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NEW YORK, NY December 11, 2006 —Children in special education classes are often thought of in terms of labels. They're "mentally retarded," "autistic," "emotionally disturbed" or - more likely, "learning disabled." But these labels say little about the daily struggle to meet their often extraordinary needs. And educators believe too many of them are not being well served.

The evidence? Three out of four of the city's 160,000 special education students don't earn regular high school diplomas. Earlier this year we met an elementary student named Trae whose family is determined to see him graduate. WNYC's Beth Fertig went back for another visit to see what it takes.

HALL: This is where his grandmother lives.

It’s about 7 o’clock on a weeknight and Charlene Hall is picking up her 11 year-old son, Trae from his grandmother’s house in Queens.

HALL: The bus drops him off there and then he does his homework with her.

REPORTER: Hall and her husband both work full-time, so Trae stays with his grandmother until they get home. It’s a short drive from the family’s house in Elmhurst. Tonight, Hall is worried about Trae’s school work. He does well in reading, she says.

HALL: Fabulous, fabulous. He got 110 on Friday. But math I don’t know what’s going on.

TRAE: My Mommy’s here.

HALL: Thank you. You ready?

REPORTER: As his mother arrives, Trae comes bounding out of the house wearing an orange coat and a blue hat.

HALL: Bye pop.

TRAE: Grandpa!

He says goodbye, gets in the car and heads back home with his mother. They wind up at the dining room table for their nightly ritual: homework.

HALL: You want to tell me if anything is going on with you in math you feel that we need to talk about? What happened? She said you got a 30.

REPORTER: Trae looks bashful and tries to explain.

TRAE: Every kid was, like, saying ‘I’m done, I’m done, I’m done, Trae you’re not done?’ So I just wrote anything.

REPORTER: Trae has attention deficit disorder and hyperactivity. He can also get very emotional. But his parents know he’s a bright kid and they have high standards.

TRAE: 24 divided by 3 equals 8.

REPORTER: The Halls had a difficult time when Trae was young. He transferred in and out of several schools in an effort to find the right program. But with medication, counseling, and intensive classes at a school just for special education students, they believe their son WILL graduate and go on to college. His father, Tracy, is emphatic about that.

TRACY HALL: Of course. There’s really no issue or even thought that he’s not.

REPORTER: Trae is moving in that direction. He’s been switched to a larger class with 12 students instead of eight. He’s not exactly sure what this means. But he knows it’s a good thing.

TRAE: You’re moving on to a higher grade and with more kids cause you’re very friendly and nice. I don’t know.

HALL: You have less restrictions.

TRAE: I have less - what does that mean?

HALL: It means that you have a little bit more control of yourself. I think that’s a great idea.

TEACHER: How did you guys do on homework last night?

KIDS: Good.

TEACHER: Did you get well?

KIDS: Yes.

REPORTER: The school Trae attends is called P4 in Fresh Meadows. It’s a long, flat building by the Long Island Expressway with just under 140 kids. All of them have the kind of learning and emotional handicaps that require them to be in small classes with intense supervision. Trae is in the sixth grade. He and his classmates use the regular curriculum, but Principal Marcy Berger says they often need more time to absorb the lessons.

BERGER: of the kids are really on point in where they are academically, maybe a year or two below. And they’re here for definitive reasons.

TEACHER: Remember we’re following rules…

REPORTER: Trae sits in the front of the room wearing wire-rim glasses and the school uniform: a blue shirt with a collar and slacks. As usual, he’s the only kid also wearing a tie. He’s ready to answer when the teacher goes over a math problem involving squares made of toothpicks.

TEACHER: Trae, I don’t have term five written here. How many toothpicks do you think I’m going to have for term 5?

TRAE: Sixteen

TEACHER: He says 16, is that right? KIDS: Yes.

REPORTER: On the surface, the class looks like any other group of sixth graders except for two differences: its size and its composition. The twelve students here are all boys. And they’re all black or Hispanic. This is consistent with national patterns and experts who study special education acknowledge the reasons are complicated. Berger says the kids in Trae’s class were placed together because they’re all in sixth grade and considered higher functioning, academically.

TEACHER: Does everyone understand?

KIDS: Yes.

TEACHER: Do you understand? Positive?

REPORTER: The teacher, Linda Stevens, explains things slowly to make sure everyone is keeping up. There are actually two adults working with these 12 children because Stevens also has a classroom aide.

STEVENS: They know that if anyone’s misbehaving during the lesson they are removed from the classroom.

REPORTER: That’s hard to imagine now. But Berger says confrontations go with the territory.

BERGER: There have been fights. Somebody will throw a book, um, they all know some very choice vocabulary. REPORTER: How is that different from ay other class? BERGER: These are children who have some short attention spans, who have some low frustration levels, who react a lot faster and a lot more intensely than students in a larger classroom. They’re maintained here because their needs are being met.

CAFETERIA TEACHER: Quiet, quiet.

REPORTER: You realize how orderly these classrooms are when you enter the cafeteria.

FERTIG: After being in that classroom it feels like you’ve walked into a bee’s nest. BERGER: It’s activity. Because they’re so structured in the rooms this is an opportunity for a little socializing, a little hanging.

REPORTER: Pre-kindergarten children with autism sit in the front of the room communicating with pictures because most of them can’t speak. A few children are in wheelchairs. The students get their meals in small groups, lining up first to minimize the chance for any disruption. Berger and her staff watch over the room for any sources of conflict.

BERGER: See now look.

REPORTER: Trae and another boy are tussling over a book. It’s immediately whisked away by a teacher.

Rules are taken seriously by the staff and students. Kids who are good in every class can earn up to 62 points a day. And high scores can earn them free periods and occasional treats. Trae and his friend Tavon try not to get a low score.

TAVAN: Fifties are okay but 40s and 30s you really have a problem with it.

TRAE: 40s and 30s I never got, I never got.

FERTIG: What’s the secret to getting a high mark, how do you get a 60?

TRAE: Do all your work and bonus points.

TAVAN: You gotta be good all day.

REPORTER: This behavior management system is widely used in special ed programs. Berger says Trae does especially well with it.

BERGER: I don’t think that he’s ever walked out of here with less than a 50-something. And it’s important to him, it means something to him, because it also means something to his family.

REPORTER: With the exception of a few math assignments, Trae is performing very well academically. But it’s been a rough adjustment socially. Trae transferred here this Fall from another site that Berger also supervises. This meant leaving behind his old friends and meeting new kids – some of whom are a little more streetwise. Trae listens to Radio Disney instead of rap music, and he’s the kind of kid who wants to be liked.

STEVENS: So the counselor is working with him and the other students to kind of help him, to walk up and say ‘hi how you doing today, did you have a good night last night what happened, did you watch TV

REPORTER: His teacher, Linda Stevens, says Trae didn’t know how to interact with the other students at first.

STEVENS: ‘Cause a couple of them will say, you know, ‘go away, I don’t want to talk to you, leave me alone.’ And I try to tell them, you know, ‘He’s just trying to make friends, he doesn’t know how, he needs help, so let’s help, tell him what to say.’

REPORTER: In gym, Trae is grouped with a few boys he’s become friendly with in his class. The teacher knows which kids get along well and which should be separated.

This intensive staffing comes at a price. The city spends 55 thousand dollars per student, annually, at P4. That’s five times the cost of general education, because the school is in a separate program called District 75 for special education students with the greatest needs.

Federal law requires schools to give disabled students a less restrictive setting whenever possible. That could be a larger class or moving them into the mainstream. Berger says Trae couldn’t handle a class with 25 kids right now. But he could get there soon with a little help.

BERGER: My vision for him and this is just me, this is not a discussion we’ve all had yet, is I would love to see him in some kind of inclusion setting where he’s in a general education class, there’s Trae and a paraprofessional who can help and sort of guide him along, but he’s in a class with general education kids.

REPORTER: That’s a heavy lift for most of her students. Last year, only four out of the 300 elementary students in programs run by Berger transferred into inclusion classes.

TRAE: Ummmm! HALL: Come on, it’s easy! TRAE: She is working me hard like crazy!

REPORTER: At home, Trae and his mother go over his reading assignment. He’s learning about nouns and adjectives and he’s tired at the end of a long day.

HALL: Take your time, what part of speech is wing? TRAE: Oh.

REPORTER: Trae knows his parents have high expectations. This is his last year of elementary school.

TRAE: My Mommy said once I get in this class, when I come out I’m going to be extra smart.

REPORTER: Tracy and Charlene Hall say their son’s potential can’t be ignored. Regardless of how he’s labeled.

TRACY: I am very, very happy and proud. Cause I know he has it in him. I know all of what he can do more than what he knows. But it’s just a matter of him having his own self confidence.

CHARLENE: It’s going to happen. By the time he’s out of 8th grade he’s going to be out of special education. I’m not going to push him. But I really think he can.

REPORTER: The week after he got a thirty in math, Trae got a perfect score on the next exam. For WNYC I’m Beth Fertig.