Hard to say much about a whole district. Lots of really wonderful teachers - a few really not very…read morewonderful teachers. My feelings about the district are average, although it does drop when you take into account my feelings about their Special Ed. Department the "Department of Exceptional Children"
What I will comment on though is the state of this districts Special Education services, which are a joke throughout the state. Ask a specialist from Detroit or some other area about some redicilous problem the district is giving you, or how they dropped the ball, denied services to children who needed them, etc and most of them will ask you up front if you live in St. Clair County and of those most will then question you about living in Port Huron.
If you have a special needs child, be prepared to call, check up on, re-send paperwork they lost, be told that despite the fact that anyone can see your child needs extra help, or that you have a diagnosis that means that supports should be in place, that they see NO NEED and cannot provide your child services. I know SO MANY parents who have gone to bat for their kids to try and get them help only to be bullied and denied. One Social Worker actually stood up and was snapping at me, essentially calling me a liar when I pointed out that I did not agree with the district's conclusions and cited an assessment score used by the psychiatrist. She went on to tell me in a very rude tone that I had signed permission for her to check up on that kind of thing (implying that she would "bust me" in a lie). I was extremely civil the entire meeting and honestly, if she could have "checked up on" that information, my question is why (clearly) did she not do it? I have been rudely told I am "not on" my child's birth certificate and that they must have been in someone else's custody!!!?. (they couldn't find my son's birth certificate - which is illegal, so the gal just made up a story... dumb too... OBVIOUSLY I am on my son's birth certificate - and I'm the one that gave it to them! lol A few shining stars do exist in this department, but by and large, The Department of Exceptional Children consists of people who don't like to do their job and need you to do it for them. I have had them tell me that they have "no records" for meetings that took place, and for which *I* had to provide the district paperwork to show them the meeting did take place and even received other children's private medical/psychiatric evaluations.. I've called and emailed at least one Social Worker for weeks, and zero responses, yet I know other staff can get a response in a few hours or a day. I've had people call me with reminders for meetings that were cancelled almost two weeks prior, and had those same people call me prior to the later meeting (it is always later... lol) and tell me the time moved ahead or back by several hours with no notice to me.. It really is ridiculous
If you have a special needs child and live in this district, my advice: (1) Keep samples of your child's work (2) Keep a record of all phone calls - day, time, and notes (3) Get the names and phone numbers of all the people who are (or could be fill ins for) your child's support team at school (4) Save all old report cards and office referrals, detention slips, etc (5) Get copies of all pertinent results and tests - from doctors, psychiatrists, the district - anything (6) Make talking point lists of your concerns and be prepared to back it up with evidence showing that your points are valid. (6) Be prepared to deal with lost paperwork and keep EVERYTHING they give you - I suggest a special BIG binder - and bring it with you to any meeting so all of it is handy when you need it) (7) Be prepared to hunt your child's team down during assessment/implementation and check on whether or not anyone has actually decided to do whatever they are supposed to be doing. (9) Also: be aware that the "Department of Exceptional Children" will, in my experience, draw the experience out as LONG as possible, (we have been full school years trying to get services, they have put me off over summer breaks, etc) so that they don't have to give your child services. They will bully you and draw you out, make you re-provide things they should already have, and generally try to make the process as painful and drawn out as possible so you will want to give up and they can go back to whatever else they're doing. (10) Consider recording conversations and meetings to document any rudeness/bullying you are experiencing from the team. I truly do approach all interactions with as professional and friendly a demeanor as possible and some of the treatment I have received at the hands of a few of these gals has been just off the wall. FYI you have the right to video tape meetings as well. Don't be afraid to do it.
