Board of Education Delights in Bielefield Test Scores

Last night's regular Board of Education meeting opened with a somber moment of silence honoring former MHS football coach John Skubel (passed on 8/17) and Veteran and Children's Advocate Lee B. Smith (passed on 8/16).

The BOE then amended the agenda to move up a vote authorizing the Superintendent to work with the city to create a new full-time Nursing Supervisor position.  "We are seeing children with complex medical conditions and needs, and we must have someone that our nurses can come to with questions," noted Ann Perzan.  Perzan is the Director of Special Education, but the school nurse program is housed in her department.  Perzan also noted that school nurses are not currently given performance reviews because there isn't someone with greater clinical skills in the administrative chain.  Substitute nurses are also hard to find because many qualified individuals won't work if there isn't a Nurse Supervisor in place.  Superintendent Charles was authorized to work with the city to create the new position, and there will be no cost for the position as current Special Education funds will be repurposed to cover the position (the previous purpose for those funds ended in June).

Bielefield Elementary School then took center stage as the surprise star of the 2012-13 CMT test results.  Designated a "focus school" because of struggling sub-groups' performance on the 2011-12 Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT), Bielefield instituted an after-school study program during the 2012-13 school year, aimed specifically at helping Hispanic students who struggle with English.  Assistant Superintendent Enza Macri had told the BOE earlier in the year that students who have been in the U.S. for six months have to take the CMT in English, even if they are not proficient speakers.  As administrators tried to determine why the Hispanic sub-group was struggling, parents explained that it was hard to help their students with homework when they struggled with English themselves.

Reader Submitted: I would have simply liked to have heard, "I'm sorry". from the BOE

Below is a letter submitted to the Eye from reader Jane Majewski. Majewski spoke emotionally during the public session at the last Board of Education meeting Tuesday. Earlier in the year Majewski started a petition calling for the termination of three Special Education Administrators because of what she felt was the mismanagement of her special needs son's education. The petition is here. The photo is of the courtyard at Keigwin School where Majewski stated her son wandered into the pond area pictured after she was reassured that the doors to the courtyard we locked at all times.

Majewski's letter is below. The posting of her letter is a courtesy, and does not necessarily represent the views of all the Eye contributors. The burden of proof lies with the author, Jane Majewski.

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Words That I finally heard for the first time from BOE member Shelia Daniels . The sound of those words almost made me to breakdown in tears. It was echoed again moments later by Cheryl McClellan. Words that I have been waiting for since the beginning of becoming vocal about the issues we faced in this school district. Words that had I heard sooner, from anyone, I would not have called for the terminations of our BOE administrators.

The apology came after I presented the BOE with photos and a plea.

I have consistently voiced my concerns about the closing of the DEAL program- on two levels. One, that it was being closed and two that that transition of those kids into icm status was done without parental input.

Had I been asked, I would have offered my time, my expertise, my physical help and financial resources to help ensure a safe transition of our children into the district schools. For free, I would have told administrators that preschool size furniture for fifth graders would be ineffective. For free, I would have pointed out that a timeout room should not include a circuit breaker box. For free, I would have suggested field trips to transition the kids. I would have created a simple brochure describing the general needs of our kids for the district schools. For free, I would have donated and hung a coat rack at Keigwin.

When I recently asked Ms. Slade; "why weren't the parents included in the decision to close DEAL and/or the transition of them into the community?" her response was, " we wouldn't include parents in facility decisions; that is an administration role".

Since that is the case; then I feel the administrators need to accept the responsibility of the failed transition.

I would have simply liked to have heard, "I'm sorry".

I AM SORRY

Thats's all.

I am not asking for anything more than a safe environment for my son and his staff. Which brings me to why I write this story.

When I first saw the quad pond garden at Keigwin, I panicked. I know my child enough to know he would find away into that area. I was assured he would not because the doors are securely locked.

Imagine my surprise to receive a phone call and incident report that my son opened an unlocked door from the art room and entered this very area! He was reportedly running around this cement, unleveled cement area with statues and a filthy pond containing dead fish.

The staff hired to work with my son are trained and responsible to restrain him if needed. To be compelled to restrain a child acting out in this area is inconcieveable!

The quad has three walls of windows on multiple levels; open for the school population to view the pond. How inclusive is it to him to be viewed acting inappropriate by peers? How does it effect their perceptions of children with autism?

I contacted Ms Slade and Ms Senges. Ms. Senges quickly investigated. She reported that a janitor allegedly knew the lock was broken for some time but failed to report it to the administration.

Why would he? Keigwin never had a population of "ICM" kids. Shouldn't have he been briefed on what our kids need for safety?

My son is not allowed to go to art until the lock is fixed. Now he is being restricted from learning.

The administrators put a child into a building that continues to restrict his learning and jeopardizes his safety in a serious way. The safety of the staff are also jeopardized! Where is their union leadership? If their union and administration can't keep them safe- no wonder a para recently quit her job instead of mandate reporting.

Ann Perzan and Laurie Slade;
I have to ask you,

Would you want to be a para responsible to restrain a child in this garden?

Would you want your child running around and climbing in it?

Will it take a serious accident for either of you to accept responsibility for not preparing the community to transition DEAL kids into ICM status?

What will it take for one of you to turn to us, our staff, and our son-
And say,

"I'm sorry" ?

Letter to the Editors: Concerned Parent still has unanswered questions regarding DEAL Program closure

The following letter was submitted to the Eye by Bielefield Elementary parent Jane Majewski, the mother who started the recent online petition concerning alleged mismanagement on the part of three administrators of the BOE administration overseeing Pupil Services and Special Education Services. It should be considered as an opinion piece; the verification of any facts & responsibility of claims made rests solely on the author. This letter, and others submitted by readers, are posted as a courtesy to readers,a and not necessarily the opinion of the team of regular bloggers or blog editors of the MiddletownEye.

Recently there has been much conversation about the closing of the DEAL program housed at Lawrence School and its possible impact on the current issues being faced at Farm Hill School.

At the last Board of Education meeting Dr. Frechette cited a report from the Connecticut State Department of Education, Bureau of Special Education, that covered a March 20 -24 monitoring site visit. As a result of that visit, Middletown was told that it "...needed to decrease the number of students in all disability categories who spend time in segregated settings as defined as students who are educated with their nondisabled peers." The report went on to say "This plan is to support the increase of students being appropriately educated in the district and within the general education environment that have otherwise been sent out of district or educated in separate classes due to behavioral needs or cognitive disabilities."

This is in direct contrast to the Cambridge report posted on the Lawrence School website. Within this report one sees a very different perspective to that of the BOE Administrators claim that they needed to disband the program. Allow me to highlight some of the statements on this report.

"In addition to its own regular student population the school provides education and support for 30 students in the Daily Experiences/Activities for Living Program (DEAL). These students would otherwise be placed out of district because of their significant learning and emotional needs. This is a district wide program that serves all 8 elementary schools in Middletown and which provides students with strategies to enable them to return to regular education, classrooms in their own schools."

"What the School Does Well.
The excellent behavior management strategies that are consistently demonstrated by staff ensure that the school is a calm and safe environment where students behave well, forge excellent relationships and learn the difference between right and wrong.

The school provides well for all students but particularly for those in the DEAL program to enable them to return to regular education, classrooms in their own schools. The learning difficulties experienced by students include autism, neurological impairments, emotional disturbance, intellectual disabilities and medical fragility".

At the recent Board of Education meeting Ted Radzka stated there was an increase in budget needs due to (amongst other things) an increase in cost to out of district placements and magnet school placements.

This is the reason why I became vocal about the issues facing Farm Hill. As a parent of a child in the DEAL program I was not told the DEAL program was being closed. It was just done. This is the lack of communication that parents are frustrated with. The conflict between the contradicting statements of the Cambridge report and the Administration is what leaves parents without a sense of trust.

Allow me to connect some dots. The DEAL program was closed. The children became ICM students at Farm Hill and Bielefield. The recommendations of Izzy Greenberg for redistricting (and closing of DEAL was under this) was not implemented. Farm Hill school did not have the staffing or resources to ensure a safe transition of this redistricting. Now, we have a divided confused community. As a direct result, children that would have been sent to DEAL are being sent out of town (farther away from our community) and the cost is increasing. More parents are applying to magnet schools for their mainstream children (myself included), cost is increasing.

No one is able to tell me where the ICM children's home schools would be. This is due to confidential laws that protect the children. The same administrators who fight to protect confidentiality of their clients have not fought to keep them safe and in an appropriate environment.

Why was DEAL really closed?
Why cant it be brought back?
If it worked (excellantly according to the cambridge report, staff and parents) why not keep it? It saves the taxpayers money and provides a nurturing and safe learning environment for all of our children

Jane Majewski

Middletown Mother Begins Online Petition: No Confidence in Special Ed. Dept. Admins

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

Farm Hill PTA Meeting Attracts A Large Crowd

Last night's regularly scheduled PTA meeting at Farm Hill Elementary School drew way more than the normal "ten or so" parent attendees. In fact, the media contingent alone easily passed that benchmark with at least five camera crews and several print and internet reporters there as well.

PTA President Apryl Dudley conducted the beginning of the meeting as she normally would have, talking about upcoming events such as the sale of candy roses for Valentine's Day or the box top collection. When she finished, she turned the meeting over to Superintendent Michael Frechette, who was joined by BOE Chairman Gene Nocera, Assistant Superintendent Barbara Senges, Farm Hill Principal Patricia Girard, and other central office staff. Five current BOE members were also in the audience (Sheila Daniels, Ed McKeon, Ava Hart, Bill Grady, and Mitchell Wynn) as well as former member Sally Boske. Mayor Dan Drew was present, although he had no official involvement with the proceedings.

Dr. Frechette began his presentation by confronting the "untrue rumors" he said were circulating around town. In particular, while some special education students (less than 10 at Farm Hill) might use a time-out room as part of their individual behavior plans, no one has ever been seriously injured as a result of being in such a room. Frechette confirmed that some students had banged their heads on the wall, another wiped blood from a cut finger on the wall, and a few students had urinated in the room. Currently the rooms in question have a door that can be locked from the outside (with the principal and building super holding keys), but that lock is scheduled to be removed today. Since the beginning of school in September 2011, police and/or emergency medical staff have been summoned to the school 9 times (6 medical, 3 behavior), but there is no direct link to students being in the time-out room who then need an ambulance. "In fact," Dr. Frechette clarified after the meeting, "one of the ambulance calls was for a bus driver and it had nothing to do with the students."

Citing communication, climate, and student management as the three main "issues" facing Farm Hill, Frechette said that the central office had been aware of problems at Farm Hill since the fall, and had been "working at the lowest level" to resolve those issues. Admitting that this approach hadn't worked as it was intended, Frechette then resolved to take a more aggressive approach: "I'm committed to turning this around...we need to be transparent with our outcomes and clear with parents, clear with students, clear with staff, and we need to talk about the issues we face. Communication here really needs work....Quite frankly, it has gone on too long." His comments were met with loud applause, and then it was Principal Patricia Girard's turn to talk.

Girard thanked parents for coming to the meeting, commenting that it was the first step in addressing the concerns facing the school. She acknowledged that it was her responsibility to have clear communications at the school, saying "it's lacking." Girard went on to say that there would be two opportunities for parents to be directly involved: first, as the parent compact is being re-written to focus on the school's climate, and secondly, on the Climate Committee itself. There were sign-up sheets available outside the meeting area, but parents can contact the school office as well if they are interested in participating.

Girard then turned her comments to address the rumors and accusations she had heard: "The rumors are scary and unfounded. There is a perception the school is out of control." She went on to explain, step by step, how the "time-out" room is used:

• A student is monitored at all times in the time-out room
• The child can't lock him or herself in
• The child is never left unattended
• The staff member may be in the room or just outside the door
• There is a window in the door to see into the room
• A staff member who uses a time-out room has received de-escalation training
• Only students who have the use of a time-out room as part of their personal behavior management plans (approved and signed by the parents) use the room in this fashion
• The time-out room is used as a last resort
• If a student requires more restrictive action to control his or her behavior, more accountability procedures are activated including parental notification and other required documentation

Laurie Slade, Supervisor of Special Education & Pupil Services explained further:

• Students who have Behavior Management Plans are those with serious emotional disturbances, not just random regular students
• These students also have a very specific educational plan
• State law governs how and when students can be restrained as well as when parental notification occurs
• Intensive Case Management (ICM) does not refer to a program but rather a student who requires additional support services or is more seriously disabled
• If a time-out room is used to de-escalate a student's behavior, a documentation report is generated that covers what happened, including who was involved, what time it happened and how long it lasted, a nurse's assessment of any possible injury, and the frequency of the event.

Board of Education Chairman Gene Nocera spoke next, saying "The Board of Education is deeply concerned by the comments made at Tuesday night's meeting, and we will look into all allegations to be certain we are following best practices and state guidelines." Nocera then commented that "mistakes have been made, and we're here to correct those mistakes." Before opening up a general Q&A session, Dr. Nocera asked the crowd to "be respectful with your questions...we'll stay here as long as we have to."

It would be the understatement of the year to say parents were upset. More than 30 parents got up to ask questions, some more than once. Many of the questions centered on use of the "time-out room" and who could be placed into it, who monitored it, why it was located at Farm Hill, did other schools have one, and why wasn't it padded. There was much confusion over terminology as the same room is used for "time-out" for students with behavior management plans as well as an "alternative learning environment" for the general school population.

Some parents asked about their child specifically, wondering who determines if the room is used as a "time-out" or an "alternative learning environment," stating that their children reported being in the "scream room" without any parental notification it had happened. Others expressed frustration at previous attempts to bring issues to the attention of the administration, feeling ignored and unheard. In particular, PTA President Apryl Dudley said that after she had sent her letter on January 6th, she was told by several BOE members that the Superintendent would contact her directly. "It's been 7 days now, and I haven't heard a thing." At that moment, Dr. Frechette apologized directly to Dudley, but the crowd's reaction was not kind to his response.

Two young Farm Hill female students (both about 10 or so) waited in line to speak. The first cried during her comments, saying it was scary to come to school and that she didn't know what to do. The second girl echoed her classmate saying, "I don't know how to do my homework...how did this happen to our school?" Principal Girard responded to both girls with an apology: "I'm sorry, I will do whatever I can to make it better. We care about you and we promise to make it safe."

Other parents were concerned about the lasting impact on their child's psychological well-being. Several mentioned that their children were afraid of school and that the continual disturbances weren't fair. One parent said that "if these kids are so disruptive and need that room, then maybe they shouldn't be in our school at all." Loud applause followed this comment. A follow-on question asked about the DEAL program, noting it had been very successful and well-liked. Ann Perzan, Director of Pupil Services and Special Education, told the audience that the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act changed in 2004, and the DEAL program was no longer in compliance with the requirements of the law. [Author's note: At Tuesday night's BOE meeting, Asst. Superintendent Barbara Senges told the board that when the DEAL program dissolved, programs were set up at both middle schools, the high school, and then at the elementary schools nearest the largest concentration of the student population needing those services. Last year, Bielefield Elementary housed the special education program, and this year it moved to Farm Hill to follow where the students were actually located.)

Several very dramatic moments occurred during the more than two-and-a-half-hour long meeting. Parents yelled at each other ("you don't understand what my child goes through." "No, YOU don't understand what MY child goes through."), parents yelled at the principal and superintendent ("We have no confidence in this system...you've done nothing to make me feel comfortable or to give me confidence..."), and parents yelled comments while another parent was trying to ask a question. More than one parent tried to offer a positive comment or to suggest that working together might be more effective than finger-pointing, but those comments were few and far between. Local 466 Union President Jeff Daniels got a standing ovation for his comments that the administration needs to let teachers and staff do their jobs without fear of retribution. Daniels also suggested that he had specific evidence to prove the whole truth wasn't being told about what was happening in the "time-out rooms," noting, "I feel bad for my community and I'm here to help in any way I can, but if people are scared to do their jobs, then we're going to have a problem."

Another particularly tense moment occurred when a parent commented to Asst. Superintendent Barbara Senges, "your noticeable silence is offensive." Senges replied that she had not been asked a direct question all night, that most of her work is behind the scenes, that lots of work had gone into putting a response plan together, and that "we came here tonight in a very honest way. We care about every child. We heard you, and I've kept silent because I've worked with these very dedicated educators for six years and I can't believe the very offensive, rude comments I've heard tonight." Senges was immediately interrupted by BOE Chairman Nocera, who said, "I'm sorry, but I haven't heard anything offensive or rude tonight. People are entitled to their feelings and we can't heal if we don't stop arguing."

BOE Chairman Gene Nocera finally called a halt to the questions at 9:15pm, saying that there were several students in the building who needed to "go home and get to bed" since tomorrow's a school day. Nocera offered parents with additional questions the chance to talk with staff for as long as they needed. Principal Girard asked parents to write down their questions or concerns on the notecards provided for that purpose, and she promised to review them and address them in the coming weeks.

After the meeting concluded, many parents stayed behind to ask questions and to continue conversations between various groups of people. Several meetings were taking place in the morning (today, Jan 13) with staff, administration, and the board of education.

UPDATE: The Board of Education announces a 3pm press conference at the Central Office at 311 Hunting Hill Ave. in Conference Room A (room #7)

Superintendent Outlines Farm Hill Support Plan

An addition to the agenda at Tuesday night's Board of Education meeting allowed Superintendent Michael Frechette to update the board on the resources being put into play at Farm Hill Elementary School to address "behavioral issues" in the school.

Frechette had originally planned to meet with the Farm Hill PTA and faculty and staff first before updating the board, but the media frenzy and BOE member interest caused the front office to "drop everything and prepare this report for tonight's meeting." Click here to be linked to the report posted on the Superintendent's website (it's called Farm Hill Support Plan).

The plan outlines the additional staff Farm Hill will be receiving as well as the creation of a Climate Committee "to facilitate and establish [an] action plan to address building needs." The plan also outlines specific action steps, identifies who is responsible for those steps, and what student groups those action steps apply to. For example, the immediate response to inappropriate language and physical aggression will be an In School Suspension and it will be implemented by the Building Sub/Student Manager Coordinator.

Dr. Donn Sottolano, Director of the ACES Behavior Services Center (ACES stands for Area Cooperative Educational Services and exists "to improve public education through high quality, cost-effective programs and services"), was also scheduled today to meet with the Farm Hill grade levels for "collaborative conversations with regard to children at risk." One could speculate that this meeting might be one way the school tries to identify why there are "issues" and how they can be properly addressed.

The Farm Hill PTA meeting this evening is a regularly scheduled PTA meeting that just happened to be planned for this week. It was not called specially for the purpose of discussing a new support plan, and PTA officers plan to have a normal meeting with normal business on the agenda. "This meeting has been planned since the beginning of the year, and we usually have about ten people at each meeting, so that's what we would regularly expect, " commented one PTA officer.

Superintendent Frechette told the BOE that he plans to meet with Farm Hill's faculty and staff tomorrow. When asked by BOE member Ed McKeon for a "history of this issue without confidential specifics," Frechette answered that he had been working with the Farm Hill principal for almost two years now, through the re-districting process, and more specifically at the beginning of this year as new staff was added. Dr. Frechette went on to add that plan had been finalized even before Christmas, and that the coordination of additional state and other agency involvement had taken time to come together.

Several board members asked if re-districting was a root cause of Farm Hill's immediate issues, and Assistant Superintendent Barbara Senges replied that if the implication was that moving a special needs program to Farm Hill was the problem, then no, it wasn't re-districting that's at fault. "Frankly, the majority of the behavioral problems at Farm Hill aren't kids in the special needs program," Senges explained.

Farm Hill Elementary School PTA President Raises Concerns Over Behavior Management Policies

The EYE obtained a copy of the following letter from Farm Hill Elementary School PTA President, Apryl Dudley, to Mayor Drew. The letter, dated January 6th, raises serious concerns about student behavior and how it has been addressed. Superintendent Michael Frechette's response, sent this morning to Board of Ed members and the Farm Hill Principal, follows. It does not appear that the Superintendent has any plans to share with the Board of Ed at tomorrow night's regular meeting at 7pm in the Common Council Chambers at City Hall.

January 6, 2012

To: Honorable Mayor, Dan Drew

CC: Michael J. Frechette, Ph.D., Superintendent of Schools; Barbara R. Senges, Associate Superintendent; Ann Perzan, Director of Pupil Services and Special Education; Gene P. Nocera, BOE Chair; Sheila C. Daniels, Vice-Chair; Ed McKeon, Secretary; William G. Grady, Ava M. Hart, Ryan Kennedy, Cheryl A. P. McClellan, Mitchell Wynn, Theodore V. Raczka, Patricia Girard Principle-Farm Hill and “The many concerned Farm Hill Parents”

Hello,

My name is Apryl Dudley and I have been involved in the Farm Hill PTA since my children started Kindergarten five years ago. I was PTA vice president from 2008-2010 and currently President from 2010-2012.

I am writing you with some concerns I have and concerns I have been hearing from other parents. I am a very involved parent at Farm Hill School. As the president of the PTA, I feel I am in a very difficult position. I have had many parents calling me telling me they are ready to call the media, police and DCF in an attempt to help our children. I would like to see corrective measures taken before our community is publicly humiliated by the media. I see and hear a lot of what is going on in our school.

My fear is that a child is going to get severely hurt and hope for a response and a resolution. In October, word got out about two rooms that were created for our "behavior students" who can't control their anger. Parents and students refer to them as "Scream Rooms". We were told they are alternative learning environments by administration. They are small rooms with concrete walls. When a child can't be controlled they are brought to this room. Staff members stand outside the door until the child cools down, then they are let out. Three parents called me after they witnessed two staff members holding a door shut from one of these rooms with a child on the other side as they kicked and screamed uncontrollably. There is something unsettling, knowing that a child is hitting their head against walls and urinating everywhere, then only to be let out and put back in classrooms with our children.

During these events, depending on which room the child is in, it becomes a disruption to all classrooms surrounding it. Some classrooms/grades are made to stop their lesson and either read or color to try to ignore the blood curdling screams and even take their books and pencils into a different location in the school. Many times both of these rooms are being used at the same time which leaves no option to find a quiet spot to learn. I myself have witnessed children being restrained both inside and outside of the school and carried into these "Rooms". My children come home weekly, “sometimes multiple times in a week”, discussing the incidents that occurred in school that day.

These outbursts are disrupting the entire school. Is Farm Hill the only school in the district with the ICM department? With CMT's coming up, how are other children going to be able to perform well, when they are pretty much guaranteed to hear these outbursts? Farm Hill failed last year, what is going to happen this year?

Many students, and I assume staff, are afraid of these children. The disrespect and language to our staff and students by these children is disgusting. I myself have been told these children can't help it. I find that VERY hard to believe and unacceptable. These students have negatively affected the learning enviourment and regularly intimidate other students. This must stop and it is the BOE’s obligation to take corrective measures ASAP to make this stop.

Good students are getting an "I don't care attitude". They see these behavioral students being rewarding if they have a good hour and the all the rest of the student body are expected to behave at all times.

An issue I have, and other parents have voiced to me as well, is the lack of communication and information to parents at our school. I understand privacy laws, but there is no reason why parents shouldn't be made aware of the issues that go on in our school. Why can’t parents be told that our school was selected to house the ICM children who have serious behavior issues. These children require restraining from trained staff and sometimes must be transported out by ambulance. Forwarding general information on to parents would save a lot of gossip and help answer questions.

Right now the families at Farm Hill are basically kept in the dark. Our children are coming home asking why the police were at school again today, or why were there stretchers in the hallway. What are we parents supposed to say? We, as parents can only assume. When we ask, we are told it can't be discussed. Still leaving the questions of what happened and are our children safe?

Currently, approximately 20-25 families have pulled their children out of our school since September because of these ongoing major issues and have sent them to private school. Many more families do not plan on returning next September. Do you as a Board of Ed really want to have all of our good families leave this school? Or worse yet, I have heard people wanting to move out of Middletown for a better learning environment. What kind of statement does this make to potential new residents/taxpayers?

I feel another reason our school is so out of control is because of a lack of resources. McDonough School for example, has more resources than all the elementary schools put together. They have funded programs that come in to help staff and students. Wesleyan students also come in and volunteer to run after school programs and many more. Why hasn't Farm Hill been given the proper resources we need? Is it a budget issue? Wesleyan students tutor for free. I know this for a fact because I have utilized them to assist my child for additional educational benefits.

This ongoing situation is not only affecting our children but surely must have a negative effect on our teachers. The moral at our school is at its worst. Our children are unhappy. It is also embarrassing to be at an event not involving school and hear people talk about how bad things are at Farm Hill School. I used to be proud to say I was a Farm Hill Parent and find myself now not admitting it. Please help our children in our school.

I have included these additional facts that have been brought to my attention as parental issues for student and staff safety concerns and questionable acceptance policies by the BOE.

1) The police department had to be called at least once, each week since school started

2) Desks are being flipped, chairs are being thrown and equipment is being damaged. - DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY

3) Staff members are being injured by students. - ABUSE

4) An ICM student allegedly put a belt around her neck during class. - Attempted Suicide/Attention

5) The same student punched a fellow student in the face, giving her a black eye. - Assault

6) Children in their fit of rage, rip down fellow classmates work with no consequence.

I am available to discuss any and all issues within this letter. Many concern parents are waiting to hear from you and are already calling me as their President of the PTA for any resolution to these issues I have raised. I know of no misinformation provided above and can only hope the BOE shares enough concerns to move forward to immediate changes.

Sincerely,

________________________

Apryl Dudley

PTA President

Superintendent Michael Frechette's response to this letter (and incidently, it was not addressed to Apryl Dudley - she wasn't even on the initial email response):

Good Morning,

Thank you very much for your email with regard to concerns at Farm Hill. Central Office has been meeting with Pat throughout the fall to address issues as they have arisen.

Concurrently, we have been putting together a comprehensive plan to proactively address the issues at Farm Hill. Recently, we have formalized our action plan for Farm Hill which will be articulated to the faculty and staff on Friday, January 13th with Central Office in attendance.

Point of clarification -- many issues at Farm Hill are not the result of the Special Education population, rather, general education students, which is why the plan we have developed is comprehensive in order to address the entire population.

A significant part of this plan is a School-Parent Compact which will involve the PTA, State Department of Education, Central Office, and Farm Hill Staff.

Subsequent to the faculty and staff meeting on Friday, January 13th the plan will be shared with the PTA. However, to allay concerns recently expressed by parents, I have spoken with several parents and indicated that a plan will be forthcoming to address safety issues at Farm Hill.

Teachers and staff members have been meeting with Central Office to share their point-of-view of the issues at Farm Hill. Their input was used in the formulation of the final plan.

I will share this plan with the BOE in writing after the faculty, staff, and CO meet on Friday, January 13th and provide a report at the January 24th regular BOE meeting.

Michael

Michael J. Frechette, Ph.D.