Kelloggsville — Kindergartner Amila Welch sorted colorful animals into coordinating cups using blue plastic tongs to place purple hippos in a purple cup and red elephants in a red cup.
“Great job,” said teacher Grace Morris before turning to a visitor. “We are working on fine motor skills, which is why she is using the tongs.”
At the same time, Morris worked with first-grader Leona Gurung. Morris said “w” and handed the girl a square piece of paper with a “w” on it. Leona matched it to the corresponding letter on her paper and glued it in place.
Across from them, first-grader Andres Mayhue worked with parapro Wendy Arguelles to match his letter, and behind him, another student focused on activities on a laptop.
It was a typical morning in Southeast Kelloggsville’s autism spectrum disorder classroom.
In the last year and half, Kelloggsville Public Schools has added two ASD classrooms to serve students on the spectrum, a growing number in the district. Between 2018-19 and 2023-24, the district’s ASD population has grown from 11 to 36, according to MI School Data.
Increasing Space to Meet Student Needs
The growth in Kelloggsville follows a national trend in special education. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there has been an upward trend in the number of students ages 3-21 who receive special education and/or related services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The number served under IDEA in 2012-13 was about 6.4 million or 13% of the total public school enrollment. For 2022-23, it was 7.5 million students, or about 15%.
Kelloggsville is part of Region III, which encompasses the public school districts of Wyoming, Godwin Heights, Godfrey-Lee, Grandville and Byron Center. The region offers special education services to students who need additional support.
Just like Kelloggsville, the other districts in Region III also have experienced growth in their ASD populations, which has resulted in the regional ASD program being full.
With more students needing a smaller learning environment and additional adult support, the district decided to open its own ASD classrooms, said Kim Fountaine, Kelloggsville’s director of student services.
The district opened its own ASD K-2 classroom last year at Southeast Kelloggsville, filling it with eight students. With growing need, a second K-2 ASD classroom opened in December at West Kelloggsville; it currently has four students.
“With the regional programs full, it wouldn’t have been appropriate to place these students into a regular classroom with one-on-one support,” Fountaine said. “Students on the autism spectrum who have high support needs often require non-traditional approaches in order to engage in learning activities.”
Play & Structure
The Kelloggsville class is modeled after the regional program with support from the Kent ISD autism coach, Fountaine said. Each full-day class has one certified ASD teacher and one support person for every four students.
Lessons are in the morning. Three tables are set up with different tasks focused on letter, number, color and/or shape recognition and identification as students work on pre-literacy and pre-math skills.
The program uses Essential Elements, which is designed to scaffold the state’s common core requirements in Math and English to meet students’ abilities, Fountaine said.
The afternoon is more unstructured as students explore through play, Morris said. Students eat lunch at the school and participate in recess.
Another advantage of having the classrooms in the elementary buildings is that social workers and speech and occupational therapists are able to work with the students within the classroom.
While only about a year old, the program has seen results, Fountaine said. Last year, two ASD students were able to join general education classrooms.
“It gives the student the opportunity to learn how to be a student,” she said. “It’s a time for them to develop the skills needed to engage and interact in their classroom environment.”
Read more from Kelloggsville:
• Second-graders take on leadership roles as reading ambassadors
• Enjoying her senior — and only — year at this high school
