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Is ‘compliance’ really reason for autism teacher’s transfer?
To the Editor:
I became interested in the autism program some years ago when my son Michael chose it as a topic for his senior project and Kathy Dolbee was his mentor. I have read with interest the story about changes in the autism program.
Compliance – this is the reason Superintendent Sue Nations has given for Kathy Dolbee’s abrupt transfer, but is that really the case? If an instructor is working under the supervision of a licensed teacher, “a teacher of record,” the guidelines for compliance have been met. That has always been the arrangement in Dolbee’s classroom. She was, after all, approved for the position of “Autism Center Manager” by the Jackson County Board of Education.
Highly qualified – that certainly does describe Dolbee; why else was she recently named Wal-Mart’s Teacher of the Year? Under her positive direction, the program also gained the attention of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Principal Chief Michell Hicks, who authorized a sizable donation to the program.
Dolbee became especially interested in special education 30 years ago; that interest focused more intensely on autism after her son’s diagnosis 14 years ago. She has received specialized, intensive training in early intervention techniques and methods developed at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Treatment and Education of Autistic and Communication-handicapped Children program, where she is now frequently invited as a presenter. Western Carolina University and the N.C. Center for the Advancement of Teaching have both hired her to share her experiences and knowledge with their future and present teachers. She has worked every day for the past 14 years with autistic children; she stays abreast of current information regarding possible causes, potential cures and treatments. Especially, she has been an advocate for children and their parents. Is it possible that her advocacy posed a threat in some way? Certainly not to the parents!
In compliance? Yes. Highly qualified? Yes. Dolbee is both of these things and more: she is also a very dedicated and caring instructor, and dozens of children have thrived under her capable care.
I have several questions which many are wondering about. Why were parents deliberately misled? Since Dolbee’s primary concern has always been for the education and advocacy of her son and other children, and not her job title, what are the real reasons for her sudden transfer from the program she helped make so successful? Was Dolbee transferred in retaliation for her advocacy?
The Sylva Herald’s reporting of this matter has answered some questions but raised others. I suspect there are aspects of this story that are as yet untold, and I look forward to continued coverage of this unfolding story. I appreciate The Sylva Herald for its honest treatment of this important community-interest story.
June Winger
Whittier
Impressed with quality of senior projects
To the Editor:
It was my pleasure to serve on a panel of judges for the 2007 Smoky Mountain High School senior projects. When I arrived at 5:30 p.m., I was tired, hungry and wondering why on Earth I had agreed to something else that would last until 9 p.m. on a weeknight.
After a quick overview of the senior project process, we were given a light meal and began our job as judges. As the minutes ticked away, I listened and watched as five SMHS seniors shared what they had learned in completing their projects. Moment by moment I found myself getting more energized and engaged as each student demonstrated through presentation, video and visual aids what they knew about how a pond can be part of an overall landscape design (he actually created a beautiful pond in his backyard); the nature and dangers of boxing (she trained with a former boxer); how to ride a dressage test (she began horseback riding for her project and in three months was competing in horse shows); how to organize a fund-raiser and incorporate community support (she raised more than $7,000 to begin an athletic scholarship at SMHS) and what you need to know to save the life of a cardiac arrest victim (his plans are to become a thoracic surgeon).
Needless to say, by 9 p.m. I was so proud and excited about what these students had achieved that I just couldn’t stop thinking about what wonderful kids we have in our community and how valuable the senior project is in giving each senior a sense of accomplishment and self-confidence.
Senior projects started in the fall of 1998. All seniors who receive an SMHS diploma complete a project through their senior English class. Students choose a topic that is of interest to them to research and then find a mentor who can help them complete a product related to the research, complete a portfolio and make and 8-to-10 minute presentation to a panel of judges made up of SMHS faculty and community members. For this year’s freshmen, the senior project will be a state requirement when they are seniors.
As I learned by talking to Alice Pendergast, coordinator of the senior project program, there are five judges on each panel who hear five or six presentations each evening (it takes three evenings to complete them). This semester, 165 judges volunteered to serve on a panel. Many of the judges are the same people who come back semester after semester (as I plan to do) – some since 1998.
Pendergast told me that she would “like to make the general public aware of senior projects because there are many possible mentors and judges out there who might not know what a wonderful opportunity it is for our students to not only learn something new, but to connect with community members and showcase what they are capable of doing when truly engaged in a topic.”
As the president of the SMHS Parent-Teacher Organization, I would like to encourage parents, grandparents and the community at large to find out how they can help SMHS be the best it can be. To learn more about the activities of the newly-formed PTO, call me at 586-8720. If you would like to make a donation to the PTO, which will be used for classroom materials and improving the campus, please mail them to SMHS PTO c/o Marty Jones, 100 Smoky Mountain Dr., Sylva NC 28779.
Margie Allison
Sylva
Reader appreciates Herald coverage of proposed ridgetop, steep-slope ordinances
To the Editor:
I appreciate The Herald’s detailed update on the current status of steep-slope ordinances and ridgetop protection in the Jan. 11 issue. North Carolina is the 10th fastest growing state in the nation. The pressure from development is on.
Mary Joyce’s letter expresses a reality many of us have witnessed with the starkest brutality in Florida. I have certainly seen it happen to the last lovely remnants of the once-beautiful Florida panhandle west of Panama City that will soon qualify as a “New York by the sea” – just exactly as Mary Joyce described it. We do not have much time left.
Our commissioners deserve all the help and support we can offer and give. This is a tough and complex job and they are operating under time pressure, and I appreciate the update.
Georgia Newsome
Sylva
WCU music department does outstanding job
To the Editor:
This past Saturday night, audience members at Western Carolina University’s Coulter Auditorium had the rare opportunity to hear moments of great beauty presented by Vladislav Lavrik, principal trumpet of the Russian National Orchestra and Lillian Pearson, pianist. As part of the annual three-day trumpet festival, the two played in complete musical harmony, offering at times, breathtaking passages. It really was quite extraordinary, reminding me of all of the musical opportunities during this past fall semester – most at Coulter – all free.
It seems to me that while no one was looking, the music department at WCU has quietly turned into the jewel of the University, offering the community an array of quality musical experiences. Knowing something about how universities work, I am sure the department is doing this on a budget that is less than stellar. The music department’s offerings to us, the public, enrich the spirit, and in rare moments such as those on Saturday night, translate into unforgettable memories.
I now have the music department’s calendar bookmarked so as to not miss opportunities. If you would like to do the same, here is the Web address: www.wcu.edu/umf/cal.htm.
Linda Watson
Sylva
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