I think my title says it all. There is so much that makes me unhappy at this school right now. It breaks my heart. I love this school. It's been a piece of me and the kids for a very long time...but there are some major defects with this school, from my point of view, right now and I am not even sure how to get them fixed.
Let's start with last week.....Brycen is supposed to see his SPED teacher 2x a week. It' hasn't been happening. He has not gotten his computer yet and no date has even been specified for this. He is not taking Spanish...for obvious reasons and he is supposed to have SPED inclusion (SPED teacher is in the room helping not just him but all the kids ) in another room, they are having him read or go to the computer lab with the 5th graders...that doesn't single him out too much now does it? His stress level is high and it's affecting every aspect of his life. They are just not meeting his needs and it's already October so I am really getting upset.
The kicker came last Thursday. He got in the car after Campfire (their after school care while I work) and he was pretty upset. I asked him what was up and this is what he told me:
He was in the SPED teachers room with 3 other boys. One of those boys had a fight with the teacher. Brycen and A left to go back to class. A little while later he was pulled out of Math and questioned by the principal....the teacher's cell phone was missing. Brycen told her about the fight the teacher had with B and that he and A left to go back to class. Dr. H (the principal) said Ok and let him go back to math.
Then he went to music. He got a phone call and was asked to go to the office. When he got there he was asked to go into the principal's office. Inside that office was a teacher and a Policeman. Soon the other 3 boys filed in.
The officer and Dr. H were pretty tough on the boys. The cop told them about going to court and a bunch of other stuff (Brycen's words). Then they let him go back to class.
He was stressed when he first told me. I asked him if he knew who had it and he thinks B did...as does everyone else.
So here's the part I am mad about:
Brycen has an documented anxiety disorder. The school has the paperwork and it's laid out pretty simply what needs to be done to reduce his stress. One of those things is to call Ray or myself in high stress situations. I handed this directly to the Principal during this IEP meeting and explained it all on Sept. 9th!! I should have heard this from the PRINCIPAL...Not Brycen.
When I got home I was steaming mad. I checked the answering machine and the Principal left this sicky sweet message. It was all chipper and happy and totally irratating. She made it sound like the kids had a really great time. UGH! She also stated that she knew that Brycen was innocent in the entire matter. What kills me about this is our cell phones are listed FIRST for a contact number....not the house phone. We are out more than we are in. She called the secondary number instead.
His SPED teacher had called me while I was getting them dinner. I wanted to go over his IEP with her but I was so mad about what Brycen had told me that I insisted on talking about this episode first. She apologized profusely to me and explained that if she had known they were going to bring a cop in she would have insisted that Brycen not be brought in because she knew for a fact that he hadn't taken her phone.
Now, I understand that the kids can be questioned by an officer as long as a classroom teacher is present, which there was, but.... Ray and I should have been informed FIRST!!! There is no excuse. As Ray said "ignorance isn't an excuse". I had to get the kids ready for the Haunted Happenings parade with the school so I dropped it for the moment.
We got to the parade and I hooked up with Faith's best friend's Mom. We'll call her H. H has 2 daughters at the school D and D (both their names have to do with States...one has a north and south and the other is a city in Texas...for those who know who I am talking about). One is in 7th this year and was in Brycen's class for 2 years. H was telling me, while we walked the parade route, that D has been bugging her to move to the Middle School. She didn't want to go to school anymore. H was concerned as big D loves school. It got worse and finally big D told H what was going on. Are you ready for this???
A new 7th grade boy is harrassing her big time. He calls her horrid names and then one day last week SLAPPED HER ACROSS THE FACE and called her a BITCH!!!! H was livid, as she should be. She went in and talked to the Principal. Dr. H said she would talk to the boy. He ended up getting " a good talking to and ONE in house suspension". Are you kidding me? One in house suspension for slapping a girl and calling her a bitch?
H was so mad that she stormed into the school, found the boy (who stands about 6 ft tall) and told him if he ever touched her daughter again SHE would file assault charges against him.
Why is it the mother of the girl had to do this? Why was he given so little punishment for an assault? Why did the bring a cop in to question my innocent child and not one for a boy who batters a girl?
If this is how it's going to be I may have to leave. I thought this K-8 thing would be a good thing...and for Brycen it's still my choice rather than the middle school but some things have to change. I have 2 younger children there too. We can't have elementary punishments handed out to offenders like that boy above. I don't want to worry about their safety with 7th and 8th graders.
I am upset. The Principal called us on Friday, again on the land line and not the cell, which I had specifically asked for her to do. I missed her as I was taking Trevor to the Dr.. Ray got her though and told her it was totally unacceptable. That we were not happy. She apologized and told him she had no idea about his anxiety disorder!!! Are you Freakin' kidding me? I am so frustrated. I never got a call on my cell.
So that's it in a nutshell. I am not sure what's going to happen from here. I will go over his IEP line by line with the SPED teacher. I am hoping the adjustment counselor is going to be back soon. I am hoping his testing that we did over the summer comes back soon too.
He did AMAZING on his MCAS testing this year. I am so proud of him. It's due to the IEP. He got advanced in his Enlish language arts, proficient in Math and Science! Brycen has never scored like this. The testing was done last April and May and I am so proud of him. I am hoping his scores will be this good this year! We shall see.
For now we will breath in through the nose and out through the mouth. We will take it one day at a time and pray that the school we loved makes a huge turn for the better.
Until later....
Michelle
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