Brandon Twp.- Judy Facione was a city girl when she came to teach special education students at Brandon High School 31 years ago.
She remembers being baffled when one of the first students she had came to class with ‘white stuff? on his boots. She asked what it was.
‘He told me the white stuff was milk,? Facione recalls now, laughing. ‘He gave me a lesson on farms and the different types of cattle. The excuses back then for being late were they were chasing down cows or horses… They had a tough time learning how to read and do math, but they were able to teach me (farm) stuff and it helped their self-esteem.?
Facione, 55, retired this month from the district. The Clarkston resident graduated from Eastern Michigan University in 1976, majoring in emotionally impaired special education and psychology. She was a substitute teacher for a year afterward, before being hired to teach at Brandon in 1977.
She was one of only two special education teachers when she started, and initiated the emotionally impaired and learning disabled component of the high school’s special education department. That first year, she saw six special education students graduate. Now, there are nine special education teachers, seven of whom team teach, and there were 26 special education students among BHS’s 2008 graduating class.
Facione, who has served as department head for much of her career, has witnessed many changes in education over the years.
Facione says there are less drugs in the schools now than there were in the 70s, with better discipline and an administration that doesn’t tolerate it. Parent involvement is also up in their children’s education, and Facione is pleased in a recent change with the Michigan Merit Exam that allows all kids that take the test to receive money for higher education, even if they have to wait until their third year of college to receive it.
‘Before, money was only given to the smart kids, and it was really discriminatory to the special education kids,? she said. ‘Some kids aren’t good test takers, but are smart kids.?
But while Facione says these changes are good, she is frustrated with other changes, including more stringent graduation requirements, which she says are really going to affect the dropout rate. As an example, she notes the class of 2011 is required to have four years of math in high school, including specific algebra and geometry courses.
‘It’s really sad, because kids now will have to take four years of math and if they don’t pass, they have to take it again,? she said. ‘With all the requirements, they can only fail one-and-a-half credits, and that’s three classes. It’s devastating to kids if they don’t graduate with their class, and just because they’re not good at math. That needs to be adjusted.?
One of the biggest challenges Facione has faced as a teacher is the expectations parents have for their children.
‘Sometimes parents don’t have realistic expectations of what their children can do,? she said. ‘Maybe they’re not going to be doctors.?
Still, Facione praises the community.
‘I would have never made it 31 years in special education anywhere else,? she said. ‘I would have burned out. But here at Brandon it’s a small community and the parents, for the most part, are supportive. They instill very good manners in their children. Other schools say they can’t believe how nice our kids are, they look you in the face and say hello.?
Facione is retiring to spend more time with her family, which includes her 93-year-old father, of whom she is the primary caretaker, as well as with her husband, Steve, to whom she has been married for 32 years. They have two children, Danielle, 28, and Anthony, 27.
‘I will miss my colleagues and the kids, but I will come back and substitute,? Facione said. ‘I can’t leave them, there are too many. I’ve got to see them.?