Michelle Vitulich — a town resident for 17 years — has a daughter who is a sophomore at Staples High, and a 7th grader with special needs at Bedford Middle School.
Michelle served for 7 years on the Special Education PTA, and 4 years on the executive board of the Greens Farms Elementary School PTA. She writes:
The foundation of any successful school system is trust. When families in our community feel that their concerns are dismissed or that the system is failing to support their children, that trust is broken. For many families in Westport, the current approach to our special education program has led to this exact erosion of confidence.
We are at a critical juncture. There is a widespread call for a comprehensive, truly independent review of our special education system — not just an internal administrative assessment, but a deep, objective analysis of the entire program.
When the same administrators responsible for managing the Special Education Department are also in charge of selecting the firm to evaluate it, we face a fundamental conflict of interest. A system cannot objectively audit its own performance.
The current process risks being perceived as a way to shield the district from meaningful oversight rather than a genuine effort to improve student outcomes. History shows that when districts “police themselves,” recurring patterns of non-compliance—such as missed services, staffing shortages, and barriers to inclusion—go unchecked.
To restore community trust and ensure the best outcomes for our students, we need a review that is:
- Independent: The Board of Education, not the district administration, must select the consulting firm and define the scope of the evaluation. This ensures that the findings are unbiased and driven solely by facts.
- Comprehensive: It should include a review of student safety protocols, adherence to state and federal mandates, inclusion practices, and fiscal responsibility. It should look at the “real-world” experience of our families, not just internal paperwork.
- Inclusive: Meaningful parent and stakeholder involvement is not a threat to the process; it is essential to its credibility. Families, staff, and advocates possess critical insights that are necessary to understand where the gaps exist and how we can best support our students. Greenwich successfully utilized a steering committee —composed of parents, staff, and Board of Education members — to provide oversight for their entire review process.
This is about our children. Students with learning differences depend on us to ensure they are safe, understood, and provided with the support they need to reach their full potential. They cannot advocate for themselves, which places an even greater responsibility on the adults in the system to get this right.
Our Board of Education has the governance authority to change the course of this review. We urge the Board to take control, ensure transparency, and build a process that puts our students first. It is time for a system-wide review that we can all have confidence in — one that fixes what is broken, and ensures that every child in Westport has the opportunity to thrive.
A group of special education parents created this graphic. It was posted to various social media platforms.
(“06880″‘s Opinion pages are open to all. Submissions can be sent to 06880blog@gmail.com.)
Here is a link to a change.org petition in support of a transparent and independent special ed systems review; almost 700 have already signed in support: https://c.org/WfTF6PjhCR
Well past due! i’ve experienced when the school-system concludes that your child in special-ed is non-conforming and how they ‘get rid’ of ‘their’ problem. In fairness, it was a few regimes ago. Do I sound bitter?
Does Westport have self-contained Special Education classrooms?
Thank you, Michelle, for continuing to advocate so clearly and thoughtfully for students and families. It is a shame that it has had to come to this, but the need for an independent, transparent review feels both reasonable and necessary. Our district should be doing better for children with special needs and for the families who are trying to support them. Accountability should not be seen as adversarial; it should be the starting point for rebuilding trust and making sure every child gets what they need to thrive.
I tried to get suitable accommodations at Staples for my 10th grade son several years ago. I experienced a level of bureaucracy and hostility from the school that left me absolutely disgusted and furious. As a working mom, I could not pull together the internal resources to fight city hall. I ended up sending my son to The Forman School in Litchfield, where he graduated with honors and the visual arts prize. However, I wish I hadn’t felt the need to send my son to boarding school.
Thank you, Michelle, for your bravery and honesty. As Michelle wrote, I agree that re-establishing trust and openness is essential to for resolving problems and progress together. Without them, everything stays in the dark, and families are left powerless and hopeless.
I watched the recordings of the recent board meetings, and it was both heartbreaking and unsettling. The public’s feelings and perspectives were minimized and even controlled through rules about when people could or could not clap. The strongest advocacy in that room came from parents, not from those in leadership roles. That reality speaks volumes.
A healthy community depends on the public’s ability to serve as a real check and balance. By asking questions, requesting clarity, and ensuring that decisions are made in the best interest of our children and citizens. This is the requirement for a healthy democracy. A transparent and independent review isn’t just a procedural step. It is a part of our collective responsibility to protect students who cannot advocate for themselves and to provide clarity for all residents who care deeply about the wellbeing of this town.