On the school board vacancy

I recently applied for the open position on the DV School Board of Directors and I would like your readers to know about my experience with this process. I was interviewed and since then I have not heard officially from the board as to their decision or information about the date of the next board meeting. I have heard that the decision may be split between another candidate and me. Because the vote is so close, I would like to clarify a couple of things that have been mentioned in some public forums. Yes, I am an advocate for special education having had a son with special needs and my own personal adventure into the land of DV special education. But I am also the parent of two other sons who graduated from DV. One child was gifted so I understand the needs of the children in this group. My other son was a terrific average child who loved sports and played on the DV soccer teams. So I understand the needs of all the children who attend DV - I am not just interested in special education. Some have mentioned and been concerned by the fact that I sued DV in the past in a special education due process proceeding. That is a true fact and I would like to clarify the issues here. Eight years ago my youngest son was in 6th grade and reading on a less than first grade level. He was a child with average cognitive ability and he should have been reading. But DV did not have the right reading programs and in fact did not even have a reading specialist at the Dingmans Middle School. We placed him in a private school for children with dyslexia. During the 2.5 years he attended this school he most certainly learned to read and returned to DV in 9th grade. When he was in 11th grade he passed the PSSA reading test in the Advanced Proficient range. We sued DV for the cost of that school, but we also sued them so that other children would be able to get the programs they needed to learn to read. DV was ordered by two court systems to pay for one and a half years of that private school. You would think that I would be bitter and harbor vengeance for these experiences with DV, but I am not. I have moved on from this many years ago. Anger and hurt serves no purpose and I have learned to channel that anger into a drive to make sure it never happens to another child. Luckily because I am a Speech-Language Pathologist, I have been able to use that knowledge to understand how children move from being non-readers to readers. I understand that reading is a language task and that there is a continuum that moves from learning to talk to learning to read. I have worked in the last several years to make sure that the DV administration knows this and that board members know this. I think I have been successful and there has been progress at DV. They are now working on getting teachers certified in the Wilson Reading Program and reading specialists are now working in all the schools, including the middle schools and high school. I am proud of my input into this. I am proud of the 8 years I attended board meetings and asked the questions that kept the focus on these kids. I would have been proud to serve on the school board and continue to make sure that evidence-based programs are part of the curriculum at DV. Professionally, I am a Speech-Language Pathologist, currently working for the Eldred Central School District. I am certified clinically competent by the American Speech Language Hearing Association. Previously, I spent 13 years working in early intervention in Pike County. My role as a home-based Speech-Language Pathologist, allowed me to travel all over Pike County and work with families in their homes at probably the worst point in their lives - the discovery that their child might have a disability. These experiences taught me that all children have potential, families are the smartest and strongest advocates for their children, and that teams that work together can make change that could not have been imagined. As a school board member, I would bring a remarkable knowledge of language and how it impacts a child’s learning on the language to reading continuum. I would be familiar with educational standards and scores and bring a presence on the board that understands real progress in this age of accountability. I have a long history of working on educational and community teams that realize the individual needs of children, but must work within the limits of strengths and weaknesses and the capacity of resources. I would be a strong voice for families and a professional ally for educators so that teams can be built that will strive for excellence. Mary G. Gordon Dingmans Ferry