Teachers say Newton needs its support from Area Education Agencies

TiAhnna Thomson is a first-year special education teacher at Emerson Hough Elementary School who has been saved by her Area Education Agency.

Following a hour-long discussion about education-related topics with legislators at the Newton school board meeting on Jan. 22 , Thomson shared her feelings about the proposed AEA restructure during public comment. Several other teachers and community members followed suit for the next 30 minutes.

Prior to working at Newton Community School District, Thomson received her degree at Central College and gained experience at six area schools, including Lynville-Sully, PCM and Pella, among others. Thomson frequently worked with special education and general education students.

“I’m very passionate for both, and the AEA is very passionate for both,” she said directly to lawmakers while her service dog, Layla, sat quietly at her feet. “And I don’t think we should disregard that. But I’m really here to speak as a first-year teacher who has been saved by their AEA this year.”

Thomson knew stepping into a special education job would be challenging, and she acknowledged there are not many teachers clamoring for a position in that field, especially straight out of college. Well, Thomson did because she believes special education students deserve someone who is willing to advocate for them.

She meets with her AEA consultant Jerry Springer and school psychologist Abby Zmolek on a weekly basis. Thomson said she would do anything for her kids, and they deserve an AEA staff that is always there for them and can provide services beyond what their teachers and principal provide to them daily.

“I feel like if we rush too far on this AEA bill I think we would kind of miss some things like that,” she said. “…Take it from me who is here the first year and has been impacted greatly by AEA. I don’t want that to change. My parents that I serve would say the same — in Spanish and in English. That’s why we need our AEA.”

Lora Caves, a second grade teacher at Aurora Heights Elementary School, presented a framed picture of her daughter Meredith, who died at the age of 29 in July 2022. She spoke to board members and legislators on behalf of parents of children with special needs.

Meredith had Rett Syndrome, a rare genetic neurological disorder that affects nearly every aspect of a person’s life, including their ability to speak, walk, eat and even breathe easily. Meredith was a beautiful baby who reached all the physical milestones, but Lora noticed she was mentally behind and never slept.

“She would only close her eyes and maybe sleep an hour at a time,” Lora said. “Meredith did self-stimulating activities. She would gag herself until she threw up. She would pull out her eyelashes, pull out her hair, throw tantrums that lasted hours. She would scream at the top of her lungs.”

Any attempts to console her daughter were met with biting and hitting. Lora’s husband worked night shift, so most of the responsibility was placed on her. Doctors had no answers as to what was ailing Meredith between ages 1 and 2. Lora was tired and stressed and mentally strained.

“I’m describing all of this for you because I just want you to understand what life was like for me and for my family and for Meredith,” Lora said.

When a doctor connected the family to an AEA, Lora said she couldn’t describe the relief she had working with “these wonderful people.” Meredith was seeing speech, occupational and physical therapists, social workers and a parent advocate that helped get Meredith into special needs preschool.

“They told us we weren’t alone. They helped us fill out forms which got us onto a waiver program, which led us to Progress Industries. They also provided a support group with other parents with special needs children,” Lora said. “Meredith graduated from Newton High School. AEA was instrumental.”

As were the teachers and paras who helped Meredith through school. Lora recalled when Meredith had to set a goal to meet geometry standards, which her mother thought was crazy. But as a team they figured out a goal for her. Lora concluded her comments by stressing the importance of AEAs.

“For families of children with special needs, which I define anything beyond the normal, including behavior, AEA services are an essential part of that team,” she said. “They are support for teachers. They are support for students. And they are support for families.”

Allison Graham, a school counselor at Emerson Hough Elementary, also advocated for AEAs, saying she could not do what she does without the support of her agency and its school psychologist, who is just a text away. Graham said Heartland AEA has helped her with students with behavioral struggles.

“That collaboration is extremely important to me,” Graham said. “I’ve also just had some exceptional trainings provided by the AEA, including some Tier 1 assistance trainings to help our building run successfully. My most favorite trainings I’ve been to are the restorative practices trainings.”

Patty VanHaaften of Otely has 27 years of experience as a special education teacher and she agreed with the idea of getting more boots on the ground for AEAs, noting many teachers are overworked and need help. But she also questioned where the state is going to find those individuals to fill those positions.

“We need help, but getting rid of my AEA is so the opposite of that,” she said. “And you’re saying, ‘I know, Patty, but I can hire you and you can help and work with her.’ It’s not going to change my numbers. I need more not different. So, please, think about that.”

VanHaaften also argued teachers are getting fed up.

“We have made the profession here in Iowa something people don’t want to do anymore. The saddest things I heard today, I had one of my co-workers look at me and say, ‘I love teaching. I love the kids. I’m done with the bureaucracy.’ Every day higher ups make people feel worthless, and it’s crazy. It’s gotta stop.”

Toward the end of the public comment portion of the school board meeting, State Sen. Ken Rozenboom responded to some of the comments and concerns.

“All of the comments seem to presuppose that we’re doing away with the AEA system,” he said. “We’re not under any circumstance doing that. The perception seems to be that we’re almost closing the AEA system down. That’s not accurate.”

Robyn Friedman, president of the Newton school board, said she interpreted the comments as more passionate anecdotes.

“But the passion seems directed as if we’re blowing the system up. I don’t want the people behind me or in front of me to believe that is the case,” he said.