Differences Fade in Integrated Class

Half of the 14 children in this Ojai preschool have been diagnosed with special needs -- anything from speech delays to autism to epilepsy. The other kids are not disabled.

But as the group danced and played and ate their snacks together, and then sat in a circle and sang “The Wheels on the Bus,” it was difficult to tell which half was which.

“That’s the marvel of this thing,” said Ojai Unified School District Supt. Van Riley. “They’re all just kids, having fun and learning from each other.”

The preschool program, which began this fall, is one of a handful in Ventura County providing the integration of disabled youngsters into regular classrooms.

While such a practice is quite common beyond kindergarten, it remains an emerging trend among preschools statewide, experts said.

“It is becoming the norm,” said Jarice Butterfield, director of Ojai’s special-education programs. “The big push right now is early integration.”

Research shows that special-needs kids will develop at a faster rate if they are surrounded by those who develop normally.

And children without disabilities can benefit by learning to be more tolerant toward those who are different, teachers said.

Ojai’s program has another twist: The preschool and day-care service for those who are not disabled is specifically for the children of Ojai teachers and staff members, and costs them just $15 a day.

Next month, the district will go one step further to offer day care for up to eight infants, Riley said. That program will be much pricier than the toddler day care, at $700 a month, Butterfield said. But school district employees will be able to apply for subsidies and grants through tobacco tax funds.

While school districts are required to provide free preschool to disabled children, they don’t have to do so for nondisabled kids.

That’s partly why Riley began looking into providing day care for employees’ children last year. At the time, 10 teachers in the Ojai district were on partial leaves or working part time because they could not find or afford a high-quality, full-time child care program, he said.

The need exists throughout Ventura County, where children under 5 years old outnumber licensed child-care slots by a 2-1 ratio, according to a state report released last summer. And, the study found, the annual average cost for enrolling an infant in day care is $8,690 -- equivalent to tuition for two years at UC Berkeley.

Ojai’s program is perfect for Alexandra Zielsdorf, a kindergarten teacher at Topa Topa Elementary in Ojai. Her 3-year-old son, Mark, who is not disabled, attends the district-sponsored preschool two days a week and loves it, she said.

“For me, it’s really important my son has exposure to diversity,” she said. “I think he’s getting a very well-rounded education being there that he wouldn’t get somewhere else.”

Preschool teacher Jennifer Fitzgerald said she has noticed improvement among the special-needs students since the integration program began in August. They are interacting more, she said, and coming out of their shells more quickly.

While few disagree that integration is good for special-needs preschoolers, it can be difficult to pull off because the state lacks widespread public preschool for nondisabled children, said Fran Arner-Costello, assistant director of a countywide program that coordinates special education among districts.

“We really know the value of it, and we’re trying to do it as much as we can,” she said, citing programs in Ventura, Camarillo, Thousand Oaks and Moorpark.

Ojai began putting special-needs youngsters into private preschools around town two years ago, using as a model a decade-old program in Santa Barbara County. The move followed parent complaints to the school district that their children were missing out on early integration, Butterfield said.

Those parents are now “thrilled with the new program,” she said.

Ojai mother Holly Tibbles said Fitzgerald’s integrated class is the only one her 4-year-old son, Vincent, has responded to.

Vincent has Klinefelter syndrome, which means he has slow-developing social skills and can be overwhelmed easily.

But because he talks a lot, he was frustrated in special education classes that were not integrated with other talkative youngsters, she said.

“Nothing else has ever really worked. Here, he loves it, and he wants to go,” Tibbles said. “It gives him a chance to be successful.”