It feels like theyre being left behind; school expansion could put special needs program at risk [Video]

WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Isely Elementary School, 5256 N. Woodlawn, a Pre-K through fifth-grade magnet school, could expand to Pre-K through eighth grade. Wichita Public Schools says that consolidating the grades would ease the transition for students moving from elementary to middle school. However, this could come at the cost of Isely’s special education resources.

“Students going from fifth to sixth grade, that’s kind of a stressor, is that transition. But we were all sitting there, us in the special needs community, like, ‘What about us?’” Courtney Vanek, mother to a child with Down syndrome, said, recalling her reaction to the proposal.

Her son, James – nicknamed “Jimo” – has finally found his footing at Isely. She says the connections he’s made could take years to rebuild. The school was built as a Pre-K through eighth school but hasn’t been run that way. The extra space is where the magnet …