In a front page article in the Wall Street Journal, Choctawhatchee High School was praised for its success in including special education students in regular classrooms. The December 31, 2007 article noted that 65% of Okaloosa students with disabilities are now fully included in mainstream classrooms, up from 55% in 2000. Choctawhatchee High School was singled out for its particularly high rate of inclusion, which is almost 80%. The national figure is about 54%.
The article highlighted the success of Choctaw graduate Adam Nystrom, now in the Army earning high praise from his first sergeant. Chelsea Clemmons, who successfully tackled an Advanced Placement US History class despite a reading disability, was also cited. She is a member of Choctaw's puppeteer group, "Kids on the Block," which entertains elementary students while helping them understand and accept differences in the classroom. Clemmons plans to continue her education after graduation and dreams of becoming a movie actress.
"Including students with disabilities in a regular setting raises expectations," explains Superintendent Alexis Tibbetts. "There were times when the curriculum was diluted for students who took classes in separate resource rooms. We want to hold all students to the same high standards to truly leave no child behind."
"We were the first county in the state to implement a policy of no social promotion from K-12," adds Deputy Superintendent Kaye McKinley, who was the director of special education when the policy was implemented in the 1999-2000 school year. "We raised standards for all the students. In the long run, it isn't fair to the special education students to expect less from them."
Okaloosa teachers are encouraged to use differentiated instruction techniques to reach students who have different learning styles. "It's important to have someone identify the special needs of students and provide instruction based on those needs," says Tibbetts.
One measure of the success of Okaloosa County in educating students with disabilities is the percentage of graduation waivers granted to special education students. While the rest of Florida granted waivers to 18% of students with disabilities in 2005-06, Okaloosa County granted just 8%.
The Journal noted that the cuts in overhead spending under the administration of the previous superintendent, Florida Senator Don Gaetz, increased funding to the individual schools. This gave the schools the latitude to decide how to best serve their student populations, with many of them hiring more psychologists, social workers and specialists in Exceptional Education.
"It allowed schools to be creative with the funds they received from IDEA," said McKinley.
Despite the challenges brought about by increasingly tight state budgets, Okaloosa is committed to maintaining low overhead costs and maximizing the academic potential of all its students.
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