Red Tape

Well I have been corresponding back and forth with the principal at Anthony's school. I have a meeting at 11 today so we will see. I am having a hard time gettting her to budge but hopefully that will change today.

Here are the emails we have sent back and forth. Any suggestions are taken.

Dear Mrs. Silverman,

My name is Annalisa Rivera. I am the mother of Anthony and Michael Rivera. We have met a few times last year to discuss their special needs in Kindergarten. I went today to see where they were placed and I was quite disappointed in the choice of first grade teacher for Anthony.

At the end of last year I had been assured by you, and Mrs. Catalano that he would be placed with a teacher that could handle him and his issues. According to most parents that I have spoken to the best choice for my boys would have been Foster or Bartells. Michael did get placed in Foster but Anthony was placed with Pla. I don't know much about Bartells or Pla but from what I have heard Pla is very laid back and not has outgoing as Bartells. Bartells has a reputation among the parents for taking kids with issues and helping them turn around.

One of Anthony's issues is that he needs to be engaged and brought out in the class or he will be lost in another world. He has a difficult time concentrating and staying on task. He can also have quite a temper and gets discouraged easily when things get difficult. If what other parents have told me is true, Pla is not the teacher that would be best suited for these kinds of problems.

The other concern I have is that there are two children in that class that Anthony had serious issues with last year. One is Julian who threatened to kill his brother and tormented Anthony for quite a while with bad language. And the other is Edmund who he also had a couple of problems with. He has a hard enough time concentrating with out worrying about these other distractions.

Another reason I had wanted him placed with Bartells or Foster was experience. I have heard that they both have a lot of experience. Both Hammans and Catalano have told me that they have never had children like mine in their classes before. Their set of problems are very unique. Maybe someone like Bartells who has had many years of experience would have dealt with someone like Anthony before.

The last reason I would like Anthony moved is because I was hoping he would be with Ryan Martinez. I know it is not a critical issue but I have good reasons for why I had wanted them together. Anthony has a very hard time making friends. He is lacking social skills when it comes to knowing how to engage others. Ryan is very social and a good student. These are both areas that Anthony is deficient in. When he is with Ryan it makes him more confident and he learns a lot of positive attributes. Ryan is the main reason Anthony wanted to be in AR. Anthony is also very nervous and worried about school. Knowing he will see Ryan everyday would give him a reason to be excited about school.

I know that parents are not supposed to request placement and I know that nothing is guaranteed. But my boys education is extremely important to me. I have to stand up for them and be their advocate. If I think something can be made better for one of them it is my duty to speak up. So that is what I am doing. I know you must remember me and how important my boys are to me. I don't think many other parents break out into tears during meetings like I did.

I can't imagine how hard it must be to place all the children with special concerns. I really appreciate your time in considering this matter. I hope to hear your decision soon.

Sincerely,

Annalisa Rivera

Her response

Mrs. Rivera,

Thank you for your letter of request. You are a very caring and supportive parent! I know that last year we spoke about placing the boys carefully to assure that they would have their needs met. I did not and cannot promise any particular teacher as we need to balance classes and make sure every teacher has a teachable group of students. As you know my teachers team and meet together on a regular basis as well as teach to the standards for their grade level. I have great confidence in all of the teachers on the 1st grade team.

Parents always have opinions about teachers based on their experiences and child. Sometimes information in the community is not always accurate and sometimes parents don't know the entire story. I do not recommend that you use that information as a basis for requesting a teacher as one parent or student could have a fantastic experience and another may not depending on their personal situation. There may be many success stories that you are not aware of.

It is my professional opinion that the boys are placed with teachers who have high expectations, teach to the standards, and can be understanding and patient enough to meet the boys needs. All of the teachers in 1st grade are highly experienced with 10 years or more in teaching. As a matter of fact Mrs. Foster is one with a shorter experience since she came into teaching later in life. I did the same thing.

I am happy to sit down with you and discuss at length what the needs of the boys are and invite the teacher so we can make sure to move forward in a positive way. Let's make an appointment to meet in the next couple of days.

I have change of class forms in the office and we can go over in more detail your concerns.

Respectfully,
Debbie Silverman


My response:

Mrs. Silverman,

Thank you very much for taking the time to read my letter and respond. I know this is an extremely busy time for you.

In regard to the teacher situation the only reason I was confident in the community information is because it came from multiple parents and Mrs. Catalano. I would never take the opinion of one parent as fact but multiple sources tend to lend themselves to the truth.

Anthony loved Mrs. Pla and had a great first day. He actually said he loved 1st grade which is terrific because they spent most of the summer dreading it. I did notice a few things that I would love to address in a meeting. Mrs. Pla was not aware of any of Anthony's issues and made a comment to me as we were leaving that he was having a problem with his writing. So I would love for her to have time to read his file and familiarize herself with Anthony's special needs. She also was very soft spoken. Maybe this will be fine but Anthony tends to drift off and I fear he will not pay attention. I am not sure if Mrs. Foster has read Michael's file either, and that may be helpful also.

I am committed to my boys and their education. I would be remiss as a parent if I didn't try to get the best teacher for my child. I will work with them everyday and I am committed to a year of hard work. I just felt that a better teacher option could have been chosen. I really need teachers that are up for the challenge my boys offer and are prepared to work hand in hand with me to help them succeed.

I know my boys have tremendous potential. If we can find a way to overcome their challenges they would be spectacular students. I have appointments on Thursday but I am available on Friday. I am not sure if the whole team has to be present or not. Either way I would love to meet with you and the teachers.

Sincerely,

Annalisa Rivera


Her response;

Annalisa,

I commend you again for being such a committed parent. I will make time to meet with you on Friday according to your schedule. I noticed when I visited yesterday that both the boys seemed very happy and engaged in class. You are right ...teachers have not been fully informed so we will definately go over the files with both of them. I look forward to meeting with you.

Debbie