McBride Special Education Center

Wow! What a day. Sorry for the late post but we just got back from the living taping of the Big Bang theory. We are all tuckered out and ready for tomorrow.

We started our day at McBride Special Education Center where we Tim Bays welcomed us warmly. After a quick discussion about the school and an overview of our itinerary we were sent on our way to take a tour of the schools. The building was separated by functioning level and age. The outside building housed the students with more severe disabilities including those with multiple and many physical impairments. The main building was split into pre-K through elementary on one side and vocational and secondary on the other side of the building. The classrooms were filled with helpful aids and experienced teachers. The ratio of student to teacher/aids is 4 to 1. During the tour we were all impressed by the amount of creativity and passion among the faculty and staff, many of whom have spent over 15 years in McBride. We all learned how important modifications can be in ALL of our classrooms. We also discussed that as general education teachers we should never underestimate what a special education student, or any student, is capable of.

After the tour the principal organized a panel of faculty, paraprofessionals, nursing staff, and administrators. The panel was able to answer all of our questions about how and why their school is so successful. They were very impressed that we were there on our spring break to learn about schools in LA. Tim was also working hard to open our minds to the idea of special education and what we can all do to help.

After grabbing resources from McBride and reluctantly saying our good-byes we headed toward Warner Bros Studios to view the live taping of The Big Bang Theory. The show was hysterical and it was quite an experience to see the behind the scenes taping. We would like to extend our gratitude to Dr. Robert Lee for this wonderful opportunity that we will be sure to remember.

Thank you and goodnight.

ps McBride fun fact: Tomorrow they will be having a "snow day". The principal has ordered hay and snow to fill the back playground where the students will be invited to experience the snow. "We can't bring our students to the snow. So, we bring the snow to our students"-Tim Bays