BOB HUDOCK AND DAUGHTER KATIA
disabled classmates. I was eager to see Katia transition into mainstream classes where I knew she would do well. By then, I had gained enough confidence in her teachers to trust that this would be the best move for my daughter’s development. We were amazed by Katia’s progress. Every time she mastered one level of reading, her teachers would give me a new bag of books at the next reading level for her to read at home. As promised, the staff at P.S. 503 provided support and regularly assessed Katia’s skills. Almost weekly, Katia’s teachers adjusted her schedule to strengthen her weak areas and challenge her strengths. At first, I found it hard to keep up with all the changes, but I had no problem seeing how my daughter was thriving in this program. Her reading skills were growing so quickly I could barely keep up, while she became more outgoing, engaging and sociable both with adults and with her peers. SEPTEMBER 2012 – Expect Success
For first grade, Katia will be in a teamteaching class with her non-disabled classmates while she continues to receive physical, occupational, and speech therapies. As we head back to school, I am very proud that my daughter will enter the first grade at a third grade reading level. I have no doubt that she is a smart little girl, but I don’t believe that she would have achieved such academic excellence if she had remained in that self-contained classroom. Katia has come a long way. She left the hospital as a frail infant and started kindergarten in a segregated classroom with unknown academic prospects. Over the past year, I have seen firsthand that when parents and teachers raise academic expectations for students with disabilities, and truly look at these children as individuals, they can succeed. Being educated alongside their non-disabled peers may not suit all children with disabilities, but I believe there should
be more flexibility and opportunities to join general education classrooms. My family will always be grateful for the incredible teachers and administrators at P.S. 503 who have given us the ability to dream about Katia’s future. They have raised our expectations that she will no doubt grow up to become a happy and independent young woman. Bob HuDock and his family have lived in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn for six years. He and his wife Gordana have enrolled their daughter Katia at P.S. 503 The School of Discovery in Sunset Park. HuDock has served as Vice President of the school’s PTA for two years.
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