I also remember the special ed classes at Silverwood being one reason that parents advocated for keeping the school open. Are there more than three special ed programs at that school? If so, it’s possible the principal doesn’t have enough time to handle all the IEPs now that there is no vp. That was the rationale given at the meeting for moving programs.

Regarding moving the autism classes from Silverwood – I remember those classes were one of the reasons the school was ultimately not closed during the school closure fiasco – changing routines and familiar surroundings are big issues for the students.

This entire SpecEd “proposed changes”is a nightmare in the making.

They did ask people to write down their questions and promised to post them, along with answers, on the CAC blog at http://mtdiablosped.blogspot.com/.

While I was writing down some of the questions, Patz came and took down the paper. I did see one email with several questions, including:

“Why were parents not notified (of changes) prior to placement decisions being made?”

Anyone with questions about autism or transportation is invited to send them to Patton at pattonc@mdusd.org.

Several parents were trying to ask questions after the presentation, but Patz asked them to leave the room so the custodian could go home. Then, parents were standing in a dark corridor outside trying to get their questions answered by district staff.

Please note that I have added a May 30 update to this blog with a link to the meeting Powerpoint. I will also do a separate blog post with video links.

Although Mildred Browne said the district received good feedback from those who attended the meeting, I have also heard that some parents thought the information could have just been sent in an email or letter.