Recently, I found myself back in Colac, a place I once called home for many years. My late daughter attended the specialist school (for students with intellectual disability) there, so returning was always bound to be a bittersweet journey. I’m happy to say that this visit brought something entirely new and deeply heartening.
Through a conference created by Sharing Best Practice, I met Cameron and Charlotte Peverett, now principal and head of teaching and learning respectively at what is today called Lake Colac School. What they are doing in the field of literacy for students with additional needs is nothing short of groundbreaking.
For too long, students enrolled in specialist schools with IQ scores below 70, the official threshold, have been subjected to lower expectations than their mainstream peers. I have heard everything from “She’s non-verbal, so there’s no point in her learning to read and write” to “Autistic children just learn to read by sight and do not need instruction.” These beliefs have robbed countless children of opportunities to access literacy.
Lake Colac School has chosen a different path. Cameron and Charlotte have led a research-informed approach to teaching literacy. It is one that aligns with what we know from the science of reading about how all brains learn. Even brains with damage. Even brains that many thought could not. Their adoption and careful adaptation of systematic structured literacy and numeracy, modified where necessary for motor difficulties, has yielded remarkable results. They shared some of their data tables to illustrate just how effective this approach has been.
Walking through their classrooms, I saw something I had rarely witnessed in all my years as both parent and practitioner in the special education sector: high expectations of every student, low variance instruction, engaged students, and teachers who not only knew what they were doing but knew why they were doing it. With all due respect to the incredible job the specialist schools around the world do, I have to admit, I didn’t feel like I was at a specialist school at all.
My mind turned to my daughter Chloe’s education. She was severely handicapped by Cri du Chat Syndrome and never learned to talk or read. I still don’t think it would have been possible for her, but with the amount of repetition and systematic linguistic input that occurred at Lake Colac School now, I wonder if her communication development would have been different. I guess I’ll never know. The best I can do is point people in this direction, and that’s what I’ll continue to do as long as I live.
Of course, the curriculum is not narrowly academic. The staff at Lake Colac School are mindful of their students’ complex needs. Literacy and numeracy form the backbone of the day, but they make time for other skills such as running a school shop, engaging in drama, and learning other practical ways to foster maximum independence.
It was, quite simply, a wonder to behold. For me, it was also a glimpse of what could be possible more widely if we were willing to challenge assumptions and raise expectations for students with high needs. Lake Colac School is showing us the way.
Fabulous to read this account, Lyn. Thanks for your personal reflections and for insights into how we can change at the bigger systems level.
Thank you for your kind words, Stephanie. It was a pleasure meeting you last week and I hope our paths continue to cross!
What a great story. Thanks for sharing, Lyn.
I couldn’t agree more. We really do need to challenge assumptions and raise expectations for all students.
Thanks, Adele!