i'm not exactly sure how to start this post. well, it's my soapbox today, actually. for a month now wes & i have been totally baffled by the westerville school system, particularly the elementary school addy attends. for those who don't know, we live in a middle class town & pay a lot in taxes. we moved here 5 years ago anticipating our kids going to a this school district, hearing it was one of the best in the columbus area.
now that we know it's not one of the best...well, i'm ticked! baffled. frustrated. addy's pre-school experience was so amazing, we loved it. they helped her more than we could have dreamed. plus, they truly enjoyed their jobs, cared for their students, & took the time to chat with parents if we had a concern.
so. here we are, one month into school. i have discovered that anyone can volunteer at the school--anyone!--without a background check. when i questioned that, i was told the volunteers are never alone with the students, that the teacher always has eyes on the volunteer. my first day volunteering in addy's classroom: i was asked to walk 3 students down to a book fair, by myself. yes, it was only 2 halls...but that's all it takes if someone wants to begin grooming a child or school folks. not only are they possibly allowing sex offenders to work with kids, but also violent crime offenders. basically, they have no idea who they are letting into the classroom which means i, as a parent, have no confidence in the school's ability to protect my children.
then there's the fact that a neighborhood kid, who is a friend of the double a's, was able to walk off the playground & walk with us to the parking lot. the single playground attendant didn't notice. i barely noticed until we were nearly at my car. a friend then found out a student did in fact walk out of the school, down the street & was picked up by a total stranger (wtf?!!!) & taken to the fire station for safety. within the past ten years a student was killed at the 25 mph intersection next to the school, but the principal can't seem to convince the crossing guard to stay at his post until the tardy bell rings. (he leaves about 10 minutes early--just when kids would be willing to take a risk because they are nearly late to school & run across a street, right?!).
& then, we have our personal struggles going on, determining if addy needs an fm system to help with any confusion that she may be having in school because she can't hear what's being said all the time...or if it's something else entirely. (anxiety? adhd? sensory issues?) so yea, we had a meeting with the teacher & of course, addy is doing fine in school. she's smart, so she can perform the school work without a problem. it's the emotional & psychological end that is left in shreds by the end of the 2 1/2 hour day. at this point, it's not affecting her school time. but if it's not dealt with now, i know it will eventually disrupt her day at school & school work. (hiding, tearing up, & throwing away her homework is just a sign of what is to come, eh? *smile*)...
i have mentioned that addy's school day is only 2 & half hours, right. this 'awesome' {sarcasm there...}district refuses to do the mandated all day kindergarten because they somehow don't have the money...which is pure bullshit. the teachers were going to strike because they don't make enough money...even though they they are some of the best paid teachers in the columbus area! wtf?! & the school day is shortened. & the district keeps saying they don't have enough money, putting levies up every 2-3 years, needing more & more money. it's totally absurd...if you know me, you know that i am pretty liberal & i fully support public school systems, public education--my dad is a public school teacher, as is my mother in law. & i worked in a few public school systems in idaho & columbus public through my job as a social worker...so i know the struggles a teacher may go through. but its as if the district administrators & admin's/teachers at this certain elementary school are at a loss with how to protect the kids & are maybe unwilling or unable to help us in the certain situation with adeline?!
so what are my options, here? take more days to spend at addy's school to force the issue? for sure ask--ahem--confront school board about the safety issues, try to get pta folks on board? have more & more meetings with addy's teacher? next i will for sure refuse to walk kids alone, but really, maybe a kindergarten teacher should have an aide in the classroom. home school?--i would NOT be a good home school parent, fyi. so then, private school?--which we totally can't afford. i know wes & i are the only ones who care as much as we do for adeline (well, add in grandparents & such!), but what i mean is that we are the ones who will be advocating for her & amelia, pushing that they get an education. but wouldn't their teachers want to help us? i'm not exactly sure what i'm looking for, what response i expect from the school...i know what i'm looking for is not what we are getting. i know i do not trust that kids are protected in the classroom, that the administrators & teachers even know what a sexual perpetrator would do in that situation or know that my kid isn't walking off school grounds.
gah! please, folks, what do you think?
I would call the Columbus Dispatch about the lack of background checks. Seriously, that's a news story.
ReplyDeleteWhile speaking directly to school faculty "should" lol, render help I've found from experience it typically does not. I would recommend going to board meetings for the PTO/PALS association for your school and putting these issues on the agenda so that the concerns can be voiced with other parents, and then if others parents feel as upset with the sitation as you do the PTO/PALS organization can speak as one voice of many to the administration. If this does not work I would then see about the PTO/PALs org going to the super-intendant for your school system with the concerns. Barring that outcome it may be time to take the issues public via news stations/newspapers for a wider audience to help influence change.
ReplyDeleteWhile we send the kids to an "A" ranked charter school that will not allow anyone who has not passed a fingerprint clearance on school property, there are issues there with other things, that stem from District level policies/issues.
ReplyDeleteOur 'Pecking' order as it is, would be to contact school level administration directly. If you do not get the results you want, you would then attend a PALs meeting (PTO) and have your issues added to the agenda to be voiced and discussed. At this point if enough parents share your concern the PALs org will bring it to the 'District' level and fight to get results on the parents behalf. Barring that outcome, you could then take it public via newstations/newspapers for a broader spectrum of social pressure on the district to change their policies.
Mandi's suggestions were really good. There are things that drive me crazy at our school too, and her advice about the channels to pursue is good for me as well. One problem is that teachers and administrators always are so busy, it is hard to find the time to bend their ears and get them to do something. Although I use email a lot and find it works well. My one piece of advice would be: Don't be afraid to be that parent, the one who nags until important things get changed. As you noted, no one is going to care about your child as much as you do.
ReplyDeleteMandi and Hillary have great ideas. Several people i've discussed the volunteer issue with have said to take it to the dispatch.
ReplyDeleteThough you'd have more clout with both the media and the school district if you had the backing of other parents/PTO.
Perhaps you could offer to send information on sexual predators to the admins and PTO folks...we (will) have LOTS of stuff you could send out!