CHS student sees efforts to raise awareness pay off

By Barney Breen-Portnoy

Published: May 26, 2008

October will be Disabilities Awareness Month in the Charlottesville school division, thanks to the efforts of Daniel Milner, a senior at Charlottesville High School.

Milner, who was born with a spinal condition that requires him to walk with braces, came up with the idea for a Disabilities Awareness Month after attending the Youth Leadership Forum at Christopher Newport University last summer. He took his idea to the School Board in March, and the board approved the Disabilities Awareness Month resolution May 15.

Milner said that the month would include activities to educate students about disabilities.

“The whole point is to help boost more positive interactions with folks with disabilities,” Milner said. “I’d like to get rid of the discomfort that many people feel when they are around disabled people.”

Milner has contacted Gov. Timothy M. Kaine and Del. David J. Toscano, D-Charlottesville, to promote the creation of a statewide Disabilities Awareness Month. That idea has received positive feedback, Milner said.

There are 647 students with disabilities enrolled in Charlottesville schools, according to data provided by the school division.

The division has made significant progress in recent years both in improving the accessibility of its buildings and in expanding educational services for disabled students, said Emily Dreyfus, chairwoman of the Charlottesville Special Education Advisory Committee, which will participate in the planning of Disabilities Awareness Month.

Disabled students in the city are now scoring at or above state averages on standardized testing, whereas they were falling short of state averages until recently, Dreyfus said.

“It’s remarkable how much progress has happened this fast,” Dreyfus said.

Beth Baptist, the school division’s director of special education and student services, said that the progress could be attributed to a combination of factors, including increased access to the general education curriculum for special education students, the availability of alternative testing options and a focus on staff development.

Last year, the City Council allocated about $400,000 in surplus funds from fiscal 2006 to the school division to make Americans with Disabilities Act infrastructure improvements.

In the fall, Milner will head to George Mason University, where he plans to study politics. He said he will continue to be an activist for disabilities rights and awareness.