Opinion: Outlining our steadfast commitment to special education in Howard County

Opinion: Outlining our steadfast commitment to special education in Howard County

Opinion: Outlining our steadfast commitment to special education in Howard County
Stock.adobe.com photo by smolaw11.

By Michael J. Martirano

The writer is superintendent of the Howard County Public School System.

As we mark Disability Awareness Month, it is an optimal time to reaffirm and amplify our commitment to providing exceptional special education services and supports.

There has been much community discussion recently, including media coverage about special education services in Howard County. I am immensely proud of the progress we have made in serving our students receiving special education services and in building a culture and climate of meaningful inclusion in our schools.

It wasn’t always this way, in fact, special education has evolved tremendously in our country over the last 50 years. Children with disabilities were once treated differently than their typically developing peers. Some may have been kept at home; others sent to institutions. Those who attended so-called “regular” schools were routinely taught in classrooms separate from their typically

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Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Deputy survives freak accident at Oklahoma Christian Schools

Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Deputy survives freak accident at Oklahoma Christian Schools

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Oklahoma County Sheriff Tommie Johnson III said it was truly a miracle Deputy Jeremy McCain was still alive after being seriously hurt when he drove into a partially opened gate on the campus of Oklahoma Christian Schools.

The gate came through his windshield and crushed his chest, pinning him inside.

Sheriff Johnson called it a “freak accident” and said McCain was driving around 10 miles per hour when it happened.

Doctors who happened to be on campus for an event witnessed the incident and rushed to help.

“They just jumped right in there, started performing CPR,” said Johnson, who credits those bystanders with saving McCain’s life.

McCain died three times that night.

Once on scene and a second time in the emergency room.

“Doctors opened his chest and began to massage his heart for 10 minutes,”

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Students show out science acuity at county fair

Students show out science acuity at county fair


How does global warming affect corn crops? How much salt do you need to add to water to make an egg float? How much sawdust can you put in a cereal treat bar before someone notices? These are just a few questions asked by students from schools all across the region as they participated in the Flathead County Science Fair on Thursday.

Science lovers of all ages packed into the Expo Center at the Flathead County Fairgrounds to take a look at projects from students in third grade and up.

Retired civil engineer Roger Marsonette has been judging the science fair for about seven years. He likes seeing what the students can come up with for their projects.

“To see the imagination of the kids — some of their experiments are just different from the typical boiling water kind of stuff. There are some really interesting things out there, how

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