I was just reading the writeup by Dan Pelton in your March 26 issue, "UG board accused of hindering special needs kids."

This is a subject I would really like to see you follow-up on with future articles keeping the public informed on what is happening in this particular situation. To me, this is a human interest story that, although it may only affect a small minority of people, is something that really needs to be investigated.

It is a subject that concerns me because I do have several friends who have special needs children. I also have a daughter who is interested in becoming a teacher, and who has had the privilege of working with some of the special needs children through a co-op program, as well as growing up with one of her friends having a brother who was a special needs child. She is now considering specializing in this particular area of education.

While the school board may be denying the fact that the French immersion program is not the problem, it seems rather strange that after all these years of helping these special needs children at Princess Elizabeth School, that they are just now in particular, being turned away from the program that has been helping them and making headway with their learning.

Why, when there are only three students, are they being separated? Isn't it better that these students remain in as familiar a place as possible and remain together?

If Credit Meadows also has a special program in place, then why aren't all three students being kept together and bused to the same school? Wouldn't it be more beneficial for these students to remain together, and at least have that familiarity with one another when they are being taken out of the class where they have been comfortable and learning with one another?

Your article also spoke a lot about the 'excellent' program in Credit Meadows, but there wasn't anything at all about the program at Island Lake Public School where the third student is supposed to be sent to. Is there not a good program there? What is the situation there? Are these new programs that they are being shoved into, suitable for the "needs, sex and ages" of these three students?

If Credit Meadows is offering such a great program, then why aren't they sending all three students together? That seems very strange to me.

How can the board say they are trying to make this transition as painless as possible, when they are taking these special needs students out of the environment they have been used to being in, as well as separating the students and shipping them off to different schools.

Will they still continue with the same program in each of these different schools or will they be thrown into a completely different situation that will again hinder their learning experiences and set them back from the levels they have now reached?

Quite frankly, if it was one of my children I would be very upset with these changes. I wonder how many other parents would also feel that way if it was one of their own children.
Donna Matheson
Orangeville