State Director of Special Education Dr. Renee Charleswell, back row third from left, and Sheryl Serano-Griffith, director of special education, St. Thomas-St. John District, third from right, hosted education officials from the BVI in a tour of schools on December 9, 2016. The group visited the independent skills classroom at Addelita Cancryn Jr. High along with several other schools in the district.
The Virgin Islands Department of Education State Office of Special Education, in partnership with the Division of Special Education, St. Thomas-St. John District, recently hosted a delegation of special education officials from the BVI to discuss and observe educational strategies, practices, procedures and resources used within USVI public schools for students with special needs.
The one-day tour was organized by Dr. Renee Charleswell, state director of special education and Sheryl Serano-Griffith, St. Thomas-St. John special education district director, and brought the six-member group to Lockhart Elementary School, Yvonne Bowsky Elementary School, Addelita Cancryn Junior High School and the Charlotte Amalie High School on December 9.
At Addelita Cancryn, the group toured the newly established independent skills classroom, equipped with a full-sized wheelchair accessible kitchen, washer and dryer, refrigerator and dishwasher. The facility serves both students with special needs and those in the general education population, introducing students to important life skills, such as cooking, ironing, laundering and more.
During the visit, the BVI delegation interacted with the district’s special education teachers, paraprofessionals and administrators, asking questions relating to curriculum design, grading, standardized testing, classroom structure, transition planning, professional development, educational resources and personnel support.
“The visit was an extremely positive experience for the delegation and they expressed exploring the opportunity to visit monthly while they continue to build the special education program in the BVI,” Dr. Charleswell said. “They candidly expressed the need for job shadowing experiences and teacher exchange opportunities as an option in the very near future.”
Members of the BVI delegation included Charisse Bynoe-Thomas, special education officer; Natasha Marshall, coordinator for student support services at the Elmore Stoutt High School; Ereia Smith-Forbes, speech/language pathologist; and Danika Stoutt, coordinator for support services for primary schools.
In October of 2015, Dr. Charleswell and Compliance Monitor Elouise Mack were invited to the BVI to assist the British territory with evaluating its current special education system. The visit also sought to establish on-going collaboration between the USVI and the BVI relative to serving children with special needs, as well as provide the British territory assistance in establishing an accountability system for its special education system based on valid and reliable data.
Members of the BVI delegation listen to STTJ Special Education Director Sheryl Serano-Griffth during tour of Addelita Cancryn's independent skills classroom.
Members of the BVI delegation listen to STTJ Special Education Director Sheryl Serano-Griffth during tour of Addelita Cancryn's independent skills classroom.
BVI Special Education Officer Charisse Bynoe-Thomas looks on as Cancryn special education teacher shares information at tour of independent skills classroom on December 9.
