ATTN. Harvard parents of special ed students

A recent article in the Northwest Herald drew my attention to possible problems in Harvard with the programs of students in special education.

I have certainly experienced a full range of problems that I have personally witnessed and experienced in the Woodstock area since 1996. Prior to that, I had virtually no experience with special education and school districts. My daughter grew up in Philadelphia and Poughkeepsie with her mother, and there were no special education needs there. In all the cities and towns in which I lived before 1996, I had not come in contact with any special education districts.

Once I got to Woodstock, I began to learn about special education. People have told me I should write a book. Frankly, I don't think one book would be enough to cover all the stories, but who likes to read bad news all the time.

Dr. Peter Koehn (pronounced "kane") has blown the whistle on the Harvard (Ill.) School District by getting the Office of Civil Rights of the federal government involved. I never dragged problems that far; usually, just getting the Superintendent involved was enough to get the needed correction. But I certainly made many trips to her office, when Special Education administrators (not teachers) threw up roadblocks and speed bumps.

Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) cannot be unilaterally changed; i.e., a teacher or an administrator cannot make the decision in isolation to change a student's IEP. Changes are supposed to be made at an IEP meeting, which should be attended by the "IEP Team", which includes the parent(s). The Team members are specified in procedures established by the Feds and the Illinois State Board of Education.

The big problem with the "Team" is that most teachers know that they had better not make any waves. If something is wrong with the implementation of an IEP, it could be a "professional" death sentence for a teacher to speak up. So what happens if they read their reports and sit there until the meeting is over. They know that they had better not buck the administrator who is there. After all, who does their performance reviews? Who decides whether they end up monitoring the toilets or the playground? Who gets raises? Who gets canned?

Dr. Peter Koehn is a whistleblower. I like whistleblowers. I'm sorry they must exist. I'm sorry they get fired for blowing whistles. If you are a parent of a Harvard Special Education student and would like to speak with Dr. Koehn, you can call him at 815.212.3209

OCR heads to Harvard Special Education

The following article was published on WoodstockAdvocate.com and is re-published here for parents of Special Education students.


In today's Northwest Herald is a front-page (top of the page, even) article about Special Education. Reporter Chelsea McDougall mentions Harvard School District 50 and a recently-terminated psychologist. Also, she mentions a retired school psychologist and author.

Chelsea is in the ballpark, but the "experts" were tossing 98MPH fast balls at her. Let's slow down and see what is really going on.

I don't have experience with the Harvard school district, but I do have considerable experience with Woodstock District 200 Special Education. And I'd be willing to bet all the money in the Northwest Herald's bank account that the Special Education problems in Harvard are real, just as they are in District 200 and schools all over McHenry County and the State of Illinois.

Read the article at www.nwherald.com/2011/04/11/d-50-special-ed-moves-draw-scrutiny/avwh5yh/

District 50 Superintendent Lauri Tobias was quoted by her front-page photograph as saying, "We absolutely did not change IEPs with students. We have a procedure, and we go through the process beautifully."

I do not doubt that Ms. Tobias believes what she told the newspaper reporter. Believing it doesn't make it true. Yes, it is true that she believes it. And she probably believes what she is told about how the special education department operates. They will tell her that they always follow the laws and the rules. Would they dare tell her otherwise? So, based on what she is told, she believes that correct procedures, laws and rules are being followed. But that doesn't make it so.

Here is why I don't believe her statement.

In District 200 a third-grade student's IEP wasn't being followed. Of course, it's hard for a parent to uncover the facts, because s/he is not in school every day to watch what goes on. But after consultants from Project Choices (http://www.projectchoices.org/) visited the classroom of the student, they reported to the principal at an after-school meeting that the teacher could not arbitrarily change a student's IEP. They had made that observation during their one visit. What happened? The teacher stormed out of the meeting, and the social worker went with her "to see if she was okay." What should have happened was, the teacher should have been required to return the meeting and be accountable for her errors in the classroom.

Every year that student's IEP was violated. Later, in 9th Grade, a first-hour computer class was put in his schedule. It turned out there was no computer available and no room available, so the student was sent to study hall to twiddle his thumbs for an hour. No wonder he didn't want to go to school. His absenteeism in 9th Grade was over 60%, and he was never reported for truancy.

Parents of special education students are kept isolated from one another. This, of course, keeps them from exchanging information and forming groups to bring about change and correction.

I don't know Peter Koehn, the former junior high school psychologist who blew the whistle in Harvard. Somehow, though, I'm pretty sure I'd like him. He stuck up for the kids. Look where it got him. Fired.

And then think back to Huntley, where a Special Education Director was tossed out because she stuck up for the kids. Parents liked her; she knew the Special Ed laws and followed them. Of course, that got her in hot water with the district's administrators.

If you want to keep your job, you learn to keep your head down. Don't make waves. Don't talk to parents. Don't tell parents that their kids are not getting what they are supposed to. Be a follower; don't ever try to be a leader. Get tenure. Know your place. Just keep sucking at the public trough.

The former associate superintendent of District 200 told me that "every teacher is an advocate for every student." I almost fell off my chair laughing. Yeah, sure.... at the risk of their jobs, maybe. And they won't risk them by standing up for what is wrong in their Special Education departments.

Watch for following articles here to correct the wrong information that was given to the reporter. And, if you are parent of a Special Education student, get in touch with me. I'll help you find other like-minded parents in your school district.

Your kid's school lunch - who decides?

Who decides what your kid eats for lunch at school?

I'm not talking about whether he hits the junk food line or chooses mac & cheese or three bags of Fritos. If you want to pack his lunch (or, better yet, have him pack it himself, should you be able to do that?

And what if, horror of all horrors, you want to send some carrots, celery sticks and an apple or pear to school with him? Think you ought to be able to do that?

If you do, you'll want to keep your distance from the principal at Little Village Academy, on Chicago's west side.

Read this article, and then read the Chicago Tribune article from the link within it.

http://www.parentalrights.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={9B09A27B-2C09-4B7D-A772-40A27108FA7C}&DE=

And watch out that it doesn't happen where you live!

Behavior Plans - good or bad?

How good are behavior plans? You know - those plans dreamed up at school that are supposed to change your kid's bad behavior into good behavior?

Did you ever read one of them? I mean, really read it?

Too many of them are punitive in nature. The teacher is supposed to catch your kid doing everything bad. And record it. And report it. As if that is going to "fix" your kid.

Did it? Does it?

Read what Kirk Martin has to say about behavior plans at www.celebratecalm.com

In this week's email message to parents, Kirk wrote: "Most behavior plans fail because they:

(1) Address the outward behavior, but not the real underlying issue.
(2) Assume incorrectly that the behavior is rational and that consequences work. They simply don't.
(3) Focus on irrelevant consequences rather than showing kids how to react to situations differently."

Who wrote that? A teacher - a frustrated teacher!

Sign up at www.celebratecalm.com for Kirk's free e-newsletter and also listen to his online radio show.

Awaiting return of CDs

Help! I'm trying to locate Penny, mom of three kids, who lives in Lake in the Hills and to whom I loaned a Kirk Martin CD set about calm parenting in March 2010.

I'd surely like to get the CD album back, so that I can loan it to other parents. I know she intended to return them when she borrowed them. With three kids, I'll bet she just got busy and put the CD album in the stack of programs "to listen to sometime." Maybe my card got just separated from the album.

Many thanks in advance to anyone who can help me get in touch with Penny!