Letter to Superintendent.....It's on! - PIOG - **UPDATE**
04/30/2012 - UPDATE - Letter was sent on April 26th, and I sent the same email with a personal letter to two of the board members that I know personally. One is my neighbor. He called the Superintendent this am to make sure she got it. Well, my email did not end up in her mailbox (this happens with our school, so I was prepared for a follow up call). She called me at 10am today. We are setting up a meeting for the Superintendent, myself, and 3 other families who left the district. :) I will let you know how it goes after that meeting.

I call them zero-brain use policies. No one wants to look at the individual situations and use some logic and common sense. It seems like more often than not, they are not punishing the kids who the policies were meant for, and instead often times the victim. It is not just special needs students who are affected by these policies. It is a problem across the board.



Our district is already struggling with another issue in the highschool that has made the papers. The fact I have 4 other familys ready to march with me says alot.
I give her until Thursday to call me, and if I dont hear, I will set up the appt my self. :)
Quoting christi34:
Wow! It goes to show that most teachers don't have any clue on how to handle a special needs child. I hope you have that conversation with the superintendent if not you can always write a letter to the newspaper and tv stations and maybe even the state.
I'm not crazy....I have two boys.....roflmbo....
I love my Sensational DS1 and my Boysterous DS2...both born preemie, full term breastfed, until they self weaned. I am a Lactivist, a CubScout Den Leader, Self employed, and still take the time to be my Children's Attachment Parenting Mom and my DH's Girlfriend. My DH is my best friend. :)

That said, I would have pulled my kid a long time ago from that situation.
So sorry you are going through this ordeal.

A few small suggestions. First, when you write, "If a child were to tell my child....", the reader is left to assume that you are suggesting that this scenario may happen but that it hasn't happened yet. Second, I would not add extraneous words like, "displeasure", and in fact I would just leave out the whole paragraph about the child who is in scouts. Finally, I suggest that you rethink adding in things like "What is the child really trying to say?" and "I know a qualified person who has worked with St. J for a teacher in-service training on Spectrum Disorders. L would be wise to do the same."
No professional likes to be told what to do and even with your best intentions the "L would be wise to do the same" is not appropriate and it will negate everything you've written.

I think you have valid points, but the letter is too long and disjointed. When writing a letter like this, you need to stick to facts and have times and dates. Leave all emotion out, even though I know that is difficult. Your letter seems like one huge vent with a couple of requests thrown in. I'm not trying to pick on you, but if you want them to give you the time of day and not just throw it in the "circular file", I think you need to edit considerably. Be VERY clear with what you expect to happen and keep all hearsay out. Good luck!

The problem is that L has a history of teachers brow beating high functioning special needs students. And the teacher who verbally attacked me - she is a fifth grade teacher who violated FERPA (Privacy Act) and she has a history of treating special needs kids and parents terribly. It was necessary to put this in.
I have a list of qualified service providers for teacher training. I will be presenting that at the meeting. BTW, I am a tax payer and Alumna - I believe that I do have the right to make strong recommendations to the district. :) Especially since I believe in my school. But I have to call out the "bad". Otherwise, problems are not fixed.
Quoting Alysse24:
A few small suggestions. First, when you write, "If a child were to tell my child....", the reader is left to assume that you are suggesting that this scenario may happen but that it hasn't happened yet. Second, I would not add extraneous words like, "displeasure", and in fact I would just leave out the whole paragraph about the child who is in scouts. Finally, I suggest that you rethink adding in things like "What is the child really trying to say?" and "I know a qualified person who has worked with St. J for a teacher in-service training on Spectrum Disorders. L would be wise to do the same."
No professional likes to be told what to do and even with your best intentions the "L would be wise to do the same" is not appropriate and it will negate everything you've written.
I'm not crazy....I have two boys.....roflmbo....
I love my Sensational DS1 and my Boysterous DS2...both born preemie, full term breastfed, until they self weaned. I am a Lactivist, a CubScout Den Leader, Self employed, and still take the time to be my Children's Attachment Parenting Mom and my DH's Girlfriend. My DH is my best friend. :)

We as parents must make a stand for our children. Its obvious that the people we elect for that position isn't doing what they were elected to do. Our children is what matter. They are the future.
March on momma. Others will follow; I am sure.
Quoting Hottubgodess:Our district is already struggling with another issue in the highschool that has made the papers. The fact I have 4 other familys ready to march with me says alot.
I give her until Thursday to call me, and if I dont hear, I will set up the appt my self. :)
Quoting christi34:
Wow! It goes to show that most teachers don't have any clue on how to handle a special needs child. I hope you have that conversation with the superintendent if not you can always write a letter to the newspaper and tv stations and maybe even the state.

Make sure that you have a plan of how this can be paid for because teacher training is not free and must be provided either during the school day (substitutes then need to be provided and paid for) or outside of school and the teachers must receive monetary compensation for their time. Again, I think that you probably have some good and valid ideas/points, but they are not clear and you really need to stick to facts.
Quoting Hottubgodess:The problem is that L has a history of teachers brow beating high functioning special needs students. And the teacher who verbally attacked me - she is a fifth grade teacher who violated FERPA (Privacy Act) and she has a history of treating special needs kids and parents terribly. It was necessary to put this in.
I have a list of qualified service providers for teacher training. I will be presenting that at the meeting. BTW, I am a tax payer and Alumna - I believe that I do have the right to make strong recommendations to the district. :) Especially since I believe in my school. But I have to call out the "bad". Otherwise, problems are not fixed.
Quoting Alysse24:
A few small suggestions. First, when you write, "If a child were to tell my child....", the reader is left to assume that you are suggesting that this scenario may happen but that it hasn't happened yet. Second, I would not add extraneous words like, "displeasure", and in fact I would just leave out the whole paragraph about the child who is in scouts. Finally, I suggest that you rethink adding in things like "What is the child really trying to say?" and "I know a qualified person who has worked with St. J for a teacher in-service training on Spectrum Disorders. L would be wise to do the same."
No professional likes to be told what to do and even with your best intentions the "L would be wise to do the same" is not appropriate and it will negate everything you've written.
- Hottubgodess
on Apr. 29, 2012 at 10:04 AM