Parents Protest Shift in Speech Therapy Class

Some parents of youngsters with severe speech impairments said they are upset that the Los Angeles Unified School District has changed the way a speech therapy class for preschool-aged children has been run in the San Fernando Valley since 1993.

But district officials said the Phonological Processing Program is being reorganized at four Valley campuses to bring it in line with four other district schools utilizing the pilot program.

When it was implemented locally in 1993, Valley schools had permission to have two teachers, instead of one, per eight students.

Judy Bossier, the district’s unit coordinator for special education services, mid-city division, said the number of students per class will not make a difference in the quality of instruction.

But the program’s founding instructors in the Valley, district speech pathologists Nanci Mancinelly and Jeanne Piercy, said their lower ratio provided better results.

Both moved on to other speech therapy duties this year rather than take on more children per class, saying it was impossible to teach effectively at a higher ratio.

More than a dozen parents convinced the district to offer the program with the old ratio this year.

“Our son’s problem is settled, but there are kids after him with parents who may not have the means, the know-how or the finances to fight the district,” said Rob Downs, whose 4-year-old son, Nicholas, started the class last year. “They’re out of luck.”

Children entering the 6-year-old pilot program at Valley campuses next fall will be in classes of eight children for one teacher.

“We’d like to get back to the original way of conducting classes and get some continuity [among schools] to see what’s going on with the program,” Bossier said.

In the Phonological Processing Program, instructors teach sounds using games and activities. Unlike more traditional programs at other district schools, the pilot program requires that parents attend classes and practice the lessons with the children at home.