Back to School—Cornelia (Part 1)

We attended the open house at our daughter’s school. I can’t believe the summer is essentially over already. Seasonally it has always made sense to start school in the Midwest after Labor Day, given the tourist demands on our labor force. With the distinct four seasons we experience here in Minnesota, school is just the right of passage into fall.

There are some discussions at the legislature of allowing all school districts, and not just those given exemptions, to determine their own start date and not mandate a start date after Labor Day. While I haven’t seen enough information to make a determination about the pros and cons of starting school before Labor Day, I do like the concept of letting individual districts make this decision. What works in western Minnesota farm country make not work as well in urban settings. It is something I will be following in the education policy committee at the legislature.

Well, back to the open house. Our daughter, Sunni, actually has quite a lot of staff to meet for the new school year. There are special education based teachers, para professionals, therapists, adaptive phy ed and regular classroom teachers. If your children don’t attend or one of the other schools that have special education services, this may be a foreign world to you. For the Bergers, it has been our experience from when we moved here with 9-month-old twins.

We already knew through the Hennepin County Tots program that Sunni was delayed in her development. When we moved to Edina, she was assessed and placed in their Birth to 3 program for special education. Our society has come a long way in realizing that until the full scope of a child’s challenges are known, it is best to start early in providing services that encourage their normal development.

Birth to 3 allows staff to come to your home to provide services. This is key for some kids who have medical issues or auto immune disorders, where a common cold can be life-threatening. Parents are also involved in the sessions to learn how to use any equipment or adaptive toys and what works best in their home environment.

When Sunni was 3, we had to let her go off to preschool at the through the Early Childhood Special Education program (ECSE). This provides a more center based environment that can integrate social and behavioral skills into their curriculum. I will continue Sunni’s story in my next blog post. Stay tuned if you'd like to learn more.