Letter submitted to the Eye Editors from a mother of a child receiving special education services in the Middletown Public School system:
To the Editor:
I have created a petition addressed to Mayor Daniel T. Drew, the Common Council and Board of Education members which seeks the terminations of Ann Perzan, Laurie Slade and Mindy Otis of Middletown's Department of Pupil Services and Special Education.
The three administrators have consistently failed the students in this town and their families. They have violated the rights of children with disabilities by not providing them access to services that they need to learn in a non-restrictive environment. They have not included parents in the process of changes that directly impact the children with special needs, their families and the mainstream community.
They have not provided their staff with infrastructure needed to implement learning. They have failed to keep special needs children, their staff and the community safe. The evidence of this is their recent decision to disband the DEAL program housed at Lawrence School and place special needs children into the community without infrastructure to ensure that the children are safe; that the staff are trained properly to deliver services; and that communication and training were conducted to the general population and staffing.
As the leaders of the Special Education Department, this is unacceptable behavior and their actions prove they are not competent in their positions and need to be removed immediately.
We have lost confidence in their ability to provide a nurturing environment that ensures our special needs children are being educated in a safe, legal and least restrictive environment.
Jane Flanders Majewski, Middletown
http://www.change.org/petitions/middletown-connecticut-residents-seek-change
12 comments:
Thank you Jane!!! We need ONE s Special Ed Supervisor who is competent and provides staff with a support system that implements learning. Taxpayers are paying 3 salaries to these supervisors who have shown that they are NOT qualified to work with our children and who have failed both the students and their families. Immediate removal of these 3 women and more at Central office is crucial in order for this district to become a safe and provide a nurturing environment for learning for ALL the children in Middletown. The principal at Farm Hill School also needs to resign. She is not capable of handling her students and provides NO support to her teachers.
I believe they are responsible for the current climate at farmhill. For one, their mission of reducing kids eligible for 504 places children needing services into classrooms without needs being met. Any child "acting out" in the ways described has an unmet need. This approach is akin to a mission to reduce cancer patients by not treating them.
Second they could have trained the staff effectively at farmhill about the transitioning of icm students. Communication to staff could have set a climate for children to learn and for parents to have confidence in their school.
Time out room issues were not just at farm hill. At bielefield school we witnessed our son in the converted closet time out room with his para. The para was blocking him from playing with the electrical circuit breaker box. The administrations horrible ore planning put my child's safety at risk as well as that para. We addresses the concern to the principle who informed us central office was working on it but things were behind schedule. The more facts that come out of this- I hope more people will sign my petition.
We as parents and teachers all have a common goal- the safety and well being of our children.
It would touch me deeply if some paras or teachers won speak out on our behalf. I understand they risk retribution but as parents we have all been through so much.
I implore the town leaders to put an end to this and hold your leaders accountable.
Janr
The pendulum swings from one extreme to another. In an attempt to reduce the "overidentification" of students with special Ed services the school district is trending towards "underidentification.". And the results are children suffering because they are not having their educational needs met or suffering from watching their peers struggle and inhibit everyone's learning.
I hope this symbolic gesture is a wake up call to the administration that they need to do their job regarding advocating for all children. Please sign the petition.
This is so horrible that it has gotten this far. The only thing that is wrong it the sped admins..THere was a program not even 2 years ago that took care of our kids with special needs. They didn't want it cause it worked. I believe it was DEAL..Daily experiences and activities for life...Please you know you can't argue the fact, if it ain't broke don't fix it...
Really?????
I support these administrators. They have a difficult job as it is without people jumping on a popular bandwagon driven by the uninformed. The same compassion that these students deserve is due to them.
I am not unnformed. I watched my son in one of these time out rooms messing with an unlocked circuit breaker. They didn't plan properly the transition from deal. That new timeout room should not have had an unlocked circuit breaker!
Some parents involved will be appearing on The Edge tonight at 8pm on Public Access on Comcast to discuss their side of the story.
I think that show is on Tuesday?
Tuesday the edge
Penny, Alvarado and Majewski will guest Tuesday at 8 p.m. on Comcast Cable’s show, the Edge, hosted by Jon Pulino and Bill Wilson, speaking about their experiences with Middletown’s special education services. The show is live and viewers are encouraged to call into the studio between 8-9 p.m. at (860) 613-3031
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