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Retired counselor urges board to address communication and special-education gaps in Southampton County schools
Summary
Linda Johnson, a retired Southampton County elementary school counselor, told the board she’s seen declining communication and insufficient special-education supports, urging the board to press the school division for transparency and more middle-school resources.
Linda Johnson, a retired elementary school counselor in Southampton County, delivered a detailed public comment on April 22 urging the Board of Supervisors to press the school division for improved communication, support for special-education students and stronger leadership.
Johnson said she retired from Southampton County Schools in June 2013 after nine years as a counselor at Hunterdale and Riverdale and described what she called a ‘‘gradual decline’’ in communication and collaboration between parents and schools since 2009. She said the division’s website and printed newsletters were unreliable for staff and families and that technology staff respond only to urgent, systemwide issues. Johnson said she had never met the superintendent or the special-education director in her role as staff or as a grandparent of a special-education student and questioned whether the division consistently responds to families’ concerns.
She described specific special-education gaps: students placed in virtual science classes that she said do not serve students with special needs, teachers assigned without special-education qualifications to classes with SPED students, and lack of viable placement alternatives during middle-school transitions. Johnson said her family removed an 11-year-old grandson from the county schools after inadequate middle-school supports and slow transfer of records; she urged the supervisors to secure the school board’s cooperation and to allocate greater budgetary resources to middle-school services and professional development.
Johnson framed her remarks as a constructive appeal: she said Riverdale elementary still provides strong life-skills programming for younger students but that the middle-school level needs more investment. The board did not take formal action on her comments at the meeting, though multiple supervisors acknowledged the concerns and discussed the longstanding nature of the complaints.
