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Mom says A growing number of parents have become disconcerted with the ability of the York Board of Education to meet the needs of special students and a former trustee admits there _are a number of areas of inadequacy. Judy Hext. of Thornhill. was so frustrated with the board’s alleged dereliction, she pulled her son out of one of its educable retarded classes last April. Bradley Hext, 12, now attends the Toronto Learning Centre and has shown such marked improvement in learning, his mother claims the board wasted six years of his education. “He was placed in that class without my per- mission and he‘s nowhere near being retarded. He has a perceptual han- dicap and some speech problems but the board said he had emotional disturbances and that’s not true," said Mrs. Hext. She had to fight to get her son into the Toronto Centre because the province originally refused to give her the necessary grants. The Ministry requested a letter of support and referral from the board‘s Superintendent of Special Education Frank Wilkinson. In that first letter, said Mrs. Hext, the board misused and abused test results that were done on Bradley a number of years ago » they were far from current assessments. “I spent over $3,000 to have Brad tested privately and the results showed his IQ to be above average, between 120 and 130. The board used figures stating his level was at 70, from tests done seven years ago,” she said. Mrs. Hext eventually got the grant, which comes up for review this r DlRECTORY OF RELIGIOUS SERVICES FOR THE WEEK N ) r’r‘r‘r’r’r’r ’ r: r Ar’r‘»‘w u> N I )‘993‘rm ’ r "rm - St. Mary's Anglican Church 10030 Yonge 810884-2227 Richmond HI” C|etgyz Rev Bernard Barrett 884-1394 Rev. William Prentice 883-4149 Rev. Fred Jackson 884-2418 Services Sun 8AM and 10:30 AM. Wednesday 10 AM. ~ 730 PM HOLY TR|N|TY CHURCH (ANGLICAN) BROOKE ST‘ THORNHILL S. 0F HWY. 73 W. 0F YONGE ST 889-5931 Organist MI. 0 Hunt, MusBac., A.R.C.0 SUNDAY. FEBRUARY 18. 1979 11:00 AM Dunne Wmshnp 11:00 AM Chutch School (begins In Church wuth parents) 12:15 PM Ptesbyteens tor all ages . 11 AM. Morning Servrce 7:00 PM. -Evemng Servrce ern Prayer meeting Wednesday at 800 PM THORNHILL PRESBYIERIAN CHURCH An Old Fashroned Country Church 271 Centre Street on the Edge 01 the Crty 889-5391 Sunday February 25 Qurnquagesrma 8 am Holy Communron 9:15 am. Mornrng prayer (Nursery and Church School) 11 am Mornrng Prayer (Nursery and Church School) 3:30 pm Annual Scout & gurde Church parade Wednesday 10 am Holy Communlon Mumster' The Revd, LB, Bums MA” 80.. PhD. ANGLICAN BAPTIST re (lone on Drauwy a nber of years ago » 2y were far from 'rent assessments. ‘I spent over $3,000 to ve Brad tested vately and the results )wed his IQ to be above erage, between 120 and ). The board used ures stating his level 5 at 70, from tests done (en years ago," she .d. Vlrs. Hext eventually t the grant, which mes up for review this $9, Vr‘ f‘}‘N ‘Xr Though she's still trying to get another $3,000 for a language therapist for her son, she said she is pleased with the progress he has shown away from the York Board; He is now able to write with full knowledge of vowels and does homework every night in math, history and is reading independently. He takes four buses per day to get to school at Yonge and Lawrence Avenue. the Centre's director, Craig Shields. “1 don’t like the class ratios the school is using â€" there’s only one teacher for every 13 students. Mr; Wilkinson explained after those students who take part in integrated classes are subtracted from calculations, the ratio for my son’s class works out lower than the county average. I have facts to prove that isn’t true," she said. .xxWWfiWW A Richmond Hill family of seven was included in last week's ceremony to swear in new Canadians at Our Lady Queen of the World ‘Church. Pictured April. Her lawyer told her she had grounds to sue the board and while she has won some major victories, she said she couldn't afford another $10,000 for legal fees. Former Thornhill Trustee Bob McMonagle. who spent much of his time trying to improve special education, said he was involved to the point where he had to persuade a school administrator to write a letter to the Ministry in support of Bradley and his efforts to change systems. “Though they (the Ministry) at first rejected the application, they backed down at the last minute and provided the funds. The problem was our board wouldn‘t admit it couldn‘t handle the educational needs of this child." said Mr. McMonagle. He claims there were probable grounds for a law suit, especially since so much time had been lost and that the “psyche of the child had been damaged”. He also said he’s not convinced the York Board is doing the. job it should for kids with serious problems. “The board is still not spending all the money it could from provincial grants â€" it could hire more special education teachers and receive funding for them,” he said. * (Membet Baptist Convention of Ontano and Quebec) 1000 AM. - Bible School Classes ST. PAUL LUTHERAN 10131 Bayvnew Avenue 1.8. DAUPHINEE, PASTOR 9:30 AM. Sunday Church School 11:00 AM. Worshin Service 9:45 AM. - Church School For Bus, Ministry call 881-2818 11:00 AM. - Morning Worship LUTHERAN PREACHING THE OLD BOOK THE NEW BIRTH THE PRECIOUS BLOOD AND THE BLESSED HOPE AT WELDRICK ROAD BAPTIST CHURCH Cornet of Weldtick Road and Bathurst Street Rev. B]. McSpadden PastOr Phone 884-7859 INTERIM MINISTER Dr. 3‘ R‘ McClung ST. JOHN'S BAPTIST CHURCH 75 Oxford Street ERAN IHERAN v Avenue E. PASTOR yChurch SchooI Worshm Service BETHEL CANADIAN REFORMED CHURCH 148 Thornndge DI. Thomhlll Minister Rev J Mulder B.A., B.D. - 8895225 Service at 10:30 am. and 5:00 pm “He's not the same child â€"â€" they developed him into a human being and haven’t treated him like a vegetable the way York County did. He has self-confidence and doesn‘t consider himself dumb and stupid like other kids used to look at him,” said Mrs. Hext. She claims Mr. Wilkinson‘s report said Brad was doing Grade 2 level work (last year) â€" two years ahead of his ability. “Tfiey only expected him to get to Grade 4 and now look at him." Mr. McMonagle said both he and his wife, also involved with learning disabled and mentally retarded children, would be happy to support Mrs. Hext when the grants for Bradley come up for review in April. In another case, a Thornhill mother said she is being forced to look elsewhere for facilities for her learning disabled son because the board is not meeting his needs. She asked not to be identified but said her son is currently on a waiting list to get into the York Centre for Learning Disabilities, a mental health clinic in Richmond Hill. At this point, there are at least 60 children waiting for diagnostic work-ups. according to the Centre’s director, Craig Shields. NOT MEETING NEEDS 6:45 'Boys 12 to 18 meeting at Richmond Hill ngh School Tuesday 7:30 Adult PrayeFanh'éIéI'e Study Pastor Rev. Paul Virr 9:45 Bible School 11 AM Morning Worship 7 PM Evening Service left to right are James and Margaret McMurray of Cartier Crescent with their children: Patrick 16, Kevin 14, Elizabeth 13. Paul 12 and Jim 9. RICHMOND HILL UNITED CHURCH Yonge and Centre Streets, 884-1301 Sunday. February 18, 1979 Morning Worship at 11:00 am. PERSONALITIES OF THE OLD TEST- AMENT Solomon Intenm MifllSIEIZ The Rev, Dr. VFOR INFORMATION - PHONE 8897851 Norman McNaun Nursery Care Available Chutch School during Worship Tuesday. Feb‘ 27 - "Bread and Soup‘ $150 (Shrove Tuesday) Outreach Event RICHMOND HILL PENTECOSTAL ASSEMBUES BAPTIST CHURCH ___°F CANADAW . Other Denominations UNITED 50 Wright Street Tel: 884-3091 Mr. Wilkinson was asked about the pupil- teacher ratios but declined to comment. He said he‘d be happy to meet with the woman at anytime and discuss her problems. “Mr. Wilkinson said my son would be moved from a class I think has too many ‘problem children” to enable my son to get anything accomplished. I don’t like it when the principal tries to hide these problems in the class", said the Thornhilll woman. Though her son is five} years older, Mrs. Hext' noticed him improving when he received in- dividual or one-to-one attention. She also refuses to send him to a school (Woodlands Senior) because of problem students. She sald she has spoken to Margaret MacDonald, Thornhill trustee. “If class sizes will be reduced in a few years as Mr. Wilkinson said they would, I‘d like to know what happens to my son and others like him in the meantime,” the woman wondered. “I can‘t blame} everything on the York‘ Board because I haven’t lived here that long . . A 1am expecting a lot more than I’m getting from the schoolE system‘” she said. 1 Sympathizing with concerned parents, Mr.| McMonagle said the‘ typical parent regards the school as being the ultimate authority on education and children’s needs. “They get reports from the schools which contain phrases like ‘he hasn’t reached his expected maturation level or his or her progress is achieving at a slower rate than we originally thought. They aren’t necessarily that definitive but people accept them verbatim,” he said. ‘ REV, THOMAS E. RICHARDSON PASYOR TEMPORARY LOCATION OF CHURCH OLD LANGSTAFF BAPTISY CHURCH 26 CHURCH SI, THORNHILL CORNER OF YONGE ST. - N0 7 HWY. 10 AM. - Sunday School 11 AIM. Worship and Frame 7 PM. Gospel Rally LIVE IN RICHMOND HILL AND THORNHILL YOU CAN HELP us GROW A WARM WELCOME-EXCITING SERVICES TO Lib'éral RICHMOND HILL ASSEMBLY All six members of the regional planning com- mittee and one member of the staff could attend a convention in Miami Beach at regional ex- pense. They could aHIeave for Miami I But it is unlikely to happen. Richmond Hill Mayor David Schiller suggested that the integrity of regional council had been strained by policies which resulted in political cartoons of jets “taking off for Tokyo or some place with regional councillors hanging out the windows." But Regional chairman Bob Forhan said it was the integrity of the press which had been strained by creating a false im- pression with such car- toons. “That budget (for convention expenses) has never been used up.“ Aurora Mayor George Timpson felt that the planning committee could A. BOUNDARY OF ’ “ lull-II pn- Inlii AREA TO BE " ‘ V V r CHANGED TO ._v . ~ A A/IETDnDnl ITA| Please be advised that the water supply to the above noted area is being changed from well water supply to Metropolitan Water supply. This will result-in noticeable changes in water quality and in particular reduced water hardness. In addition, since the Metropolitan Toronto water supply contains fluoride, all persons presently taking fluoride supplements should consult their dentist or family physician in this regard. Residents of Richmond Hill, north of the subject area, will be notified in the near future of a similar change in source of water supply. IN THE TOWN OF RICHMOND HILL (OarrviIIe-Richvale) TOWN OF VAUGHAN (ThomhiIII TOWN OF MARKHAM (Thornhill) be trusted to come up with a suitable delegation. Councillor Carole Bell said that such con- ferences are valuable and they involve a lot of work. “This one just happens to he in Miami Beach." It is the annual con- ference of the American Planning Association running from March 4 to March 7. Mrsr Bell suggested that any member of council should be allowed to attend any conference of a professional group if authorized to broaden their knowledge in all fields. Georgina councillor M. J. McDonald introduced a motion for discussion at the next council meeting that would require those who go to conferences to report to council on what they had learned when they got back. PUBLIC NOTICE TO WATER CONSUMERS IUWN Ul" RICHMOND HILL W.R. Hodgson, P. Eng. Commissioner of Engineering TOWN OF CHANGED TO METROPOLITAN KENZ|€ DR EAST m MILLS no EAST V/ 6‘ 705 $004)