I cannot remember when I have been THIS Happy

[dreamer]

Today was PCs LAST day at our school. Her grad ceremony is not until Sun, but, she is DONE...which means- I am done with this district! YAY YAY YAY.....
Well- except that I still will be paying huge amounts into real estate taxes for our district ----grrr....VERY huge amounts.....
The district built a brand new HS bldg very close to my house, and son could start there year after next, BUT..I refuse to have any of my kids ever go to this district ever again, NO WAY, not after what they did to Buffy and son......not after the horror stories I continue to hear and read about in the paper etc.....

I am DONE with the school! YAY! I have not been this happy since..well since I passed my state nurseing boards, I think?
A couple days ago my much younger sister texted me that her dtr just graduated preschool, LOL, and my sister was crying. LOL, I wanted to tell her, oh yes, I cried when each of my kids started school....but had I known then how it would be? I woulda done a lot more than just simply cry becuz my baby was off to be part of the world......I think I might have tantrummed or something. THere have been plenty of negative things I have faced in my life, but....this district has got to be the top one of the most awful things. Even tho I have now homeschooled son 2 school years and Buffy more, - both kids still remember their traumas at the hands of our district. And both have learned so much more than I ever could have dreamed since they have been homeschooling.
easy child had been holding her own in the school, and she wanted to try to stick it out and stay in......but now FINALLY I am DONE with the district!
YAY!!!!!!!!

Oh boy I am just SOOOO happy!

that song "celebrate celebrate dance to the music" is playing in my head.

Yahoo!!!!! YIPPEE! Doing a huge happy dance!

 

[Abbey]

Congrats!!!

Abbey

 

[4sumrzn]

WONDERFUL....so glad to hear how happy you are!!!!! CONGRATS to easy child too!!!!

 

[KateM]

Wow -- your joy really comes through your post! Happy for you!!!

 

[totoro]

Isn't it so sad that a horrible SD can make you so happy to be done with it!!! I am so happy as well, K is done with her horrible SD in a week and a half... No Nurse and a part time principal!!! Oh and a combined 3rd and 4th grade...

 

[dreamer]

I have several docs, ndoc and a few psychiatrists and tdocs who swear our sd is to blame for difficult children PTSD and the degree of her panic etc. even now, a few years later, she still disassociates when we just drive near the school she last attended.
Her middle school was 3 grades in one, with downs syndrome, developmentally delayed and kids cycling into and out of juvie--- 7 boys and her. One assaulted her, in HS, one of the boys in her class made death threats to her in middle of nite, and then even made the death threats to the police. But the next morning in school, her teacher insisted she sit next to the boy who made the threats and also insisted she be NICE to him.

My son? someone gave a grant to the school after he hurt his eye, becuz we found out his school did NOT have ANY english books with audiotapes for the daily reading lessons....the grant was earmarked for audio tapes with books for the daily reading BUT the school accidentally admitted to me they instead bought spanish books for the non english speaking kids with the grant. They also refused to permit us to get textbooks from the society for blind.....they would not let son use those for school???? even when he could not see.
In grade 2 Occupational Therapist (OT) / PT at school suggested ALphasmart for my son, due to CP.....but then the teachers kept saying no, he could not use it, even tho it was written into his IEP. when it was time for him to move to middle school, MS warned us at transition meeting they would not permit books on tape OR alphasmart.....and they would not could not come up with any feasible plan for my son who could not read or write.. And in spite of him missing nearly a whole year of school (grade 5) due to being out for surgeries, - they refused to hold him back in grade 5, even tho even before his eye injury he was unable to read or write. Middle school warned me it would be "sink or swim" for him- but they absolutely were NOT going to permit him to use ALphasmart or have any books on tape. Not very long into MS, a series of strange and abnoxious incidents on part of school caused me to finally pull him out, after I had just completed a miserable due process hearing with oldest difficult child. I cannot even believe now what they put my son thru, but I witnessed it myself. The horrid way they tre ated him and his eye......the ugly things they SAID to him daily......about how his eye looked, even. Not the other students, but, the teachers, the administrators etc......


I live in an affluent area....but I read the paper and am shocked often. Last week a sub Special Education teacher was found guilty for taping elem kids to chairs and taping their mouths closed. Recently a bus driver of elem kids got mad at the kids and pulled up at school and slammed on brakes on purpose so hard 19 kids were injured, thank goodness only slightly.....
when we were involved in due process we found out that the school psychologist was not properly credentialed, and had come from another state and her background was in criminal justice.....and the case manager/Special Education self contained ED BD class teacher at difficult children school was NOT credentialed for Special Education at all....
The progrma they put difficult child in for grade 8 was a pilot program that failed SO badly (as I warned them it would) that the teacher was fired, the program entirely dismantled.....alas, the damage had been done.

I worked SO hard, advocateing for my kids, bringing in specialists from NAMI, Univ teaching hospitals, CABF, psychiatrists, Tdocs, advocates, ndocs, Occupational Therapist (OT), PT, wrap facilitators, SASS workers, to be AT our IEP meetings, to help with setting up accomodations BIPs etc.....but the school consistantly fought against nearly every single recommendation anyone ever presented. I even arranged for classes for educating bipolar children for educators.......the sd refused to even consider it. HA! Ironically in due process the sd tried to tell hearing officer that I never even told them my dtr had diagnosis of bipolar, BUT, LOL-the paperwork was there in the files at due process, and hearing officer could see sd lied outright...and with my son, the eye surgeon sent reports monthly to school, and offered monthly to be available to school if they had questions etc....and so did the ortho docs and ndocs from shriners, but, sd never once bothered nor did they seem to even glance at any reports or recommendations etc.

ah yes, I cannot tell you just how happy I am to be done with them. It still blows my mind how they outright abuse kids and consistantly get away with it. Yes, even when it is reported to the state, even when the due process hearing officer is VERY aware.......

And the things I just mentioned are just a few of the problems, not even close to all of them. and the things I hear from parents of other disabled and spec needs kids? YIKES.

Our sd did far more damage to my dtr than the bipolar ever did to her. And even now, a few years out, she is STILL struggling hard to "recover" and "heal" I still hope I got my son out of there in time. <shudder>

For all of you with GOOD schools------be thankful and grateful. Don't take it for granted.

 

[TerryJ2]

Now you've got ME dancing to the music! LOL!

Wow, that district is appalling. Just disgusting. One thing after another. I'm glad the newspaper is staying on top of it. It seems that's the only recourse sometimes.

Sigh. What a relief for you.

 

[Star*]

Dreamer -

THAT is the HAPPIEST post I've seen you write in a long time and it really is GREAT and FANTASTIC news for you all (except for the taxes) BUT .......GREAT TO HEAR HOW HAPPY YOU ARE.

Hugs
Star

 

[hearts and roses]

Yeah Dreamer! Congrats to easy child!!! The way you feel is the way I felt when difficult child switched to another school and easy child graduated our local HS. I thought, "Finally, I am DONE with this district! Woooohoooooo!! Cheers!

 

[SearchingForRainbows]

dreamer,

CONGRATULATIONS to you and to easy child!!! I'm so very happy for you!!! It is absolutely disgusting the way SPED departments are run. Our SD is pathetic also. We're currently preparing for a BIG battle regarding difficult child 2's placement for the Fall - Another story entirely. However, it's just more of the same old garbage year after year after year...

I'm sure I'll be doing a major happy dance when difficult child 1 is finished next year. difficult child 2 still has 3 more years IF he has enough daily living skills, social skills, and vocational skills to graduate with his class. easy child is going to a different high school beginning this Fall - I'm thrilled!!!

This is your post - I don't want to go on and on and on... I just want to let you know how happy I am for you. I can't even begin to imagine how good it must feel to be finished with the SD!!!

I hope you celebrate big time!!! You deserve to!!! WFEN