Special Education

As the “I’m just a bill” School House Rock cartoon ended, Hoover High School teacher Monica Wilke-Lewis began distributing a flow chart with 10 bubbles that represent how laws are made in Congress. Some in the government class of about 20 special-education students were still giggling about the video. Another stared out the window behind his right shoulder. Just like the average classroom, most students were quiet, some attentive, and others a bit sheepish as Wilke-Lewis detailed the legislative process.

Rosemont eighth grade history teacher and longtime local resident Christine Collins-Cross retires this month after 40 years of teaching. Her career has been as illustrious as it has been long. She worked many years teaching children with special needs, a calling she felt strongly since she was a young girl. Collins-Cross is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara. She has her master of arts with an emphasis in educational counseling, and her counseling credential. During the course of her career, Collins-Cross has taught students on the Papago Indian Reservation in Topawa, Ariz.

DOWNTOWN — Confused local educators tried to decipher the application process for federal stimulus aid this week, after 257 California school districts submitted their requests for money for some of the recovery funds available to schools. State Schools Chief Jack O’Connell announced Saturday that California had received its portion of fiscal stabilization funds, of which $4.8 billion will be available to school districts who submit applications for the money and agree to comply with a series of accountability and reporting measures.

DOWNTOWN — Area educators responded with skepticism Tuesday to assurances that federal stimulus aid would reach local schools without first being raided by lawmakers in Sacramento. State Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell expects California school districts to begin receiving stimulus funds in May, he said in a teleconference Monday, but administrators in Glendale and Burbank have not heard concrete details from the state and are not anticipating any of the additional money.

The board heard a report on school performance during the Great Southern California Shakeout, the statewide disaster drill that took place last week. Deputy Fire Chief Steve Howard and Hank Paz, coordinator of student support services, told the board about minor communications problems and a need for more runners to increase efficiency and coordination, among other things. WHAT IT MEANS The district will continue to review findings from the shakeout exercise, hoping to improve any problems in its disaster response procedures, which functioned well overall, officials said.

City sisterhood to be celebrated City officials and nonprofit organizers will celebrate the fifth anniversary of Glendale?s ?sister city? status with Ghapan, Armenia, tonight at the Alex Theatre. The Glendale Ghapan Sister City Assn., together with the city, is sponsoring ?A Night of Cultural Unity? at the historic theater, a free performance-driven event featuring cultural dance troupes and video presentations from Armenia. A member of the audience will be eligible to win a free trip to Armenia, with the winner announced at the end of the program.

Thanks to some special teachers It is with great pride that we watched our son graduate from Crescenta Valley High School on June 19. It has been a long road filled with hard work and determination on his part, but this milestone could not have been reached without the wonderful support, guidance and encouragement provided by the special education teachers in the Glendale Unified School District. From Pat Kimball at Fremont Elementary School, who took a scared 3-year-old boy crying in the corner and transformed him into a confident student, through Lucy Witkop at Crescenta Valley High, who is opening his eyes to the possibilities beyond high school, we are grateful to each and every teacher who has put the word “special” in special education.

SOUTHEAST GLENDALE — An FBI task force arrested a 56-year-old Glendale man Tuesday night on suspicion of possession of child pornography. Ivan Carcelen, who is a special education teacher at Griffith Middle School in East Los Angeles, was taken into custody at his residence at about 6 p.m., as a part of a Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement, or SAFE, task force investigation, FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller said. “This investigation was initiated when our local task force here received information from a similar crimes-against-children task force that the FBI operates in San Francisco, where they conducted an investigation and identified [Carcelen]