Special Ed Classrooms

First Special Needs Classroom Goal Met,
Now on to the Next and Next and Next… !

In September 2021, our first multi-purpose special needs classroom project was completed in the town of Mosėdis, Lithuania. Through the generosity of our donors, we were able to finance the purchase of essential equipment and educational materials.

This was a huge success but our job is far from over.

By 2024, Lithuanian schools will be required to integrate all students with special needs. A wonderful idea, but rural schools struggle to find additional funding to equip classrooms so that all their students, regardless of their hardships, would receive the highest level of education. This is where you can help.

Sunlight Children’s Aid supporters have raised funds to complete projects at Mosėdžio gimnazija, Darbėnų gimnazija, Marijos Tiškevičiūtės school, Kretingos Jurgio Pabrėžos universitetinė gimnazija and Salantų gimnazija. Currently, we are in the process of selecting the next two schools to support.

In general, using the Mosėdis gimnazija as an example and model of our projects, the goal is a multi-purpose, multi-zone, classroom that would to be helping those students with developmental disorders work on overall improvement of various skills. Zones will be allocated for general education, small group focus work, individual instruction, and a sensory corner. Utilizing these zones allows the teachers to individualize their instruction and best meet the needs of all of their students.

Currently there will be a Special Education teacher and a Teaching assistant assigned to this room.

For example at Mosėdis gimnazija (2021 stats.) -

· 18 students have been identified with Special Needs that range from moderate to severe developmental disorders. Developmental Disorders impair children’s physical, language, cognitive, and/or behavioral development. This can impact everyday functioning, and often affect the students for their entire lives.

· 46 students have a phonetic speech disorders, some of whom also have been diagnosed with Dyslexia. Dyslexia is a disorder that involves difficulty reading words, letters, causing issues with cognition and retention.

· From 1st to 8th grade there are 2 to 4 students in each grade that show signs of hyperactivity. Space will be allocated in the room to assist students with Hyperactivity and allow them to have an area to complete school work with supervision.

· Space will be allocated to directly instruct students with Speech Disorders.

· At certain times the classroom environment may be too over-stimulating for some students. The Sensory Zone, is an area for students to utilize if they need a short break if they become over stimulated. Over stimulated senses can differ between many students and some of these are brightness, sound, and/or too many people, etc. The Sensory zone is typically used for no longer than 3-5 minutes per students so that they aren’t spending the majority of their day in the sensory area, yet it is critical for them to be able to refocus on their task at hand.

· The General Education Zone will have a Special Education teacher working with a small group of students specifically targeting their special needs.

· The Small Group Work Zone or the Educational Zone will be an area for the students to work in a small group reinforcing skill sets usually with a Teacher’s Assistant.

· The Individual Work Zone has enough room for 2 students to be working individually at the same time. This is an area where a student can work on classwork at their own pace, without distractions, have access to special computer programs and have oversight by their certified special education teacher or teacher’s assistant.

You can be their ray of hope! Thank you for your support!