PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Paul Anthony Urbanek, Member of the Transition Alliance Youth Council
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ยท
4 min
Paul Anthony Urbanek, a member of the Transition Alliance Youth Council, shared his experience as a student with autism in the NYC public school system. He highlighted the challenges he faced in accessing appropriate educational settings and emphasized the need for improved transition planning for students with disabilities.
- Urbanek excelled academically but felt he was placed in inappropriate settings that limited his potential.
- He advocated for more inclusive education and better support for students transitioning to post-secondary life.
- Urbanek presented six recommendations to improve transition planning and services for students with disabilities in NYC schools.
Paul Anthony Urbanek
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K.
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Thank you.
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Good evening.
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Good evening, miss Joseph.
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Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you today about the New York City Public Schools provision of special education services.
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My name is Paul Anthony Urbanek Urbanek, and
Althea Stevens
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I
Paul Anthony Urbanek
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am a member of the Transition Alliance Youth Council.
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Today, I want to share my experience as a student with disabilities in the New York City public schools system and explain why transition planning must be improved so that students like me can have the opportunities they deserve.
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I did well in school.
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I was the valedictorian and distinguished as a leader leader leader and great communicator.
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I found a love for theater and acting.
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This helped me to feel braver and confident.
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I learned many things.
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I learned how to make the most of high school.
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I've always known that I'm someone who makes the most of any opportunities provided to me.
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And had I been given the chance to succeed in a mainstream setting, I would have succeeded.
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When I started school as a 1st grader, I didn't realize at first that the setting I was in wasn't typical.
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At my school, we shared a building with other schools that include typically developing students, and I would wonder why my school appeared different from the other schools in the building.
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And this will confuse me.
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Why am I in the school and not in the other school?
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I would ask myself.
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When I was a baby, I was diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder.
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The first few years of my life, my mom raised me as a single parent.
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When I was 7 and started elementary school, I remember feeling accountable about not being in the right setting.
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I was in a special, class and felt other place be there because I felt like I need to be in a more mainstream education setting.
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I excelled at reading and social studies, but struggled in math and sciences.
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And it was those deficiencies that kept me from being mainstreamed.
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In high school, I know I was in the wrong setting and I was kept in a vocational training school that didn't include the possibility of a high school diploma.
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I got a certificate of completion in 2022.
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After I got my certificate, I got a job at Pratt Institute as a food server in a dining hall.
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I also got a job as a buzzer at a restaurant in Rockaway Beach.
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I wrote a resume, dressed up, interviewed, and got the job.
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I'm still working at that restaurant.
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I imagine if I had been, been in an inclusive setting, I would have been farther along in my journey to independence and a career than what I am now.
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I can imagine a different world where I could be even more independent than I currently am.
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As a founding member of the Citizen Alliance Youth Council, I feel empowered to analyze my own experiences in NYC public schools and what could or should be different for people with disabilities, our current system.
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As such, we recommend the following.
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1st, we are in full support of the Blue Ribbon Commissions recommend changes to region's requirements.
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This will open the doors to a lot of students with disabilities.
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2nd, solution planning process needs to be customized to each individual and support people in specific individualized ways.
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3rd, transition assessments or tests of students' disabilities must be more creative to effectively evaluate potential.
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4th, parents and caregivers must be given more tools, resources, information to successfully advocate for the children to the transition planning process.
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5th, schools need transition planning staff who are specifically trained in career exploration, job placement, independent schools, and post secondary education pathways.
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Right now, many staff members lack the expertise to guide students effectively.
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6, I was fortunate to get good job training and internships, but other members of the youth council never had access to those supports and experiences.
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These types of opportunities are inconsistent and people need to be aware of them and readily available to everyone.
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In conclusion, we hope you consider you our recommendation, and we hope the city council takes the seriously necessary improvements to transition planning process.
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Thank you for your time and consideration.
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God bless you, and god's god bless everyone who attended here today.
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Go ahead.