I felt right at home as I sat in the special services team meeting at Sheibor on Monday morning. The psychologist, grade advisors, special education teacher and administrators come together to discuss student concerns and issues in the school. During our meeting I was surprised to learn that of the 450 students at SSG over 150 have learning, behavior and/or emotional issues requiring them to receive accommodations of some kind. Many of these children would easily qualify for services in the US but because psycho-educational testing in Hungary is costly and difficult to obtain, they go without. These students are often labeled as “difficult or problem” kids and for some -they pose a number of challenges for the teacher and the school.
At BT, our advisory team works in tandem with teachers and parents to provide educational, emotional support to students who are struggling. Occasionally we “counsel out” or recommend that a student would benefit from a more appropriate educational setting. While this is a difficult for us to make, the difference is that in America, there are plenty of high quality programs to choose from.
This is not the case for students at SSG with disabilities. While the teachers are deeply committed, loving and dedicated to their students, there is only so much they can do for them. And I learned that frankly, the alternatives for those students who leave Sheibor are bleak.
We have much to learn from each other about differentiation, inclusion and the reasonable expectations we place on students, teachers and our schools.
