Dear readers of Special Education Today,
UPDATE: My original post included incorrect statements about the Eaton fire in Altadena, California. I have updated this version; the changes are noted in bold.
Thank you for following Special Education Today and contributing to the improvement of and appreciation for evidence-based educational practices for children and youths with disabilities (and their families). This message represents the installment of 13 January 2025 in our on-going effort to share trustworthy news, facts, figures, knowledge, guidance, and opinions (mostly mine!) about providing access to beneficial services for individuals with disabilities. Although I hope that SET generally focuses on the foregoing topics, I know that I sometimes stray into related discussions (e.g., advocacy for adults with disabilities).
I am pleased to provide this general perspective for readers who have relatively recently begun to read SET. Of course, I’m happy to have long-time subscribers read it, too. (Some of them may wonder if what I just presented is, in fact, the same thing for which they joined years ago!). Either way, what follows is the usual weekly summary with sections that are familiar to regular readers: A photo, an update about the state of SET, a listing of recent posts, and some opinions (by me).
Up, up, and away!1
Photo
This week’s image is not current in the sense of being taken recently. It’s from before SET even existed. I took it when I was visiting with my late mother in March of 2020.
Most readers will remember that at that time, the COVID-19 outbreak was rapidly becoming international news. It quickly became a chaotic time, with concerns about protecting oneself and others from the rapidly spreading virus and its consequences (e.g., death) for vulnerable people such as my 96-year-old mother.
California officials essentially shut down the state. The care facility for my mother closed its doors for everyone but residents and essential staff (they identified my brother and me as essential staff, thanks). When I returned to C’ville a couple of weeks later, I traveled on nearly empty planes (almost everyone got seats in the forward cabin to maintain weight and balance) and particularly uncrowded airport terminals.

Those were difficult days. In the last week or so, however, times have again been very chaotic for the areas near those shown in the photo. In 2025, the Eaton Fire in Los Angeles started near the base of the mountains at the extreme left of this photo. It did not (at least so far) progress close to the location from which I took the picture, but it swept through the Altadena area to the left of this photo, up toward the mountains and burned through essentially a town of 40,000 people. I’ll return to this matter in the commentary.
Flashes of the electrons
SET is just a few dozen folks short of having 1000 total followers. There are nearly 800 subscribers who get the full email access and another almost 200 who see the SET content in their “feeds.” Woooohooooo!
Even though I’ve said this before, let me say thanks on behalf of all of us to these subscribers who go beyond the basic cost, and chip in at a sustaining level: Li-Yu, Kathy, and Mike have been helping keep SET afloat for years.
Thanks to the supporting subscribers for SET, some of whom are Mary R., Bev J., Nancy C-W., Tina C., Dan H., Maryanne L., I. G., Mike N., Angelique W., Rebecca S., June R., Jean C., and Ed P. You, my peeps, are winners in this race!
Also, let me appreciate the contributions of readers who contribute. I’m referring to those in the community like Tom Z., Jane B., Paul C., Dan H., Miss W., Leena, and Clay K. who leave comments on posts. Thanks for the opportunity to interact!
Howdy to new readers, Matt S., Traci, Miss W., Sam C, Mary, G, Cait, and Smayan S.! It’s great to have you here on SET.
Waves to Jane B. (multiple likes), Paul C (yes, he was here more than once), Luann D. (she’s a multiple offender, too), Dan H. (him, 2, 3), Clay K. (repeat offense), Miss W., Leena (yep, more than one), Tom Z. (he interacts frequently), Sandra D., Sandi R. (as usual, making multiple appearances), Cheryl Z., Jen W., Pei H., Tina C, Julia L-N., Paul C. (did I mention him earlier in this list?), and others who pressed the “like” button this past week.
Also, even it they don’t show up in this catalog, thanks to those readers of SET who tell friends and acquaintances about our little island of sanity (or whatever) here. These are folks who tap that share button! Forward posts! Copy Web locations for SET content and send it to others. Please share
This week’s ToC
These are the posts for the previous week. As the poker players say when they review their cards, “Read ‘em and weep.”
Special Education Today Newsletter 4(28): What was happening the week beginning 30 December 2024?
Weather update: Snow day: Did you hear about the storm sweeping into the mid-Atlantic?
A guide for securing services in the US: What does Paul Coyne recommend in his plan for "hacking" an IEP?
Labor unions argue over roles of paraprofessionals: When is a TA something other than a TA?
Parents' create school for kids with dyslexia: Might parents and educators benefit from seeing this film?
A little levity: Isn't it wise to remember the fun times?
Report on the epidemiology and costs of autism spectrum disorders: How common are autism spectrum disorders worldwide?
So, there you go. That’s the harvest for this past week. If you had to skip any of them in the regular mailings, you can go back to read them by following these links (provided you aren’t hitting the links 10 or more days after when they were published). In general, readers can go back to the archives at any time but, please note, some of the nearly 1200 posts in the archives are only available to paid subscribers.
Commentary
As mentioned in the photo section, the Eaton Fire burned through much of Altadena. The damage and destruction is widespread and total in many neighborhoods. Because we lived and worked in Pasadena and Altadena in the 1970s, we are familiar with many places that still existed until this week.
We lived in a working-class neighborhood in central Pasadena near the intersection of Mountain St. and Lake Ave. I taught at an institution about 3-4 miles to the west. Pat taught little kids with disabilities at a school that was about 2-3 miles (10 min) north of us, closer to the mountains. That school building where Pat taught, which had become a Waldorf school, is gone.
UPDATE 19 January 2025: The building where Pat taught was not destroyed. A separate Waldorf school building a block or two north of it was damaged. The Pasadena Waldorf School has created a fund drive to rebuild that northern building. 2
With a batch of neighbors who were also co-workers, six or eight of us often had dinner together on Fridays after work. We frequently ate at a family-style restaurant on Lake Avenue near its intersection with Altadena Dr. The place was called Fox’s and it was still in operation in December 2024, but isn’t any longer. It’s gone.
An area of streets just a block from where Pat taught was lined with huge, old, stately evergreens and was locally known as “Christmas Tree Lane.” Gone.
UPDATE 20 January 2025: Apparently many of the homes on “Christmas Tree Lane” in Altadena escaped the fires that burned around them. The deodar cedar trees may have protected them (and a giant train set).
It’s terrible to think about all these places I remember. But, then I think about the places that recent 1000s of residents lost in Altadena (and the many other fire areas). They lost their actual homes, their neighborhoods, their schools, their parks…some even lost their lives.
Some of those who experienced these horrific fires are surely people with disabilities. Faithful SET reader Clay sent me a story about one person, Galen Buckwalter, who had to flee the fires at night in his motorized wheelchair. As reported by Sam Liven in The Guardian, it’s a harrowing story.
And then I think about children—especially the 100s of them who have disabilities—who have lived through this ordeal. Because they have little or no basis for comparison, it’s all new. Because it’s novel, it can be terrible…or it can be handled differently. I expect to hear calls for “trauma-informed” this and that, counseling, and “time for healing.” I understand and respect the need to respond sympathetically. I am wary, however, of having those concerns become an excuse for delaying or denying instruction.
We’ve all heard plenty about the costs of COVID-19 for kids’ education (Dorn et al., 2020, 2021; Jalongo, 2020; Zahl et al., 2021). It will take a great effort by educators and parents to help students not experience educational losses from the fires of LA in 2025. Some actual schools may be gone, but we can create environments in different new places where learning can be not just supported, but promoted. It’s on us to be caring educators and to care enough that we prevent our students from suffering educationally.
So, let’s take time to mourn the losses and then I hope that you will remember by usual admonitions: Stay safe (fire drills!), take care of your family and friends (its’ probably a good time to mask up in Altadena and other affected places), and, of course, teach your children well.
JohnL
SET Editor guy
Charlottesville
Please remember that SET should not be confused with a product with the same name that is published by the Council for Exceptional Children. SET predated CEC’s publication by decades (see “Lovitt’s Lines” for examples from those days). Despite my appreciation for CEC, this product is not designed to promote that organization. I’m not selling anything here other than what you read in the posts.
References
Dorn, E., Hancock, B., Sarakatsannis, J., & Viruleg, E. (2020). COVID-19 and student learning in the United States: The hurt could last a lifetime. McKinsey & Company, 1, 1-9.
Dorn, E., Hancock, B., Sarakatsannis, J., & Viruleg, E. (2021). COVID-19 and education: The lingering effects of unfinished learning. McKinsey & Company, 27.
Jalongo, M. R. (2021). The effects of COVID-19 on early childhood education and care: Research and resources for children, families, teachers, and teacher educators. Early Childhood Education Journal, 49(5), 763-774.
Zhou, T., Molfino, T., & Travers, J. (2021). The Cost of COVID: Understanding the full financial impact of COVID-19 on districts and schools. Education Resource Strategies. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED610771.pdf
Footnote
Okay…sure: down, down, and retreat. Yes, no. Left, right. Yin, yang. On, off. Circle, square. Cylindrical, prismatic….oh, and for all you psychologists, don’t forget in and out!
The note here nor the sites to which I’ve pointed should not be taken as an endorsement of the school or its educational methods.