GILROY
– The 23-year run of a once popular method for teaching language
arts to children with learning disabilities is over.
GILROY – The 23-year run of a once popular method for teaching language arts to children with learning disabilities is over.
In a 6-to-1 vote, school board trustees based their decision Thursday on a lack of demand for the Slingerland program and the ability of school sites to meet the needs of children through regular instruction. Trustee John Gurich was the lone dissenter on the board which has voted unanimously on most recent issues.
“I still see those kids as not getting catered to (if Slingerland is ended),” Gurich said Thursday night.
Slingerland, a remnant of Gilroy Unified School District’s magnet school system, is offered only at Eliot Elementary School. Children currently enrolled in Eliot’s Slingerland program may remain until they graduate in fifth grade.
Although trustees weighed in Thursday night, the Slingerland program looked like it was on its way out already in March. For the first time since the program’s inception, the district did not screen children for Slingerland eligibility at kindergarten enrollment.
Of the 80 kindergarten students in the district who qualified for Slingerland instruction this year, only 20 chose to enroll. The other 60 are getting their needs met through regular instruction and, according to GUSD records, appear to be performing as well as or better than Slingerland students on standardized tests.
No Slingerland parents or teachers were on hand Thursday to make one last push for the program. However, a public forum last month and recent letters to the editor in The Dispatch showed there was some interest in keeping the program around longer.
“I’m not surprised there aren’t any parents or teachers here,” Trustee Tom Bundros said. “The bottom line is the Slingerland program of five to 10 years ago is not the Slingerland program of today. I’m confident that students can get their needs met in other ways.”
Assistant Superintendent Jacki Horejs said Slingerland methods will not be completely forgotten in GUSD. Teachers at each school site would receive training in Slingerland and similar teaching methods during regular staff development.
“Slingerland is one of many beneficial approaches,” Horejs said. “We will allow sites to determine which (method) they will use to help meet student needs.”
Horejs said exiting kindergarten students with specific language disabilities would be identified. The practice will help schools place children with similar needs in the same class.
