diligence in bringing this to fruition. I also must commend the DOE for again proving that they are listening and responding to the needs of children in southern Brooklyn.”
The NEST program will open at IS 278 in September, 2012.
Happy that we have made some progress. Just one comment for thought…in the ghetto they get new schools in the middle class tax paying neighborhood we get..well we get the kids from the ghetto bussed in. This has historically caused our schools to decline hmm does anyone else see this
Hot debate. What do you think?
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I don’t want to be pessimistic, but this is not a complete victory here. Students who have been in the NEST program and have benefitted from the placements who are entering Middle School this coming September STILL do not have anywhere local to go. They are being told to go to Downtown Brooklyn or Queens, and even when the program comes in it will be a grade level lower than what they need. Also, until the staff is trained and the program is in this pretty much can be changed at any time. Not saying I don’t trust the DOE, but they can always claim budget concerns.
Also, I sometimes sub at Marine Park Junior High and some of the students discussed above who come via bus are some of the nicest students I have met there. Where someone comes from does not dictate what kind of student they are. What makes the difference is the staff there takes their job seriously, and even as a sub if I have a problem with a student it is addressed. That is a respect that subs DO NOT routinely get even in schools that the community considers “better”.
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Hip hip hooray – it’s good for the neighborhood to get the kind of school they want/need in their neighborhood. Another outcome wouldn’t make sense.
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This is great news. Is there anyway someone could explain the difference between the nest program and special education? Is there a huge difference? Was special eductaion cut?
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A NEST program is a special program for children with high functioning PDD or Aspergers syndrome (both considered part of the Autism spectrum). These students are picked to be put in with their “general education” peers in a small setting to help learn social interaction skills.
There are so many different Special Education settings, and levels of functioning within those settings, that it really is hard to compare. The closest would be a CTT (now ICT) setting, which is pretty much inclusion (special education and general education students mixed together with two teachers in the room), but its smaller. From what I understand, Marine Park Junior High is NOT cutting their Special Education programs.
Hope that answers your question.
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sort of…will there will be non autistic children in the nest program too? or is it small groups of pdd/aspbergers children together
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The NEST classes have pdd/aspergers children mixed in with their non autistic peers.
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So without sounding dumb, basically these kids who need the nest program get to go to school with other kids. In a classroom with other kids. Since this is junior high, every class is in a different room and they travel for every period. Does this apply to the nest program too? I mean having a different teacher for each subject etc…do they get a “normal” junior high experience? if so is that really beneficial? I am happy that children will get extra help if needed but if this is just a mainstreaming thing, will they get extra help? or is it solely for the social experience?
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The students who qualify for ASD Nest do not really need academic help – it is more for socialization. As far as the students traveling I don’t know. I know that with the CTT classes the students do not travel, but I do not know what they will do with the ASD Nest kids.
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Kerrin in most cases you will find that children with Aspergers are well behaved and quite smart its is the goal to make the junior high school experience as normal as possible. In most cases they are the best behaved children in the class and yes normal children have more discipline problems .
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gotcha!…thx
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Is there a NEST Program for Middle School in the Sept. 2011? and if so, would my 11 year old “high functioning Autistic” son be eligible? and is it too late for him?
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@Maria: I believe the program is scheduled to start in September 2012. Please call the school for more details – 718-375-3523.
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I am so happy for these news, it is not only hard to find NEST PROGRAMS in Brooklyn, but to follow up the advance that our kids have made through the elementary school is very hard if we can’t count with more schools that receive our NEST kids. When could we get the papers for the registration ?
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