Staff writer
The most troubled kids in Marion County now have a new place to learn and, perhaps, thrive.
The Special Education Cooperative at 1500 E. Lawrence in Marion is that place.
On the bulletin board of Dwayne Abrahams’ classroom, there are bright blue and orange-colored laminated cards that give simple directions to everyday interactions with other people. One blue card reads “How to Greet Someone.” Merely a few feet away from the board there is a brand new Dell computer. These two worlds of education seem to be polar opposites, but Abrahams’ job is to try to teach the most emotionally and behaviorally disabled kids in Marion County life’s expectations and try to integrate them back into their local schools.
“Every kid in the OASIS program has an average to gifted level of intelligence,” Abrahams said. “As a high school teacher, besides teaching the social skills necessary for success when the student returns to their community school, I’m still responsible to teach all the curriculum concepts required by the state of Kansas and our local districts.”
Although Abrahams still needs to be patient and teach each student on an individual basis, a larger, newer and more effective teaching space has been granted to him. OASIS—or opportunity, achievement for survival in Society—and CLASS—Center for Life, Activities, Skills and Socialization both reside in the new special education cooperative building in Marion.
“It’s so much easier dealing with these students with challenging behaviors in this setting than it is in a general education setting,” Abrahams said. “We have a consistency from classroom to classroom so that whether a student is acting positively or negatively, they will get a similar response of praise or correction from all staff.”
Chris Cezar, the director of special education in Marion County, agrees that the location better serves students.
“The students have more opportunities being in Marion,” he said.
The remodeled nursing home gives educators quality classrooms and technology. Each of the four OASIS classrooms contains only four to six desks but also has a computer and, in Abrahams’ case, a lab area for science experiments.
The new building is more equipped to discipline children as well. There are office spaces that can be used for one-on-one counseling sessions. For the worst cases, two time-out rooms are on the campus. The rooms are used to calm out-of-control students and can be sealed from the outside with an electro-magnet.
CLASS is a program that helps the most physically and mentally disabled students in the area. The CLASS room is even more condensed than the OASIS rooms, featuring only four desks. However, CLASS has also received updated facilities. For instance, there are two gender-specific rooms for showering students.
To assist the everyday staff in Marion, a psychologist and social worker will work part time and have their own offices in the building.