Learning together

Andrew Wainer

FOUNTAIN VALLEY -- It was lunchtime at Plavan Elementary School, but

about 12 fifth-graders decided not to go out to play.

Instead, they ate their cheese puffs, corn dogs and potato chips in

class.

The students didn’t forego kickball and jungle-gyms under duress. They

volunteered to stay in, like they do every Wednesday, to learn a new

language from a popular student and a passionate teacher.

On Wednesdays, the kids stay in for the Braille Club, taught by special

education instructor Cheryl Kamei and visually impaired fifth-grader

Evelyn Carballo. The students, squirmy and excited, have spent six weeks

learning the written form of Braille, which consists of various

configurations of six dots.

This particular Wednesday, the children tested their knowledge for

chocolate candy prizes.

The class was playing Braille Jeopardy, led by Kamei and Evelyn.

They divided into teams of two and battled to win the most points,

answering questions from categories such as Braille letters, Braille

contractions and Braille words.

They had clearly done their homework. There was barely one wrong answer

during the game.

Indeed, the students were sincerely excited to play. Hands shot up to

answer questions the second after they were asked, and team partners gave

each other high-fives when they answered correctly.

Curious students outside pressed their faces against the tinted classroom

window to see what all the commotion was about.

“It’s fun to learn another language,” Braille Club member Stephanie Lee

said. “Our third-grade teacher taught us sign language.”

“We’ve learned all the letters of the alphabet [in Braille],” member

Ammon Orgill said. “I studied them at home.”

But it was Evelyn who drew all 12 of the students to the Braille Club.

“I sit next to Evelyn in class, and I thought it would be fun to learn

how to write notes to her,” Ammon said.

“It’s cool to see how she reads and writes,” said Stephanie, who is also

in Evelyn’s class.

Evelyn served as the scorekeeper during the game, punching out points on

the Perkins Braille writer.

“They want to know what I am doing with the writer,” Evelyn said.

Evelyn, who came to Plavan last year, already has integrated into the

school, and she greeted several friends as she walked through the halls.

“My friend Dan helps me when I run out of Braille paper,” Evelyn said.

“I’m proud of him.”

During the Braille Club, Evelyn acts as Kamei’s assistant teacher,

helping the sighted kids work through snags they hit while studying the

language.

Plavan Principal Lorraine Leavitt said the students’ enthusiasm for

learning about Evelyn is representative of the school as a whole.

“Plavan was set up this way when it was built in 1972,” Leavitt said. “We

want kids to develop deeper empathy for each other and learn to work

together.”

Leavitt said about a third of Plavan’s students are in special education.

Most of these students are mainstreamed into regular classes, where they

learn among larger student population.

Visual impairment, autism and cerebral palsy are some of the challenges

Plavan’s special education students deal with. Some students are bused in

from other districts because of its unique special education resources.

“Since the school was opened, we have hired staff with special education

credentials,” Leavitt said. “There is a sense of family here.”

Kamei, who works at 15 schools assisting with visually impaired students,

echoed Leavitt’s sentiments.

“This is a phenomenal school,” Kamei said. “The teachers are very open to

having special eduction kids in their class.”

Kamei said the school’s high percentage of special education students

made it especially accommodating to such a curriculum.

“This school goes out of its way to learn about special education

students,” Kamei said.

Kamei stressed the importance of giving visually impaired students a

solid Braille education during their early years.

“It’s important that they get their reading skills early if they are to

be successful,” Kamei said. ‘These students need the support of a special

eduction teacher working together with the regular staff.”

Kamei said the entire Plavan community gives special education students

the support they need.

“I had to turn away many students who wanted to be in the Braille Club,”

Kamei said. “Parents were calling me up and asking me if their children

could participate.”

In addition, Kamei said activities such as the Braille Club boost the

self-esteem of special education students.

“It empowers her [Evelyn],” she said. “When other students take a genuine

interest in her, it feels real good.”

Kamei said it also benefits the regular students.

“Now when I see Braille in public, I can read it,” club member Tanya

Scoralli said.

“Braille is becoming more and more common in public,” Kamei added.

But Kamei cautions that it takes a lot of work and care to make a special

education program successful.

“Problems with integrated programs occur when special education students

are not given a solid background in their early years,” she said.

“Students who don’t know the fundamentals would not be successful in a

mainstreaming environment.”