My letter to the Board:
I was delighted to receive an e-mail from your St. Rose campus regarding the acceptance of my son but after his placement test had been completed and reviewed we were politely told, in layman's terms, my son is not a good fit. The meeting started out with, "This is a college preparatory school." My son placed at a fourth grade level when he is in fifth grade. I tried to say I was unaware that registering him for another grade was possible but I was interrupted and told that he should have been held back and they are confused why he was not. It was then explained to me that often a school will have two children in need of tutoring yet only able to give help to one. Help goes to the child more willing to show physical effort and not the other. In my son's case, he is the other and just not worth the time. There were also concerns that "if he can't do the work on paper then how can we trust him to do it on a Chromebook?" I was told that maybe if it was just one subject and not all there would be hope. At this point my son started to cry.
We were then told to go to the bookstore and buy a non-fiction book series, to which the principal stopped and asked if he knew the difference between fiction and non-fiction, and read it. Then find another series and read it. Then find another more difficult one and read it. I informed them that he can read and CCSD has been more focused on fluency then comprehension. I also informed them that I have asked CCSD numerous times only to be met with "He is not behind enough." or "We don't do that anymore." At this point, they looked at me and said, "Well then, it's on you at that point."
We approached the subject of math and I told them he does not understand Common Core math but functions very well with the old ways. My son and I were then informed that that is the way mathematics is taught now and if he cant understand Common Core then he is just not a good fit.
Then we were asked if he has friends his own age. I do not know how this is related but it came up. I told them that he gets along better with children a couple grades above him or below him. He has difficulty with children his age but has a few friends that are. We were told that is not normal and he needs to know the difference between right and wrong. I told them he knows the difference from right and wrong.
I told them it was either this or home school. They closed his file and told us that may be the best course of action. My son and I were told this repeatedly during the meeting. Needless to say, we left in tears and I am left with a broken-hearted young man who was told to his face that he is stupid and not worth a teacher's time. I am left with an eleven year old boy and I have to convince him that he is NOT what the principal and vice principal told him he was. I am left with an intelligent creature who is too humiliated to return to his previous school that I was required to disenroll him from before he could do his placement testing. I am stuck in a place of not knowing how to instill worth of any kind into my child as today he was told he has none. I have to deal the fact that I was lied to and told that I am a failure as a mother to see to it that my son gets the education he needs.
If this is how your organization treats families, why education? If this is the treatment for someone who has fallen through the crack why ask for IEPs and 504s ? I would hate to see what would happen to someone with those educational plans. Today, crushed my son. He was willing to do the proposed 2-3 hours of homework a night if it meant that he could get better grades and go to your school. I was happy and willing to sit and help him learn what he needed if it meant he would feel motivated and his love of learning resurfaced. Unfortunately, this school does not exist. Maybe home school would be the best course of action?
I would suggest a refesher course in communication for the principal and vice principal of your St. Rose campus and remind them that such condescension is unprofessional and has no place in an institution of learning. Neither does insulting a parent and diminishing a child's value. read more