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  30 YEARS OF EXCELLENCE: A HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE

The Early Years: 1970s'

  In 1975, a private agency, "The Children's Beach House, Inc.", and the Cape Henlopen School District developed a pilot project designed to serve students with severe learning disabilities who were unable to benefit from traditional special education services offered in the home school areas.  The school opened with twelve students from three Sussex County school districts.  Although the program was developed to serve severe learning disabled students, it was soon evident that other students needed this level of services as well.  Within one year, the program had expanded to serve Learning Disabled, Socially and Emotionally Maladjusted, Language Impaired and Autistic students.

  In 1977, the phrase "Intensive Learning Center" came into use to describe the type of programming that was going on in the Beach House center.  The Department of Public Instruction became involved with the project and four other ILC programs were founded in the state.  Three programs were in New Castle county and one in Kent County.  All were modeled after the Beach House project, with the Kent County program placed under the direction of the Beach House project.  Federal funds were provided to support these programs, along with local tuition funds.

  In 1978, the Children's Beach House Project changed its name to the Kent-Sussex Consortium.  The term "Consortium" was used to stress the partnership and association of the eleven school districts who pooled their resources to fund the expertise and programming that singularly they were unable to secure.  A full time director was hired to oversee the two programs.  This year also saw the addition of a full time psychologist and home school coordinator to the staff.

Justifying the Need: 1980s'

  In 1981, the Department of Public Instruction conducted a study of the Consortium and the other ILC's in the state.  ILC populations were growing rapidly and there were concerns that students were being warehoused instead of remediated.  There were a large number of black male students being placed in the New Castle County centers and this became a concern, as well.  The study looked at the lack of intensive services in local districts and the need for special programming for students returning from institutional and residential placements.  The study found that all five ILC's needed greater specification in the areas of curriculum, staff communication, utilization and coordination of related services, and personnel responsibility and accountability.  It recommended the following changes:  1) a written curriculum for each ILC area; 2) IEP's should be used on a daily-weekly basis; 3) staff should have common blocks of time for planning and communication; 4) additional related services staff should be hired;  5)  all programs and services should be housed in one facility, when possible, to reduce program costs, administrative problems and related services fragmentation.

  The Sussex ILC received the highest marks of all the ILC programs and was praised for its serving all types of handicapped students, for its on-going curriculum development, for its use of the IEP's with frequent checks on student mastery, for communication with the home, for providing parent training and information, and having a staff that operated as a team.  Areas recommended for improvement were curriculum, establishing a preventive behavior management system, developing a stronger pre-school program and a secondary program, having more staff input into program development and implementation, and improve staff-administration communications.

  In 1983, the program changed leadership.  Student enrollment was up to 90 students with the building operating at over 100% capacity.  The principal and support staff continued to serve both county programs.

  In 1984, the proposal for renovating and expanding the Fred Thomas building was developed.  Portable classrooms were secured to ease overcrowding at the Sussex site.  Plans for the Kent County Secondary ILC were developed as were plans to dissolve the administrative relationship between the Kent Elementary ILC and the Sussex program.

  In 1985, the centers were split and the Sussex Elementary Consortium was created.  The Kent County Secondary program was approved and implemented.  Plans were begun for a secondary ILC program at Sussex Vo-Tech.

  By 1987, the Sussex Consortium had grown to serve 120 students and employ over 60 staff.  DPI again became concerned with the growth and commissioned another study.  Dr. Donna Mertens from Gallaudet University was hired by DPI to conduct the study.  She concluded that there was an actual increase in the number of students needing SEC ILC services and that the SEC offered more comprehensive and different services that could be found anywhere in Sussex County.  She praised the development of the preschool program, the effectiveness of the behavior modification program, holding students who might otherwise need institutional or residential services, the level of related services being offered, the comprehensive curriculum including vocational programming, and following the IEP's.  She recommended expanding the Sussex ILC to provide classroom space for 120 to 130 students and office space for 8 related services and administrative staff.  After this report, DPI allowed the 1984 renovation project to go forward.  The project was completed by 1989, and students and staff returned from church basements and trailers.

  Insuring education in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE) became the number one issue in 1988, and efforts were made to develop a state plan that would eliminate separate facilities, such as SEC.  Another study was done in 1989, and again, the Sussex Consortium earned high marks for its accomplishments with special education students.  SEC ranked second in the state in academic achievement and first in the state in parent participation and approval.  The study, however, still recommended the abolishment of isolated, segregated schools.

Growth and Expansion: The 1990s'

  1990 marked the first time in 15 years that SEC began a school year with a fully functional building and a full contingent of staff.  After a year of sometimes heated debate over the fate of the Consortium program, a compromise was reached and SEC was allowed to continue to operate as an intensive learning center.  Two groups of Autistic students were integrated in Cape schools and further integration began over time.  It was agreed that the Consortium will continue to operate as long as it can meet the needs of students that others cannot help. 

  As the next few school years evolved, initiatives to involve the children with non-disabled peers continued.  A change of leadership occurred with the naming of an interim principal in the 1992-93 school year and a new principal with the 1993-94 school year.  During these years, a program serving the needs of children with physical impairments and other severe limitations was born.  This came from the need to serve children at nearby Harbor Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center.

  By the 1994-95 school year, the population of the Sussex Elementary Consortium had grown to close to 140 students.  The children served represented categories of disability such as Autistic, Physically Impaired, Seriously Emotionally Disturbed, Educable Mentally Handicapped, Trainable Mentally Handicapped, Deaf-Blind, and Learning Disabled.  While most of the students attended classes in the Fred Thomas Building, there were four off-site classrooms.  One classroom was located at Harbor Healthcare and Rehabilitation Center, one at Shields Elementary School, two at Lewes Middle School and two at Cape Henlopen High School.  The Shields room and one of the high school rooms became new additions that year.

  Administrative changes were made again during the 1998-1999 school year with the addition of the Sussex Consortium's first full-time assistant principal. The addition of this level of administrative support allowed for further expansion and development of the school's vocational programs as well as the increased capability for inclusion of students within the other schools of the Cape Henlopen School District.

The Clinical Approach: Turn of the Century  (2000s')

  The 2001-2002 school year began with the implementation of a new system of administration. The district decided to go with a more "clinical approach" thus hiring a program director. This replaced the principal vacancy and was still accompanied by an assistant principal. Enrollment climbed to 158 students during the school year. Approximately 30 percent of the students were served in the center-based Fred Thomas Building. The remaining 70% to 75% of the students were located within Little Angels Pre School, Richard Shields Elementary, HO Brittingham Elementary, Lewes Middle School, Cape Henlopen High School, and the Cape Henlopen Career Opportunities Program. In spring of 2002, the Cape Henlopen High School Intensive Learning Center was absorbed by the high school. This was part of the district's plan to phase in their ILCs into their existing schools. Also in 2001, the Lower Delaware Autism Foundation (LDAF) was formed. Spearheaded by a group of devoted parents, community business people, and Consortium staff. The group raises money for students as well as staff scholarships. Fundraisers include the Annual LDAF Ball, Autism Run, and other informal/formal outings.

The Sussex Consortium has earned a variety of state and national accolades:

· In July of 2002, the Sussex Consortium was awarded the Wendy F. Miller Autism Society of America National Recognition Award as "Autism Program of the Year" at the ASA Conference in Indianapolis.

· In 2005 the program was recognized by the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) as a Commendable School . This is awarded to Delaware schools based on state and federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) accountability data provided by annual assessments.

· In 2006, 2007, and 2008 the Sussex Consortium received the state's highest accountability rating with a Superior by DDOE under the NCLB criteria mentioned above.

During the Fall of 2004, the program officially opened its doors to its new state-of-the-art wings. Added a year after the new opening of the Mariner Middle School, the wing includes an observation room, specialist offices, classrooms and brand new life skills classrooms to build vocational, self-help, and independent skills.

  At the present time, the Consortium provides the following programs:

· Delaware Autistic Program (county-wide program) with 10 district locations

· Intensive Learning Center (a  program for district students in  PK and grades 3-8) with students served in two different locations.

· Cape Henlopen Career Opportunities Program (grades 9-12, separate ILC setting)

· DEAfED Program (Cape Henlopen residents eligible for classification as Hard of Hearing-Profoundly Deaf) located at Milton Elementary School and Mariner Middle School.

  Growth has been a continuous factor. Although the district has absorbed many of the Consortium ILC

students in its mainstream buildings, the autism population continues to flourish. Since 2003, this population has increased from 95 to 160 students. Additional sites were added in 2007 at the Rehoboth Elementary School and 2008 at Beacon Middle School due to this growth.

  The Consortium staff of over 130 employees continue to emphasize teamwork, constant effort, and dedication to improve, refine and expand services to meet the changing needs of a very special population.  The strong commitment from a truly dedicated staff has led to the establishment and maintenance of a very successful program for special needs children. . . . Arguably one of the best in the country.

Sussex Consortium Delaware Autistic Program