A shout out today goes to East Ridge Elementary School teachers -- particularly special education teacher Heather Modrow -- for an extra effort to help a student with a rare vision disorder.
Modrow asked the community for help by posting on DonorsChoose, a fundraising website for teachers. In less than 24 hours, donors gave more than $400 -- enough for Modrow to purchase a Braille keyboard for the student's Chromebook, fluorescent light filters to cover the ceiling lights in all of his classrooms because he is light sensitive, and yellow-tinted gel sheets to reduce the glare of white worksheets.
The student, diagnosed two years ago with cone-rod dystrophy, will now be able to participate more in his classes.
Although the new aids have only been in use for a few days, his teachers said they already see a happy result.
"I noticed in the beginning that he was just more shy, more in his shell, when it came to answering questions, when it came to talking about different things in class," fourth-grade English teacher Tamela Cooley told the Chattanooga Times Free Press. "But now that he has some things that he's familiar with, like the Braille keyboard -- you should have seen his face, it lit up -- I've definitely noticed a change definitely in his grades."
Other students, too, are impressed with the Braille keyboard, Cooley said. And Modrow said the fluorescent light filters benefit all students because they provide a more calming atmosphere.
You may be wondering why the Modrow had to resort to donors. She said, "It's not that the district isn't taking care of his needs, these are just little extras that we thought of."
The district provides a magnification tool and an iPad for the student. If a teacher is presenting a lesson, that lesson can be transmitted directly to the iPad and he can zoom in or out as necessary.
Perhaps next year, teachers and students will realize the promise made by a new state funding program -- theoretically designed to fund individual student needs. That program is set to begin in the 2023-24 school year.
When schools opened this year, Superintendent Justin Robertson told the TFP, "We're putting a lot of focus, especially at the beginning of the year, on the personalization side of school. ... We know that we've got to continue with academic progress, but we also know that coming out of the last couple of years that kids need to feel valued and have a sense of belonging."
It seems in East Ridge, that ideal is already a reality.