Madison
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By -
A few weeks ago, I wrote a letter to the editor about problems that my children were having at the new Madison Elementary School. The first concern was in regards to starting school in the new school when the construction was not completed. Both of my boys were having allergic reactions to the "cement dust" because the flooring was not installed. I believe that this problem is starting to be corrected. The even bigger concern was that not one of my son's teachers seemed to know about his IEP (Individual Education Plan, he has a speech, learning and hearing disability), let alone the fact that he wasn't getting the help he so desperately needed and that he was required by law to receive.[[In-content Ad]]Before I wrote to the editor, I called Madison when my son brought home his mid-term grades, during that call, I was told by Ms. Taylor "that the school was short teachers" and that was why my son was not getting the help he desperately needed.
Today, I received another call from Ms. Taylor at Madison in regards to "setting an appointment to discuss my son's IEP". Ms. Taylor said to me, "due to the letter that you wrote to the editor of the paper", "we want to set an appointment to review your son's IEP." So now, because "I wrote a letter to the editor", the school wants a meeting to review his IEP. It sounds to me like the school is trying to cover their a__ __, rather than doing what is right, or correcting the problem.
I would have felt much better if I had gotten a call a few weeks ago after the problem was brought to the school's attention, letting me know that my son's IEP had been reviewed by all of his teachers, along with a plan or steps that would be taken by each one of them or as a group to help my son. We must be an advocate for our children because no one else will be.
I wrote a letter to the editor only because I was not getting help from the school or from the administration. I know what my child's IEP mandates, and all I expect is that the IEP requirements are followed so that my son gets an education. As his parents, we have asked for ideas or recommendations from the school as to what we can do to help our son learn, but as of today, no one has contacted us with any suggestions or ideas.
We have a conference this week, hopefully we can once again explain that our only concern is that our son gets a good education and that we are more than willing to do our part to help the school provide that education.
Rhonda Williamson
Atwood, via e-mail
A few weeks ago, I wrote a letter to the editor about problems that my children were having at the new Madison Elementary School. The first concern was in regards to starting school in the new school when the construction was not completed. Both of my boys were having allergic reactions to the "cement dust" because the flooring was not installed. I believe that this problem is starting to be corrected. The even bigger concern was that not one of my son's teachers seemed to know about his IEP (Individual Education Plan, he has a speech, learning and hearing disability), let alone the fact that he wasn't getting the help he so desperately needed and that he was required by law to receive.[[In-content Ad]]Before I wrote to the editor, I called Madison when my son brought home his mid-term grades, during that call, I was told by Ms. Taylor "that the school was short teachers" and that was why my son was not getting the help he desperately needed.
Today, I received another call from Ms. Taylor at Madison in regards to "setting an appointment to discuss my son's IEP". Ms. Taylor said to me, "due to the letter that you wrote to the editor of the paper", "we want to set an appointment to review your son's IEP." So now, because "I wrote a letter to the editor", the school wants a meeting to review his IEP. It sounds to me like the school is trying to cover their a__ __, rather than doing what is right, or correcting the problem.
I would have felt much better if I had gotten a call a few weeks ago after the problem was brought to the school's attention, letting me know that my son's IEP had been reviewed by all of his teachers, along with a plan or steps that would be taken by each one of them or as a group to help my son. We must be an advocate for our children because no one else will be.
I wrote a letter to the editor only because I was not getting help from the school or from the administration. I know what my child's IEP mandates, and all I expect is that the IEP requirements are followed so that my son gets an education. As his parents, we have asked for ideas or recommendations from the school as to what we can do to help our son learn, but as of today, no one has contacted us with any suggestions or ideas.
We have a conference this week, hopefully we can once again explain that our only concern is that our son gets a good education and that we are more than willing to do our part to help the school provide that education.
Rhonda Williamson
Atwood, via e-mail
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