ADVOCATING 4 KIDS

The times that I have called to be put on the list to speak at public comment to the school board have been really discourageing.  I am asked what it is in reference to and after I say what ever the reason is then I have been told more than once that I have your concern written down and can present it so if I do not want to attend I don’t have too.  I ask shouldn’t i attend anyway and I am told its up to you but if you change your mind just call back and we can remove your name.  To all parents if you are told this do not call and remove your name.  You need to be heard!  If you believe someone who you are not paying and is not a very close relative or friend will speak for you than you will not be heard.  You are not alone!  Power is in your voice.  Do not think someone else will report it. 

I made a public comment at the school board meeting held on 2/4/09 about my sons school not having an AED and accessable handicap doors.  I also did a WTKR channel 3 showing on 2/13&14/09 about the AED not being available in my sons school.  I had concerns of these issues due to my childs disabilities.  He has a heart condition, Pulmonary Stenosis, Kohlers disease and ADHD.  He has a 504 in place that has these listed and was never told the school did not have a AED that could save his life if needed.  I thought since his previous schools had them and since it falls under the safe schools program that White Oaks Elemnetary had one.  I had addressed the Principal about the handicap accessable doors and she said “no one has ever complained.”  I think that since I was telling her about it I would consider that a complaint since my son uses a wheelchair when needed.  She also expressed that the school was due for upgrading in 2012.  I asked if she was going to continue to violate the rights of handicap patrons until then?  She said it was a site based decision.  When I asked who was on that committee she told me that it was under the privacy act and did not have to tell me that. 

On February 18th 2009 I was in the school in which I had gotten a volunteer badge  from the new security assistant because I had forgotten my PTA badge at home.  I was in the copy room with the PTA president and I and the 2nd vice president.  We were helping do copies for the SOL schedules.  When I was leaving I went to the front unsecured desk in the lobby and opened the right hand deep drawer and dropped my badge in as I have always done since 2006-2007 school year.  The book that you would sign your badge out and back in was not on the desk so I opened the drawer again to see if it had fallen behind the badges but it wasn’t there so I tried to enter the office as the prrincipal came at a fast pace and abruptly opened the door with one hand on the door frame and one hand on the door handle she asked “can i help you with something?”  I politely said “no” because I was quite able to ask in the office where the books were.  As I tried to continue to pass by her to my left the principal lifted her right knee and thrusted her entire body forward and made full bodied contact.  I was stunned that she was not only blocking me but to use her body to thrust at me physically was stunning.  I was shocked and did not know why this was being done to me.  It was obvious the way she held the door to her body that she was not gonna let me pass.  I stepped to the side and backed up about three or four steps when she asked “did I see you take something from the desk?”  I asked what is the problem?”  I explained I had returned my badge and was looking for the book to sign out because I was leaving.  The policy is sign in and sign out and I had been doing that for a couple of years.  She is very familiar with me  being in the building volunteering.  I am not a threat to the school and have a clean record.  I am a involved parent and have had to advocate for my son on a weekly basis.   She let the door close behind her and I said “don’t ever touch me again”.  She said “well don’t try to pass by me then” “I am the principal” folding her arms across her chest.  Then the assistant principal came to the door and opened it all the way and blocked the door in a open position with the back of his body.  Then someone came to the front desk and she said “you may go now”.  I went in the office and wrote the word ”yes” in the book that I returned my badge.  I went home and and called my husband and we decided that she had assualted me physically so I needed to file charges against her.  So I called the police and followed through with a report as well to Dr McKinney.  I had left her a message that I had been assaulted by the principal and no one called me back until I called again and asked why I could make a report of this magnitude and no one has called me back.  I also asked for a message for Mr Sedone to call me as well.  In the end I have left 3 messages for Mr Sedone and still have not recieved a return call nor do I know if he has gotten my message.  When Dr. Mckinney called me back she said she would turn it over to the compliance department.  I had to ask 4 times for a contact name and phone number for the compliance department person that Dr McKinney had turned it over to.  She kept saying they would investigate and then I would recieve a letter in the mail.  I had not heard anything  as of 3/04/09 and called to check on the status of the investigation when I was told that it was completed.  I asked why my witness had not been contacted and why I had not been contacted.  I was told they only talk to people on “their side”.  I said “Ms Petko is a Va Beach Schools Substute aide.”  I was told she was not on the list as a witness.  I had told Dr Mckinney that Mrs. Petko had witnessed the assualt.  Mrs Williams said she would try to contact her in the next couple of days.  That was on 3/4/09.  This was my third time calling to her.  On 3/4/09 I called Mrs. Lennettee City Attourney and requested a copy of the Video from that day she said she would give information to Mr Freddie Alarcon.  I followed up by EMailing him to request the video and I recieved a EMail that it was in the process of being extracted.  I had recieved my warrant for court then I recieved a certified letter from Mrs Coston dated the 27th of February 2009.  I called the magistrate and was told Mrs. Coston was served on the 23rd of February.  The letter was to intimidate and retaliate.  She has restricted me from volunteering and attending any PTA meetings or PTA related activities at the school or on the school grounds.  I am the 2nd Vice President and have sent an EMail to the board members that I am not stepping down from my position.  She is violating mine and my sons civil rights in which I have sent a letter to the OCR and to the city council and the members of the School board.  The letter she sent has statements that are untrue and is defaming and defimating my character.  I went in front of the school board again on 3/17/09 and demanded that the letter of restrictions be revoked immediately.  Mrs. Coston has instructed the security staff to treat me like a criminal.  I went to court on 3/20/09 and was treated like the criminal again.  The case was dismissed.  The Lawyer for Mrs. Coston had stated she had spoke with the judge earlier that morning.  The judge refused to look at the video at all. I had my testimony and a physical person that witnessed exactly what was on the video.  Mrs. Coston had 6 witnesses that she had supeonad in which 3 of them were not present at the time of the assualt.  The judge allowed the Lawyer for Mrs. Coston to question me and my witness with all out sarcasm and unnessesary body language of sarcasm as well.  But did not allow me to cross examine.  The judge asked if all I had was one witness and a video.  I said yes.  She said case dismissed.  I also have found that Mrs. Coston and her Lawyer allowed the video to be viewed by her so called witnesses in which compromissing the evidence.  Mrs Coston’s family member is also a member of a Firehouse in the area.  The judge was very sarcastic and as I asked to speak she told me no to speak unless asked a question.  I was trying to answer questions and in the middle of my answer I was cut off and told not to talk over anyone.  I am very hurt and disappointed that here I was a victim of unwanted/unwarranted bodily contact and the judicial system did not prevail for me.  This was not the first time she had grabbed me by my arm before the Christmas break and I had told her then not to touch me anymore.  I think it is in my opinion that the judge had already viewed the video and knew it was incriminating and decided not to allow it knowing I could not argue with her to view it or I would be held in contempt.  I think this whole thing was a setup and I am not giving in.  I know I was assaulted and I did nothing wrong.  I will go to the DA and try to get answers and I will continue to follow up with the City Council as well as the School Board.  I would really like to know why Mrs. Coston was not placed on some kind of administrative leave while the investigation was being done.  Instead she was at the school and harrassing myself and my son everyday.            

Thanks Cheryl for all your and Judys help.

I recently spoke at the school board meeting about my horrible experiences with Plaza Middle and I want to share my speech and story so parents will know the truth about what is happening to our children within this district.

Here is my story and speech at made at school board Tuesday night.

I am here this evening to make you all aware of the gross negligence that my son Tyler has suffered while attending Plaza in Virginia Beach Public Schools.  My son suffers from Tourette Syndrome, OCD, ADHD, and dysgraphia but the school has failed to acknowledge any of his disabilities and instead punish him. Even after making a good faith effort in mediation, his special education services continued to be ignored.  Plaza failed to implement the services in the mediation agreement.  His case manager Mr. Felty failed in every aspect of his job responsibilities including scheduling IEP meetings within required timelines, drafting inappropriate IEP’s, failing to implement my son’s current stay put IEP services and goals. Middle School

The school has refused to assign my son a new case manager even though they know Mr. Felty has not done his job and caused harm to my son. My son has also been repeatedly disciplined for behaviors related to his disability. The teacher at this school call security called on him for being “off task” when all he was doing was quietly drawing at his desk, instead of watching a movie.  He has also had security called on him for falling a sleeping in class due to medication side effects. My son takes several different types of medicines. 

 He has over 25 discipline referrals since starting at Plaza, all of which relate to his disability and the schools failure to develop an appropriate FBA & Behavioral intervention Plan.  His IEP, BIP, and FBA are poorly written and they fail to accurately describe my son or his disabilities.

My son’s written expression is on a first grade level and the only services he received for this was an alpha smart which his teacher took away from him as a disciplinary action.  The school administrators, special education personnel, and teachers seem uninterested in understanding Tyler’s disabilities but instead gossip about him. Last week, I caught his Art teacher gossiping about my son to other teachers in the lobby of the school while I was standing right there.  When I brought this issue up with the principal Mrs. Hoyle I was told it was a “personal and private” matter and she would handle it but I couldn’t know the outcome.  Yet this teacher violated my son’s privacy.  Every time my son walks through those school doors, his self esteem and emotional health is compromised.  My son has been put on several different anxiety medications since starting at Plaza. He has had to have his antidepressant increased recently due to his traumatic experiences at Plaza.  I am forced to pay for advocates and attorneys to fight for services that my son is already entitled to.  I shouldn’t have to sacrifice my time and money to try and get the school system to do its job but in the city of Virginia Beach I guess I do!

 My son is very bright and should have the same access to education as any other child. I will not let this school system bully me, and destroy my child.  I will do whatever takes to fight the evil establishment to protect my child and to make sure he has a chance to be educated and that he is given the tools he needs to be successful in life.

PARENTS……I hope my story inspires others to stand up to a system that disrespect parents and those who help parents fight for their children’s protected rights!

Thanks for listening!

Jen

Went to the Board of Education meeting on Tuesday, March 17th. You have to call by noon to get your name on the list, and then you get 3 minutes to say your peace. Getting my name put on the list turned out to be a challenge. The chick on the other end of the phone asked what my statement would be in regard to, and when I said, “discipline and special education” she said that the appropriate place to voice my concerns would be to the principal. “Uh, yea, been there done that. Put me on the list lady.”  

My name is Kat. I am the mother of two children in our city schools.

My son is in 6th grader at Corporate Landing Middle School. He is an altar boy, a Boy Scout, the recipient of the President’s Award for Academic Achievement, a football player in Courthouse Association, and an all-around good kid.

The city schools have a “zero tolerance” bullying policy, and yet I have a substantial list of assaults and verbal attacks that my child has endured since the beginning of the school year.

I am here today because I fear for my son’s safety at his school, despite my efforts to work with his teachers and administration, despite the fact that our schools have a zero tolerance policy no bullying, despite the fact that his school is bound by federal law to follow my son’s IEP, which speaks to his vulnerability to bullying and victimization, despite the fact that I have asked for the assistance of the school after each and every incident in which my child was bullied, verbally harassed, or physically assaulted, the school has done nothing to remedy the situation or prevent my son from coming to harm, instead saying things like, “boys will be boys.”

In the past two weeks, I have twice had to remove my son from school with injuries, including a head injury.

In addition, just last week, my son was pushed to his knees and injured during the chaotic unloading of buses, where all 1400 students are offloaded at once. This daily event involves so much chaos that the school cannot hope to adequately supervise what happens.

And yet my son, an autistic 12-year-old child in a crowd of 1400 students without any adults in close proximity was expected to react appropriately, and punished when he put up his hands to deflect the attack.

No adult saw the incident, the staff only became aware of the situation when a friend brought my son to the nurse for treatment. He was punished for raising his hands and a statement he wrote was used against him, despite the fact that a clear manifestation of his disability is that he has difficulty with written expression.

The assistant principal who gave him this punishment freely admitted that she had never read his IEP.

I met with the Principal to appeal this decision. I received word yesterday that the punishment was upheld.

I have real concerns about whether this decision — which the assistant principal says is final and unappealable per the school board’s regulation — violates my son’s IEP and therefore fails to comply with federal law.

Hello Blogmates: 

In the next few weeks I will be sharing a very personal story about a classic district maneuver of retaliation. This will be a detailed account that will take several postings in order to create a true understanding of the depth of deception and pettiness that can be displayed by a school district. It also clearly illustrates what lengths Virginia City Public Schools will go to, to retaliate and harm people who are vocal, persistent, assertive, and willing to challenge the status quo. 

I refuse to run from any challenge, even those presented by VBCPS. 

I share this story in the hopes that other parents and advocates will find the strength to say, “NO. I will not tolerate this any longer!” 

I hope you enjoy my story and find strength in my words. 

My Personal Saga Part I: 

Anyway, my children are zoned to go to Larkspur Middle School. I have had ill feelings towards Larkspur Middle School ever since I represented a client whose child was allowed to sit in her own vomit in a wheelchair (student has CP) for an hour until the father came to pick her up.  The reason for this?   The nurse could not clean her up because a virus was going around school and if they had cleaned the vomit up, the staff would have had to go home to take a shower.    

I kid you not!  The parent reported these exact words to the Virginia Beach City School Board members at a pubic comment session. 

My youngest goes this middle school next year.  For about two months, I have been weighing the pros and cons of allowing him to attend Larkspur, because I am aware of other disturbing behaviors by school personnel. Last week, I finally decided against Larkspur and called the Assistant Superintendent of Middle Schools, to talk about my options for an out of zone waiver. He and I decided that Salem would be a good choice. He instructed me to call Dr. Soltner, the principal at Salem Middle School to schedule a meeting and send him the paperwork.  

I called Dr. Soltner on Friday, March 13, and left a detailed message.  I was told by his people that he would call me back. When I did not hear from him on Monday, March 16, I called again and left another message and faxed the paperwork.  I was again told he would call me back.  After waiting about two hours and feeling concerned that I might be being brushed off, I called the Assistant Superintendent of Middles Schools, Dr. Massey, and left a message that the principal had not yet returned my calls and I was concerned that perhaps I misunderstood his directive. Within 20 minutes of placing the call to Dr. Massey, Dr. Soltner called and we made arrangements to meet. We had a very pleasant conversation. I thought he finally returned my call because I called the superintendent, so I did not follow up with Dr. Massey to inform him that a meeting had been scheduled between Dr. Soltner and me. 

As you continue to read my saga, you will see that this oversight is what doomed me!   

Around 4:30 on Monday, March 16, Dr. Soltner called me back and stated that because I called the Assistant Superintendent on him that he is NOW refusing my request for the waiver. He stated, “I was going to grant it, but now I am not, and I wish things could be different.”  That was it for me!  I informed Dr. Soltner that I was just following the instructions of the Assistant Superintendent of Middles Schools, and that I did not believe he wished things could be different.  

I immediately call Dr. Massey and asked him what the hell is going on. I asked him if he was setting me up! He reported that Dr. Soltner was really, really mad because I called his office to report that he had not returned my call. I told him that was a stupid reason to reject my request and that I was acting on his instructions!  I asked Dr. Massey if he had the authority to place my son at Salem and he said that he did, but things would be too stressful because the principal is mad at me!  

Dr. Massey then told me that I could send my son to Kempsville Middle and I said NO!  He then reported that I would have to send my son to Larkspur.  I reminded him about the student who was left to sit in her vomit for an hour at Larkspur and all the other disturbing incidents.  He told me that there would be a new Principal next year at Larkspur. I told him that it didn’t matter; it takes a principal a while before they can change old behaviors within the school.  

I continued with my protest and told Dr. Massey I was being treated unfairly and he was allowing Dr. Soltner to retaliate against me. I told him that I was well aware of VBCPS upper administration’s gossip about me because I am a kick ass advocate, and that is why my son is being denied.  He said he would get back with me.  

At 4:45, I called the Director of Special Education (my son is special ed student) and told him what happened. Of course he was already aware of the situation, because like I said, they gossip!  Because my son is a special education student, before rejecting or approving an out of zone waiver, his office is to be involved. The Director of Special Education reported that no one from Salem called his office about the request for the out of zone waiver for my son. 

  Next week’s posting: “The School Board experience”