Caldwell and Raritan Valley Students visit the Developmental Learning Center in Warren

 

Students visiting the paint section of the hardware store.

Students visiting the paint section of the hardware store.

The students learn about New Jersey’s Alternate Proficiency Assessment.

A combined group of students from two sections of students from Educator Division Dr. Joanne Seelaus’ course, Assessment for All Students in Special Education, visited the Developmental Learning Center in Warren on October 27. The DLC is a school that serves over 200 students with autism, ranging in age from 3 to 21. This school is one of three schools operated by the Morris Union Jointure Commission that serve students with autism. Dr. Janet Parmelee, an adjunct instructor in the graduate program in special education at Caldwell, is the assistant superintendent of the MUJC and helped to arrange the visit. The Warren DLC is a new, state of the art facility that opened three years ago. A unique feature of the school is “Main Street”, which is characterized by store fronts and equipment donated by local businesses that replicate your local supermarket, bank, hardware store, etc. Students learn functional skills in these settings and the goal is for them to be able to generalize these skills as a result of “stores” that look like the real thing.

The students were treated to a tour of the facility by Dr. Julie Gardner, who is the principal of the New Providence DLC. Since the tour began at 2 PM, the group was able to see students working in various settings and classrooms. At the conclusion of the tour, Dr. Gardner provided an overview of the alternate proficiency assessment (APA) process, a portfolio assessment designed to measure progress toward achieving New Jersey’s state educational standards for those students with severe disabilities who are unable to participate in the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJASK) or the High School Proficiency Assessment (HSPA). She was able to show students examples of portfolios for students at elementary, middle and high school levels.

All of the students were impressed by the facility and left with a better understanding of how students with autism are educated and evaluated. One student was overheard asking one of the DLC staff, “How can you get a teaching position here?”

One section of Dr. Seelaus’ course meets at Caldwell College and one meets at Raritan Valley Community College.