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More than a month after learning about Randol Elementary School's closure, children in the special education program finally know their fate. They will be allowed to transfer to Allen at Steinbeck--Steinbeck Middle School's new name. But one of Randol's two special education teachers will not go with them.
The San Jose Unified School District voted to close Randol and Cory elementary schools for the 200506 year. The district also voted to close Steinbeck Middle School and relocate Randol and Allen to its campus.
According to San Jose Unified School District spokeswoman Karen Fuqua, the district is recommending that Allen at Steinbeck have three special education classes. The two special education teachers from Allen Elementary will move to the new location but only one teacher will transfer from Randol. The decision was based on the teachers' contracts, Fuqua said.
Another special education program for kindergarten and first-grade students will be placed in the south end of the district, possibly at Simonds Elementary School in Almaden, Fuqua said.
"We didn't have any special-day classes in the Almaden Valley," Fuqua said. "A lot of the program's parents live out there. Geographically, it makes sense."
But she added that nothing is definite until the district knows how many students will be enrolled in the classes for the 200506 school year.
Willow Glen resident Darlene D'Amico said she is pleased that her daughter, Dominica, will be allowed to transfer with the other Randol students.
"That for me was 50 percent of the battle," D'Amico said. "I am trying to keep the move as smooth as possible."
D'Amico was concerned that the special-day class children would not be allowed to transfer. But she also said she was disappointed that one of Randol's special education teachers would not be coming with the students.
"I wish the program was going together," she said.
D'Amico worried that separating the two special education teachers would dismantle Randol's successful program. This was the reason D'Amico chose the school, which is outside of her Willow Glen neighborhood. She noted that the teachers collaborated to tailor the program to a student's individual strengths and weaknesses.
Diane Seadler, who also lives in Willow Glen and chose to send her daughter to Randol, said she is unhappy with the district's proposal to split up Randol's special education teachers.
"The main thing was to keep the kids and teachers together," she said. "The program is great. The teachers help the kids back and forth. That's why it's successful."
She said that it appears that the district is prioritizing contractual obligations over students' needs. "I understand they have to follow contracts, but why can't they put the human element first?" she said.
San Jose Unified School District trustee Pam Foley, who represents Willow Glen schools, said she understands the parents' concerns.
"It's especially difficult to transfer special needs children," she said. "A lot of them have already been to three or four schools."
Foley said she has followed the issue of Randol's special education classes at the request of some parents. And she said she plans to continue mediating between the parents and the district.
"My job is to be an advocate and help facilitate the move," she said.
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