Open letter To the Members of the Board of Education from a group of Special Education teachers employed at Greenwich High School
We respectfully urge the Board to reconsider any further budgetary cuts to Greenwich High School. Over the past five years, repeated reductions in staffing and resources to Greenwich High School have significantly limited our ability to provide students with disabilities appropriate access to the curriculum and necessary supports.
While the cuts to the budget this school year are not directly related to Special Education, our students are negatively impacted by them.
Teacher reductions at GHS have resulted in the following:
● Larger class sizes impact individualized instruction and access to learning.
Increased class sizes contribute to a rise in behavioral challenges, reducing instructional time.
● In some general education courses, over 50% of enrolled students are special education students, which raises serious concerns regarding access to the least restrictive environment.
Current staffing shortages already undermine the educational experience of our students even with our exceptionally professional team. For example,
● Mentoring and leadership opportunities are few and far between given the overload to teacher schedules.
● The elimination of paraprofessional support in general education learning centers has reduced the amount of support the general education teachers can provide to students in need and their peers in general education.
● The GHS Academic Lab no longer has a full-time paraprofessional, limiting access to quiet testing environments, reteaching, and behavior support.
● Special education teachers across the building are now expected to have multiple corollaries, including low-attendance learning centers and hall duty, resulting from supports being taken away from the Wellness Center over the years. These additions to workload takes away valuable time from students with disabilities on caseloads and time to complete legal documentation.
At GHS, Special Education has seven paraprofessional vacancies, with limited progress filling these positions. As a result,
● GHS begins each day with dozens of IEPs that cannot be fully implemented.
● There is no consistency for our most high-need students.
● Numerous special education teachers forgo lunch and prep periods to fill the void in order to ensure student safety which contributes to fatigue and burnout.
● Time that should be dedicated to IEP development, data collection, and collaboration with general education teachers is lost.
Directives to carry out programmatic changes with budget cuts, have weakened the Wellness Center and alternative programming for students with comprehensive needs.
These programs are essential for regulation, safety, and sustained engagement. Our 18–22 program, Community Connections, which serves some of the district’s highest-need students, has been reduced from two full-time teachers to one, impacting students safety, success and overall well-being.
While our department remains committed to excellence, compliance and collaboration, continued operation without adequate staffing and resources increases safety risks and service gaps that negatively affect students. Addressing these issues proactively protects both student outcomes and the district as a whole.
Special education services are not optional. We implore the Board to protect special education funding and prioritize the supports required to meet student needs, uphold legal obligations, and maintain the district’s commitment to equity and excellence.
Rich Kahn – GEA PR&R Chair
Lizz Cardini
Amanda Jagel
Gillian Thompson
Virginia Plath-Kelly
Joyce Allyson Mahoney
Jordan Bici
Amy Kreutzer
Angela Letersky
Mike Paternoster
Lyndsay Cafango
Jen Lee