Special edu. faces tough road
Bronx institutions discuss challenges of reopening in the wake of COVID-19
BY ALEX MITCHELL
During a virtual town
hall on education last week,
Assemblywoman Nathalia
Fernandez promised to continue
her ongoing support
for two special education establishments
as they worked
through their unique challenges
in trying to reopen.
Addressing and hearing
from education experts on
the topic of reopening and
preparing for school in the
wake of COVID-19, Fernandez
said she would make
sure that the New York Institute
for Special Education
and the Lavelle School for
the Blind remain a part of
the conversation.
One upcoming challenge
that the Director of
NYISE, Bernadette Kappen,
addressed is that social interaction,
orientation and
mobility are “critical to educating
visually impaired
children and this requires
in-person learning.”
Lavelle’s Executive Director
Rebecca L. Renshaw took
the opportunity to praise the
parents of her students, who
have faced the challenges
of suddenly adjusting to
distance learning.
She noted that parents
have developed a closer bond
and greater understanding
of their students’ learning
process, adding that it
is signifi cantly important
to get these visually-impaired
students back into a
school environment despite
unforeseen hardships.
“We must have more and
closer interaction with students
and must have more
extensive PPE (personal protective
equipment) to accommodate
that,” Renshaw said.
One high school student
from NYISE, Iliana Mejia,
spoke about her own learning
from home experience,
saying that it “was very challenging,
even though I am
very adept at technology.”
“I missed the social interaction
with my teachers and
my peers,” Mejia added.
She also acknowledged
NYISE campus on Pelham Parkway. Photo via Google Maps
the challenges of returning
to school, saying that “it’s
good to know there will be
mask breaks.”
BRONX TIMES R 6 EPORTER, AUG. 28-SEPT. 3, 2020 BTR
Both doctors Kappen and
Renshaw detailed other special
challenges and the measures
to address the newly
necessary accommodations
that don’t fi t a traditional
public school model.
“An arrow on the fl oor
doesn’t work when you are
blind,” Dr. Kappen said.
To accommodate the students’
specifi c needs, NYISE
has placed thin wire covered
with tape on the fl oors, so
students can feel their way
throughout the classroom.
Lavelle has also purchased
new academic furniture to allow
social distancing when
students sit in groups, with
new protocols to limit students
passing items from
hand to hand.
Both schools plan to keep
students remaining in the
same classroom while teachers
rotate from room to room,
in lieu of the traditional
and likely, outdated way of
students move from class
to class.
“We must ease people back
into school and ask ‘Where
are you? What are you afraid
of?’ Create a pleasant time
to relieve stress for children
who have been separated for
so long,” Dr. Kappen said.