| Johnson
Bridges Learning Gaps |
By Sabrina Enayatulla
Observer Staff Writer |
| A blue curtain is all that separates two worlds at South
Lakes High School. For a brief moment, entering the world
behind the blue curtain seems surreal but somehow magical,
intriguing and in all honesty, kind of fun. |
| The MOD/SD program at South Lakes High School has seen their
fair share of students with learning disabilities, but almost
eight years ago, when Layla Head came to the school, she came
in with a bang—literally. |
| Layla's mother, Leila McDowell-Head said her daughter was
so violent she would draw blood from her teachers. It came
to a point that Fairfax County was looking to put Layla in
an institution, McDowell-Head said. |
| But like a knight in shining armor, George Johnson, a career
pathways teacher with MODS at the high school, came to answer
McDowell-Head's prayers. |
| "He just said, ‘Don't send her anywhere, I'll take her,'"
McDowell-Head said in a phone interview last week. "The law
says kids should be educated in the least restricted environment,
and George really provided a safe haven for her." |
| The ARC of Northern Virginia recently recognized Johnson
for his dedication in helping to better the life of persons
with disabilities. |
| On a Thursday morning, while students were sitting in classrooms,
Layla, now 22 years old, was at work and in just about a week,
she will graduate from South Lakes High School with the rest
of the senior class. |
| Johnson, a tall, heavy man, has gentleness in his eyes and
tranquility in his body language. On a Wednesday afternoon,
he sat in his classroom with two of his students. |
| One student completed a 100-piece King Kong puzzle in about
30 minutes, while the other student was putting paper through
a paper shredder. Only minutes earlier, she had been pacing
around the room. |
| "I know that she feels comfortable shredding paper and we
have stuff that needs to be shredded," Johnson said with a
smile. "It's about choices for all of them. It's about understanding
their needs and giving them choices." |
| The MOD program provides students with opportunities for
functional academics and vocational training, both in-house
and at off-sites. |
| Johnson said his goal is to make sure the students become
independent and socialized. The focus is not necessarily on
getting them to move out on their own. |
| There is a wide range of students with disabilities who
are in the Special Education program at South Lakes. Some
students don't say much, if anything, and are wheelchair users.
Others seem quite independent already, finding something to
do on their own during free time and interacting kindly with
their peers. |
| "Most teachers don't last a minute over five years," Johnson
said with a chuckle. "I think I've gone over, tripled that."
|
| Johnson has been with the MODS program for 15 years. |
| Johnson grew up in Charlottesville, Va., as one of five
children. His father worked in security and his mother was
a homemaker. Johnson said he clearly remembers a time when
he and his younger brother were in school and his brother
was put in a special education class. |
| "I remember wondering why he was in there," Johnson said.
"I thought, ‘Gee, he knows just about as much as I do." |
| But Johnson said it wasn't until later that he decided to
pursue a career path in special education. Johnson went to
the University of Virginia on a Track and Field scholarship
and was planning on studying engineering but graduated in
1983 with a degree in Mental Retardation. |
| "You read books, learn in class that kids are separated
because of behavior they can't help, IQ or how they take a
test," he said. |
| "It didn't seem fair." |
| After graduating from college Johnson decided to coach track
and field, even after he moved to Northern Virginia he coached
track at South Lakes High School before working in the Special
Education program. |
| Johnson interacts with his students as if they are his friends,
making jokes, using slang in his vocabulary and giving them
high fives. Even the students that don't seem as responsive,
Johnson seems to understand them. |
| But despite an outsider's perspective on a visit for just
about an hour, Johnson said his job isn't always easy. |
| "My job is very complex," he said. "I'm running a classroom,
managing a support staff, collaborating with administration,
acting as a liaison with parents." |
| And the list goes on. |
| "But we have a lot of support from the administration. When
I need something I get it, and this program couldn't be run
if I didn't have the help I need." |
| A program that Johnson started with once had two students,
both wheelchair users in a small classroom. Today, Johnson
has 30 students, four teachers and 12 staff members. |
| As for Layla, the busy body has been going to the movies,
working, eating at restaurants and living a very happy life
according to her mother. |
| Johnson said his relationship with Layla has blossomed but
adds that it was because McDowell-Head put her trust in him
and the staff. |
| "She had to trust us," Johnson said of McDowell-Head. "It's
about trusting us and the behavior specialists, telling the
truth, good or bad." |
| Johnson, who has a son and step-son with a disability, said
he treats them the same, meeting their needs, whatever they
might be. |
