DHAHRAN, 22 September 2006 — One of the signs of the Kingdom’s improving economy is increased enrollment at international schools throughout Saudi Arabia. At the Dhahran Elementary/Middle School (DEMS), part of the International Schools Group (ISG), Principal Bruce Hudson is expecting 30 percent growth in the number of students this year. Such growth is of course welcome as it increases the ability of a school to offer a diverse academic program. However, it also increases the responsibility faced by educational institutions interested in providing an ideal learning environment.
While the majority of students are easily integrated into standard academic programs, a variety of NGOs with global reach, estimate that up to 15 percent of all youngsters worldwide must cope with some type of learning disability. Consequently they cannot learn in a traditional classroom environment. As DEMS enrollment rose, its administration discovered an urgent requirement to provide quality education to more and more students with special needs.
Teacher Linda Zwarych initially joined the DEMS staff to offer educational support to a few students with special learning needs. As news of this teacher’s talents spread, families from both the Saudi and expatriate community approached the DEMS administration desperately hoping to enroll their children in what had come to be called “the STAR class.” The available space and staff at the school could not possibly meet the demand. In the spring of the last academic year, DEMS counselor Meg Porter and Zwarych made an impassioned presentation to the ISG Board, urging them to invest resources to enable DEMS to provide services to more families with special needs youngsters. As a result, the ISG STAR Education Center opened at the DEMS campus in time to accept students for the current school year.
“It is remarkable that this project has been completed in an extraordinarily short time span. Thanks must go to our contractors, Red Sea Housing, for the excellent job they have done. A special thank you also goes out to our Support Services Director Chris L’Esteve for working tirelessly throughout the summer,” said Terry Sayce, ISG board president. “ISG is very proud to be able to offer a very special educational service, which will allow our students to develop their full potential and become happy, valuable world citizens.”
The ISG STAR Education Center is dedicated to providing high-quality skill development to young people with mild to moderate learning issues. A dedicated building now houses the program, which is currently serving 24 students and has a potential enrollment of 50. Linda Zwarych is the director of the program assisted by three staff members. The number of staff will grow as the number of students increases.
“Just like our academic program, our after school activities program and our student support services, STAR is an integral part of DEMS. STAR currently serves students in grades kindergarten through eight. ISG will be adding one grade level per year,” said Norma Hudson, ISG superintendent. “It is essential to note that although STAR students attend special classes at the STAR Center, they go to lunch with the entire school. They also attend classes such as health, physical education, technology, music and art with their peers. This ability to spend at least half the school day with their peers improves social skills and builds interpersonal relationships. It is a very inclusive, rather than exclusive, environment.”
STAR is an acronym for “Students Transitioning Toward Academic Readiness.” The goal of the STAR Program is to give students with special needs an opportunity to shine — often for the first time.
“Within the STAR Program we approach each student’s learning abilities individually and help him or her reach for academic excellence,” said DEMS counselor Meg Porter. “Students in the STAR program have special learning needs. We define special needs students as youngsters who cannot learn in tradition classrooms with traditional teaching methods. A special needs student has a unique way of learning. These children are not lacking in intelligence, in fact they are often gifted in ways that are not recognized in the traditional classroom. Our objective is to discover that giftedness in each child in the STAR Program and give them the opportunity to be not only successful, but to shine.”
Porter went on to explain that the ultimate aim in developing a learning program for each STAR student is to mainstream them, that is put them back into a traditional classroom as much as possible. For example, a STAR student may be in the STAR classroom for most academic subjects the first year he is in the program, but by next year he may be in the STAR classroom for only two academic subjects and the year after, even fewer. Porter emphasized that STAR students are never treated as though they are separate from the DEMS community.
“Our student body is made up of young people of many different backgrounds. Consequently, we have found that our students are very accepting of students with special needs,” said Porter. “It’s one of the miracles of diversity in Saudi Arabia that at DEMS, children learn to embrace the differences of others. That translates into all our students behaving toward each other with respect.”
Special needs students may have disorders such as dyslexia, autism, or Asperger Syndrome, among others. But in the STAR Program no student is labeled.
“Each child is an individual not a disorder. Our children have different ways of learning,” said Zwarych. “I call it quirkiness. That means we need to find untraditional ways to help them learn and, believe me, they are eager to learn. I approach my students like we’re a family and we all help each other. If somebody’s really good in math and I’ve got someone who’s not, then I’ll pair the students up. We work together to succeed.”
And success doesn’t start with the ABCs. Zwarych believes that building pride in one’s self is the first step on the path to success. “We all have things that we’re not good at. Nobody’s perfect. My philosophy on teaching is to love the kids, accept them for who they are and they will blossom in your care,” she advised. “I teach my students to respect themselves and others. I teach them to have pride in their own unique abilities. My first goal is that my students must accept themselves for who they are. Then the world is open before them and I can teach them anything.”