Making Education Special
On the job as Westbrook’s Director of Special Services for just four months, Kathleen Onofrio of Old Saybrook is already working with teachers and staff to use data from the classroom to select and adjust instructional practices for individual students based on assessments of their skill mastery.
Previously, the district had a special education coordinator at each building. This year, the building-specific responsibilities have been consolidated into the new district-wide position. The goal of the change was to assure continuity in programming, resources, and support for students served by the district’s federally mandated special education program from birth through graduation.
“I started off my career as a school psychologist so I already had a perspective of looking at the whole child,” Kathleen says. “I’ve always felt we should look at children based on their needs and how they function in the context of the classroom; it’s about grouping kids by their strengths based on ongoing skills assessments, not based on labels.”
The new approach helps all students get the extra help they need to master specific concepts and skills, not just those who have been identified as needing special education services.
Kathleen was a school psychologist in Old Lyme for 18 years before shifting into administration.
“I went into administration because I wanted to have a wider impact; I also loved mentoring staff and problem-solving solutions,” Kathleen says. “It’s in public education where you can have the most impact on helping every child reach their potential.”
Kathleen spent more than a year in the Wethersfield schools before becoming director of Pupil Services in Region 4 (Essex, Chester, Deep River), a post she held for six years before moving recently to the Westbrook Public Schools.
“I really like the smaller Westbrook school district; working closely with a small group of professionals and staff encourages collaboration,” Kathleen says.
For many years, Kathleen enjoyed quilting as a hobby but moving to administration left less time over the past eight years to pursue this interest. Now she devotes spare time to her grandchildren and husband, Joseph Onofrio, superintendent of schools in Old Saybrook.
Her goals in the near-term include developing a new life-skills program at the middle school and improving student independence and access to the general education curriculum for those with special needs through increased used of technology tools.
“We want to open more doors for content learning,” Kathleen says.
Pictured: Westbrook’s new Director of Special Services Kathleen Onofrio works to retain students with special needs within the school district by providing appropriate programming. The strategy benefits the students while also helping the town to control unpredictable and high costs of out-of-district educational placements.