Family supports District 109 special education program

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Dressed in cap and gown, Josh and Evan Ernsteen of Deerfield couldn't help but smile after graduating last May 26 from Deerfield High School. Courtesy\Stephanie Lerner-Ernsteen

Updated: February 20, 2012 8:44AM

Deerfield residents Stephanie Lerner-Ernsteen and Scott Ernsteen believe they know why special education in School District 109 shouldn’t change.

With many taking sides with either the Deerfield Education Association or the School Board as the two negotiate a new teachers contract, the Ernsteens want it known they are very much for special education in the way it was previously provided, sharing their story in a letter to the School Board.

They are the parents of twins Josh and Evan Ernsteen, born prematurely at 23 weeks on Aug. 18, 1992, weighing only one pound seven ounces, and one pound, two-and-a-half ounces.

The Guinness Book of World Records at that time called them the smallest set of twins in the country to live.

“The boys were hospitalized for 18 and 20 weeks and were as sick as two babies could ever be and still survive,” Lerner-Ernsteen said in the letter.

“The next five years weren’t easy, either. They battled numerous ear and lung infections, and were back and forth to the hospital, doctors and therapists.”

Developmentally, Josh and Evan learned at their own pace, the Ernsteens wrote. They had delays in fine and gross motor and language skills, especially language. They did not speak until they were 3-and-a-half years old, Lerner-Ernsteen said.

When the boys were 6 years old, the family moved to Deerfield, because the schools had a reputation for excellence, Lerner-Ernsteen said in the letter.

Teachers step up

Although Josh and Evan could read when they entered South Park Elementary in 1997, writing was difficult for them, both physically and from a language standpoint.

“Like a caped superhero, Grace DeRoose (speech therapist) came to the rescue,” Lerner-Ernsteen wrote. “She championed Josh and Evan for six years and taught them to write. First words, then sentences and then even paragraphs.

“She even held us together on those days when we were scared and unsure if our boys could or would ever succeed. Because of her and the other excellent teachers at South Park, Josh and Evan finished fifth grade at grade level and ready to enter middle school.”

At Caruso Middle School, teacher Stephanie Horwitz took over. She was not only Josh and Evan’s resource teacher, but also their champion, helping them succeed in all aspects of life, Lerner-Ernsteen wrote.

She pushed them to write more complex papers, to turn their work in on time, to organize their notebooks and lockers, to talk to other students and teachers, and to ask for help when they needed it, she added.

“The teachers, both special ed and regular ed, lovingly prepared Josh and Evan, and went above and beyond their job descriptions to prepare the boys for Deerfield High School, where again the torch was passed on to the superhero resource teachers,” Lerner-Ernsteen wrote.

The pair succeeded in both regular and special education classes at the high school, and last spring graduated with a B+ average.

“Today, Josh and Evan attend Beacon College in Leesburg, Fla. We are confident Josh and Evan would never have had the skills, confidence or aptitude to attend college had they not worked with these miraculous teacher-superheros,” Lerner-Ernsteen wrote.

“Their futures would have been forever altered for the worse. In their first college semester, Josh had a 3.6/4.0 GPA while Evan had a 3.8/4.0 GPA, proving they are smart boys who just needed extra attention to learn how to succeed.”

Like the twins, some children have many challenges. And many lucky ones do not.

The Ernsteens also had two daughters — Ilyssa, 16, and Elita, 13 — born at full term. They learned easily and did not require special education.

Make resources available

But whether babies start out prematurely like Josh and Evan, or full-term like their daughters, the Ernsteens believe they should have the resources to blossom into their full potential.

“What allowed the boys to succeed in school was an overall acceptance of who they were, and that it was OK that they were different than other kids,” Lerner-Ernsteen said in an interview Thursday.

“The teachers knew the twins had the ability to learn and they were going to work with them at their level and get them up to everyone else’s level the best they could.”

In the fourth and fifth grades, the teachers began teaching the boys self-advocating, which was huge for them, Lerner-Ernsteen said.

“They were shy,” she said. “They didn’t have great language skills, which made them even shyer, and they wouldn’t ask for help.”

“If they didn’t understand something, they would just let it go by. So all the teachers they had in school worked very hard to get them to ask for help.”

Then, one day, Evan came home from school sad. He told his mother he thought he was stupid.

“That was the worst thing as a parent that I could hear,” she said. “I remember calling Grace at South Park and crying. She said to me, ‘This is good. Not that you want your children feeling stupid, but he is now part of the team.’”

“‘He is no longer someone who we are telling what to do. He now knows he wants to be able to do those things. Because he is feeling those needs, he is going to be getting much faster.’ And she was right.”

Most of the teachers went out of their way to make the kids feel important, that they mattered, and that they were smart and capable, Lerner-Ernsteen said.

If the district gets rid of the resource teachers, as good as the classroom teachers are, they’ll have too many kids in class to give special education students extra attention, she believes.

Not for
negotiations

However, School Board President Ellen London said at a Jan. 9 board meeting that its members believe special education should not be considered a contract issue, a point disputed by the teachers.

Neither special education service nor staff, nor an increase of class sizes, are being discussed in the negotiations, she added.

London also stated that, while resource rooms are not being taken away, the delivery of services has changed, though she didn’t go into details.

“During the last two board meetings, many parents have spoken about special education services in District 109,” she said. “We understand the great importance of special education and we have listened very closely to those parents who spoke so passionately.”

That is why the district will schedule three meetings to provide an opportunity for community members to ask questions and get answers from administrators and staff members.

Information about them will be sent by email to all families in the district and posted on the district’s website.

(In an earlier version of this story, Ilyssa Ernsteen’s name was misspelled)