craigdailypress.com

Craig resident Lorna Tunks laughed ruefully when she remembered scenes from last year.

At that time, frustration, anger and animosity colored her relationship with her daughter's teachers.

"It was horrific," Lorna said. "They wouldn't listen to me (about) the things I thought Emily needed."

Tunks' daughter, Emily, who has autism, was struggling in her sixth-grade classes last year, socially and academically.

But that situation changed when a third party stepped in: Solution-Focused Support.

This conflict-resolution system is designed to bring together parents, teachers, school officials and, in some cases, students, to find a solution for significant problems in class.

Dr. Lewis Jackson, a special education professor at the University of Northern Colorado, developed the idea for the program about 10 years ago and has implemented it in a dozen Colorado school districts.

Solution-Focused brings in a child advocate to work as a go-between for parents and teachers, meeting with both parties once a month - sometimes more if needed.

But that's not why the system works, Jackson said.

Solution-Focused incorporates another element: relationships.

"The reason it works so well is because the planning process itself brings everyone to the table on an equal basis," he said.

Melissa Forbes, a special education teacher at Craig Intermediate School, agrees.

"I think the relationship it builds between the parents and the school is huge," she said.

Last year, she and Allison LeWarne, another CIS teacher, attempted to help Emily. They met with the same frustrations Lorna did.

"Last year, in October, I was going home every night so frustrated because I didn't know what else to do," LeWarne said.

Through Solution-Focused, however, she, Lorna Tunks and a child advocate evaluated Emily's strengths and weaknesses together.

And they re-opened lines of communication that had been shut down by mutual frustration.

Lorna Tunks told Emily's teachers what she thought her daughter needed, which included teaching at a slower pace.

Partnering with parents is another of the program's strengths because it can reveal simple solutions to a student's needs a teacher may not think about, LeWarne said.

After using Solution-Focused, Emily's mother and teachers have seen evidence that the program has made a difference.

Emily, 13, now in seventh grade, has changed drastically, Lorna said, adding that the transformation is visible in everything from Emily's willingness to make eye contact to her ability to land A's on her report cards.

LeWarne also has noticed improvement.

At the end of last school year, she said, Emily was excited about the next school year and was playing with her friends - a stark contrast from earlier behavior.

And it wasn't just Emily's behavior that changed.

Solution-Focused helped heal broken relationships between teachers and parents.

"I thought I'd never talk to some of (Emily's teachers) again," Lorna Tunks said, "and now, we're best friends."

Bridget Manley can be reached at 875-1795 or bmanley@craigdailypress.com