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Limited Resources:
The Struggle of Central ME Schools
Maggie Pomerleau
The University of Maine at Farmington
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Introduction
I wanted to get a better perspective of how the special education process worked at my

old high school, Hall-Dale, so I interviewed one of my old math teachers. For confidentiality

purposes, we will call her Mrs. Kane. I asked Mrs. Kane a variety of questions, starting with

simple ones such as “Have you ever co-taught?” and reaching deeper into certain concepts with

deeper prompts such as “Tell me about the hardest experience you have had with Hall-Dale’s

special education program.” We talked about specific disabilities and the plans that are in place

to help students who may struggle with these, and we also talked about the physical structure of

the school. Currently, there is a bathroom issue for a specific student that will be discussed later

in the paper. Due to a lack of resources, there are a number of concerns with Hall-Dale’s special

education program.

Mrs. Kane has worked at Hall-Dale for over 10 years, so she has seen the changes that

the program at the school has been through. She is a general education math teacher. Her current

classes are yearbook, pre-calculus, SAT prep, and two Thomas college math courses. She also

has an advisory period, with about 12 students in her room. Since Mrs. Kane lives about an hour

away from UMF, we had to conduct our interview over the phone on Saturday afternoon. This

was fairly easy to set up, since I already had her contact information. I know Mrs. Kane both

personally and professionally, since I was very close with two of her sons in school. Although

she mostly teaches upper level classes currently, she used to teach a remedial math class and

geometry, which all freshmen at Hall-Dale are required to take. She has also taught a statistics

class in the past.

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Findings

The first question that I wanted to ask Mrs. Kane was if she had ever worked with an ed

tech before. She replied with yes, then went on to discuss the roles of the ed techs in her specific

classes: “they are either working directly with an identified student in my classroom or they are

there to support a group of students in what we call learning labs”. She stated that more often

than not, the ed techs are working with groups of students, since there are only three ed techs in

the entire high school. Each special education teacher is assigned an ed tech, and they then

delegate tasks to that ed tech. For example, there was an ed tech in Mrs. Kane’s class that was

assigned to a specific student by the special education teacher and worked solely with that

student. He took notes for the student so that he could help and answer any questions that the

student may have later in their learning lab. I also asked if she had ever had any issues working

with paraprofessionals in her classroom, and she said that she had not, but she had heard of other

teachers having issues in their classrooms. She stated that, “The [paraprofessionals] that I’ve had

will always support all students too, if they need to. If a student has a question and I’m working

with another student, and they’re not necessarily working with the student who’s identified, they

will help all students.”

Mrs. Kane also noted that there is a shortage of ed techs in all of Hall-Dale’s

schools—elementary, junior high, and high school:

I know at Hall-Dale, right now we have three ed techs at the high school. And I

feel like when I started there, we probably had at least six. And then the middle

school right now has one ed tech. They have an opening that they’ve had all year.
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They have a student who does have Cerebral Palsy who has two ed techs with

him. So he has a one-on-one, and then the only other ed tech at the middle school

is often with him as well, so really in our middle school there’s no ed techs for

special ed students… We never have enough ed techs, ever. That’s the first thing

that gets cut… And I know at the elementary school, I feel like there’s three

positions right now for ed techs that are unfilled, and I know that they are just

beside themselves trying to provide [for the students].

She stated that they have tried many times to fill the position at the middle school, but every time

that they interview a candidate, it never works out, hence why the position is still empty. The ed

techs at Hall-Dale work extremely hard and work with many different students. As stated earlier,

they never limit themselves to only working with students who are identified with learning

needs.

When asked about the different types of accommodations that Mrs. Kane gives her

students, she stated that she does not work with many students who have IEPs. She does work

with many 504 plans, though. The ones most commonly seen in her classroom are for ADD,

anxiety, and medical reasons. For ADD, many times the accommodations include preferential

seating (away from distractions or closer to the teacher) or frequent check-ins on work. For

medical cases, she cited a specific student who had diabetes. He needed access to his phone at all

times in case he needed to contact his father, and he needed to be able to check his blood sugar

and eat during class. Although anxiety 504 plans are less common, Mrs. Kane still sees them

more often than not. The accommodations for these can include taking short breaks in class to

walk, or having access to a safe space at all times. Mrs. Kane has never had students pulled out
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of class for special education services, aside from an occasional ELL student. Since there are

only a handful of ELL students at Hall-Dale, their advisor is only at the school for a half of a day

every month or so. Due to this time constraint, some ELL students are pulled out of classes for a

short period of time to have check-ins with their advisor.

According to Mrs. Kane, Hall-Dale is a fairly inclusive school. Most students are in the

general education classroom for the majority of the day. Some exceptions might include if a

student has a learning disability in English or math—in that case, they would be in a separate

classroom for that subject. The other exceptions are students who are significantly behind grade

level. Due to the lack of ed techs, these students are not able to be incorporated into the general

education classroom, since they are five or six grade levels behind. Mrs. Kane believes that if

there were more resources, all students would be able to be incorporated into the general

education classroom all the time.

Discussion

Although Hall-Dale is much more inclusive than I had previously thought, there is still

much work that has to be done. Through my philosophy of education, I believe that in order to

best support students with identified learning needs, they need to be incorporated into a general

education classroom for every single class. This is crucial in order for them to be as successful as

their peers. Just because a student is a struggling writer does not mean that they should be put in

a class separate from their peers, which is what Hall-Dale’s special education program does for

students. Separating students based on their abilities creates a low-stakes environment with low

expectations for students. Katherine Vroman and Brent Elder talk about teachers’ expectations of
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students in their chapter: “Teachers harbored persistently low expectations of students marked as

somehow deficient” (197). Although this quote is specifically referring to ELL students, the

same aspect applies to students with disabilities: they are unfairly labeled as less than others.

Vroman and Elder also make the argument that students should not have to prove their worth in

order to be in a classroom with their peers who are not identified with learning disabilities. This

should go without saying, however, there are many cases of students being excluded from the

general education classroom simply due to their disability. Another downside of not

incorporating students into the general education classroom is that they begin to label

themselves, and sometimes even limit themselves based on that label. When I asked Mrs. Kane

what her most common issue with students was, her response was that students often limit

themselves based on their IEPs and other labels. This is problematic, as it is a cycle. If we do not

break the cycle, students and teachers alike will have low expectations of students with

disabilities.

In our interview, Mrs. Kane explained to me that there are completely separate classes for

students who are identified as below grade level or with a disability in a specific subject. They

are completely excluded from the general education classroom for this particular subject. There

have been court cases against school policies such as this, including L.H. (Luka) v. Hamilton

County Dept. of Education. Luka’s case was heavily based on how limited Luka was in terms of

social interaction with his peers: “[Luka’s] parents opposed this, specifically objecting to the

lack of interaction with non-disabled grade-level peers, the absence of a normal academic

curriculum or standards, and separating [Luka’s] from his friends.” (L.H.). If the school had put

more resources into Luka’s success, the case may have never even happened. This is a risk that
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Hall-Dale is taking by not including students in the general education classroom. Mrs. Kane

believes that if the school had more resources and ed techs, that integration would be possible.

However, right now, the teachers are scrambling to cater to student’s needs due to the lack of ed

techs, so the school keeps the identified students separate.

Aside from ed techs, Hall-Dale is also lacking financial resources. Mrs. Kane explained

that there is a student, who we will call Paul, at the middle school who has cerebral palsy who

needs his own bathroom, since he has so much equipment to keep with him. The school does not

have a bathroom space that is big enough for Paul, so he has to go to the high school staff

bathroom. Although the middle and high school are technically one building, there is a long

stretch of hallway between the two. If Paul had to use the facilities while he was in the farthest

end of the middle school, it may take his ed tech seven to ten minutes to get him to the facilities.

It would take even longer if a staff member was in that bathroom, since Paul only has one option

and it is a single user bathroom. This is a serious issue for not only Paul, but future students who

may have needs similar to his. If it takes Paul ten minutes to get to the bathroom and the

administration is comfortable with that, there may be other questionable things that the school is

doing as well. I believe that students need to come first. Hall-Dale’s actions towards students

with physical disabilities have gone against my own personal teaching philosophy: students

deserve a fair education in a fair place.

Recommendations

For Hall-Dale, I recommend a reallocation of resources. They are clearly having issues

finding new ed techs, so I would recommend taking the three open positions and combining the
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finances to fund one special education teacher. I would also recommend co-teaching approaches,

especially for math and English classes, where Mrs. Kane seemed to find the most issues. The

special education teachers that are already employed, plus the new one, could co-teach with

various general education teachers to allow all students to be integrated into the general

education classroom. In terms of the physical building, I would recommend that the school try

and find some grant money to build at least one bathroom in each school that has enough space

for equipment and is accessible. If there are no grants available, I would recommend starting a

fundraiser for new bathrooms, or re-allocating money from elsewhere. The school redid their

high school basketball court last year solely through sponsorships and fundraising, so the

community is clearly invested in their educational facilities. If a basketball court is important

enough to fund, then a few bathrooms should be no issue to find funding for. Mrs. Kane stated

that she had never co-taught in all of her years at Hall-Dale. She had never been asked to by the

administration—probably because the students who were identified with learning needs in math

were in a separate classroom. If she were able to co-teach, I would recommend a station teaching

method. This will allow students to work with their hands to figure out the math problems, and it

keeps the special education teacher (or ed tech) just as busy as the general education teacher. It is

the most effective and engaging way to teach students new material, and if done correctly, there

is no difference between how the special education professional and the general education

professional teach. Hall-Dale needs to work on their integration techniques, and reallocating

resources and co-teaching are the best two methods in order for them to achieve full integration

of their special education and general education classrooms. All students deserve to learn
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together, and it has been proven that all students learn more by having a variety of learners in the

same classroom.

Appendix A: Interview Questions

Have you ever worked with any paraprofessionals or ed techs?

Yes: How does this work in your classroom?
Have you had any issues working with paraprofessionals in your classroom? If
not, how does the process work? If yes, describe them.
No: Why haven't you? Is this a system level issue?
Have you ever co-taught?
Yes: What was this experience like for you? Did you have a fellow teacher, or was it an
ed-tech or volunteer?
No: If you were to co-teach, would you put the other teacher in the back of your
classroom, or would you pre-plan the lesson along with them to try teaching it in a
parallel manner?
Have you ever worked with a student with a 504 plan?
Yes: Can you tell me any specifics about this student? What was their disability, and how
did you work with them?
No: move on
What is most common accommodation that you provide for students?
Do you find that this works well for all students?
What classes do you typically have students with disabilities in?
Do you typically have students who need accommodations in your higher level classes?
If not, do you think it's because they are more limited in their schedules?
Have you ever had students pulled out of your class because of their disabilities?
Tell me about the hardest experience you have had with a student who had disabilities.
Was this conflict because of their disability, or some other factor?
How does inclusion work at Hall-Dale?
If you could change one thing about it, what would it be?

Appendix B: Interview Notes

-yes worked w ed techs

-there to support students, working w/ specific students
-taking notes, asking q's about problems
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-expectations of sped teachers for ed techs

-certain teachers get assigned ed techs and then they get assigned students
-never co-taught
-could do either in terms of co-teaching
-depends on strengths of co-teacher in math
-their comfort level w/ content
-wants to try both ways
-lots of 504 plans in her class
-ADD mostly, diabetic occasionally
-medical
-they need to be allowed to leave class or follow medical plan
-for example, cole needed to access phone to contact dad and measure
blood sugar
-ADD frequent check ins or preferential seating
-emotional support
-anxiety
-take breaks, safe spaces
-if it gets in the way of their learning
-guidance counselor is 504 coordinator
-more about civil rights law, not special ed
-meeting about student, look at certain interventions
-monitored
-IEP meetings
-testing, special ed determination based on testing
-semi-frequently, not necessarily needed to be there but need feedback
-extended time on assignments
-for everyone
-needs to be on IEP for SAT
-preferential seating
-away from distractions or close to teacher
-supplementary notes
-provide everyone with notes online
-big projects need to be broken down into smaller, specific chunks
-teaching AP stats, pre-calc, yearbook, college math, SAT prep, advisory
-504s in higher level classes
-extended time typically
-SAT prep 504s
-senior CATC usually have IEP or 504....like skills based trade rather than upper level
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classes
-haven't attained skills to actually take those classes
-no time b/c they're one or two grade levels behind
-need a learning lab so they can't double up on math
-required by IEP!
-lack of motivation
-monitor status?
-trying to transition out of special ed
-every student has 60 minutes of learning lab
-never had students pulled out, however it happens frequently in elementary
-tests/assessments are available to be taken in a sep. room, but this is required by IEP
-they may be pulled out for speech therapy and OT
-based on schedule of their professional
-ELLs pulled out to have check-ins on their classes and vocabulary work
-they have ELL tests
-hardest/most frustrating
-using disability as a crutch
-not trying new things
-using it as an excuse NOT to do better
-label themselves with disability
-stroke patient? the left side of her body was not functioning properly
-learning disability
-legally blind
-worked with catholic charities
-black on white, never colors
-special book
-enlarged papers
-lots of training for teachers to deal with student
-student missing ears
-he wore ears, had partial hearing
-hearing impaired, not deaf
-no deaf students, but deaf parents
-mostly email communication or interpreters
-special ed classes
-if they have learning disability in English, they’ll only be segregated for that class
-or special ed support eng. class
-or more support in learning lab
-or two classes: one reg. english and one sped english
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-they might take freshman science, biology, or the last science would be in special ed
-paper pap? (paap--for students who would never take the the SATs or
MEAs)/individualized classes
-students who are very lowly skilled
-may have been at a very low ability level, not low processing
-only 3 ed techs at high school! middle school only has 1 ed tech!
-CP student has his own ed tech
-needs his own bathroom w/ chair & file cabinets
-one staff bathroom converted
-only 2 staff bathrooms in HS!
-its in the high school, not the middle school
-if we had more resources, that would help
-ed techs are the first position to be cut
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References

L.H., a minor student; G.H.; D.H. v. HAMILTON COUNTY DEPARTMENT OF

EDUCATION

(United States Court of Appeals July 26, 2018) (Dist. file).

http://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/18a0176p-06.pdf

Vroman, K. M., & Elder, B. C. (n.d.). "The First Day of School was the Worst Day of My Life":

Best Practices in Inclusive Education for Refugee Youth with Disabilities.