HOUSTON — Sheletta Brundidge is a native Houstonian and a proud product of the Houston Independent School District.
“I love H-Town through and through," Brundidge said. "I was born in Fifth Ward.”
But she told us she had to move for the sake of her children. Three of her four kids have different degrees of autism.
"Everybody I know and love lives in Houston, Texas," Brundidge said. "And with three autistic children, you know it had to be bad if I decided to move where I had no help and no support.”
She ended up in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota, where she and her husband previously worked. It's where she said she’s found better autism-related resources for her now 8, 10 and 11-year-olds.
"My children are in a special public school," Brundidge said. "A special autism program where they’re not grouped in with other developmental delays and disabilities.”
The former TV news assignments editor has even co-written books about each of her kids and their autism journeys and said she’s hearing from parents back home in Houston about HISD’s recent changes.
"And you know what I’m telling them?" Brundidge said. "Run!"
That might be to other districts or, like her family, to another state altogether.
"Just like you move for love when you get married, just like you move for a job if you get a promotion, sometimes you move so your children can have a better quality of education," Brundidge said. "And that is what we did.”
HISD said proper support for all children with special needs, including those with autism, remains in place despite new changes.
Here's the district's full statement shared with KHOU after an initial story:
HISD Response
We will provide support for all students with special education needs, including students with autism as part of the Unit Support Model. This model moves supports for special education needs from the central office and puts them within the divisions. The Unit model provides a Director of Special Education, two coordinators, and a manager assigned to a specific feeder pattern of schools within each Division. This model allows support to be closer to the assigned campuses and enables staff to provide more focused supports to a smaller number of schools.
All of these staff members remain on the District payroll. Staff members who held the title of Itinerant Teacher now have an opportunity to interview for the positions within the new structure. If placed in the Unit Structure, these itinerant teachers - whose job was to coach and support SLC teachers district-wide - will still provide support and coaching but to a much more defined group of campuses. Those who don’t take a position in the Unit Structure will be offered a special education position at campuses with special education vacancies.
With more than 1,800 campus and central office employees dedicated to special education, support for students goes beyond this restructuring. Last week all SLC teachers were provided with opportunities to participate in SLC-specific professional development, and all teachers and support staff can continue to access additional coaching and professional development throughout the school year. In addition, the district is currently participating in the “Support for Students with Autism” grant, which provides SLC teachers with opportunities to visit model SLC classrooms throughout the district.