Comments on: Student killings hit Richmond community hard

By: Sheryl Gordon

Sheryl Gordon — Thu, 16 Aug 2012 22:53:19 +0000

The stories about all young people who are killed in violence are sad. Of that there is no doubt.
Is there a preventative way to stop many of these senseless acts? I believe so, but it would be so very difficult to accomplish. And would need to be put into place WAY before a child ever entered a school system. Youngsters who are born into “at risk” parentage, must be availed of mentors as infants. Mentors who are deeply committed to the child they serve, and yes, it would be a service for all the growing up years with the adult person showing the positive ways one will succeed in life, to the child he or she is involved with.
Alas, this cannot happen, as most adults aren’t able to commit to such a long-term investment. Helping a child to follow the right path is a daunting undertaking, especially for at risk children.
Imagine though, if it were possible, the results-breathtaking!

By: Giorgio C.

Giorgio C. — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 04:24:03 +0000

@19Anon,
Feel free to contact me. I’ll preserve your anonymity. We can talk in person over coffee. I am willing to do what I can to voice your concerns. I also understand your concerns regarding retaliation. They are valid. I am wishing you and your child the best.

Giorgio
gcosentino1964@gmail.com

By: Anon

Anon — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 04:08:20 +0000

Geogio I agree with you. I am 1 person with a special Ed child and other children still in district schools. I hate to admit it but I can’t stand and fight alone. I fear for the retaliation on my children and myself. Not to mention that while I have the desire I don’t think I alone am capable of this. If I could get some other well versed people behind me. Some people who understand the inner workings of the large district I would be willing to do the work. I am not good at public speaking and often find it difficult to talk to people who out right lie to my face.
I vote and I can tell you that there is only one board member that I voted for. I want nothing more than an education for all of our children. They are the future of this country and they deserve a good education.

By: Anon

Anon — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 03:58:48 +0000

So back on topic. Some will fall and pick themselves up, some will never see adulthood but with the right tools and self esteem most can make it. I know many of you may think I am not all here with that statement but I believe kids want to do well and are unable to deal with facts that they are perceived as less. In some situations you may have a child that excels but it is uncool to rise way ahead. We need to tr to find a way to give all of them a chance. I am not saying that it is all about the teachers or the parents it is about a broken system. It is time for a change. Let school choice and vouchers come into play. The week will be gone and the strong will stay (teachers and admins). If a student isn’t able to obey the rules they can’t go there. Use the research that is out there to teach struggling students. Help push up the ones that Need to be challenged. Embrace our different children stop being afraid of autism, dyslexia, cognitive impaired. We need all of them.

By: Giorgio C.

Giorgio C. — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 03:42:35 +0000

@14anon,
In response to “Why the district does not use the programs I do not know”, you deserve and should be able to get a response. All decisions should exist in writing somewhere. There should be a way for you to get this on the board meeting agenda or there should be a way to get your board to get the response for you or you should get the response via the public records act request.

At the end of the day, hold the Superintendent responsible by electing to school board those who are responsive to your concerns. You and some experts and teachers should draft a formal opinion on this item and present it to the board. If the district cannot defend their decision, then the board needs to find a new Superintendent. If they do not, you need to elect new board members.

This is the chain-of-command.

By: Anon

Anon — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 03:27:12 +0000

Don’t think they will use them or have people trained to use them. Go to :
http://www.dys-add.com/index.html
E-mail Susan Barton and ask for a list of tutors in your area. Depending on the age of your son and if he also has ADHD Will determine how many hours a week. Usually 2 @ $50 to 60 an hour. Ask for reimbursement. Within 1 year you will see a child that could barely read diary of a wimpy kid read all of them. You will also see his spelling start to improve. There are 10 levels that will take him all the way to H.S. also have the official diagnose kept up so you can apply for a foreign language waiver later on. It is typical for dyslexics to have trouble with foreign language. Once he is able to read then you will start to work on fluency. You can’t push decoding and fluency at the same time. Also there is nothing wrong with books on tape if you can’t read to him daily. Keep his mind going with words.

By: Flippin' Tired

Flippin' Tired — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 03:14:21 +0000

Looks like I’ll be calling an IEP. Thank you for the information.

By: Anon

Anon — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 02:59:11 +0000

Flippen, the district owns the Barton reading and spelling, And Wilson. I have not heard if they own Slingerland . I was told by Barton that they do indeed own the license and the district confirmed it when I asked. They also hold the license for Wilson. They refuse to use the programs. They insist on using read 180, Read Naturally, and now Lexia. None of these programs will work for Dyslexic students. I have extensive knowledge on teaching dyslexics. The only programs that will work are the above mentioned. They also need to learn math and writing in a different way. These programs will also work with adults but the later you wait to get help the longer it will take to remediate.
Why the district does not use the programs I do not know. I am not sure why they would not want to.

By: Flippin' Tired

Flippin' Tired — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 02:12:56 +0000

Anon @9,

You say, ” The reading programs that these children need are already owned by MDUSD but they refuse to use them.”

The name of these programs, please. My child is dyslexic, and I know of no special program the district is using to supplement my child’s learning.

By: Giorgio C.

Giorgio C. — Sun, 12 Aug 2012 01:10:54 +0000

To #11Anon,
This is why I am fanatical about documentation. Many, including teachers and administrators, resent any attempt to require such because it takes time. A previous comment (yours?) mentioned the possibility of lawsuits. A continuous paper trail will make this even more likely, thus we have motivation to do better.

How are we documenting the discovery of those who have fallen through the cracks? Is an investigation performed by an impartial, outside entity to determine the cause of failure to detect these failures or are they internally sanitized?

I had completed an evaluation request for one very troubled student. At first, I was told by the counselor “You can’t save them all.” The kid later showed up at school with a loaded gun. I asked about the request I placed. The response was that someone lost the paperwork, that he was never evaluated.

Then we have the incomplete SARC documents…..(heavy sigh of frustration). Documentation is everything. Show me in writing what our school system looks like on a day-to-day basis. Only then can we detect those who need help with diagnostic accuracy approaching 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity with the desired predictive value.

In response to your comment, I would like to see the documentation that shows that 30 years of research is being ignored by our district. In my current highly regulated profession, anything not documented is assumed to not have been done. It will be incumbent upon the district to produce documentation to the contrary.

You and Jim have provided some specific examples. If I wanted to investigate your concerns, could I? If not, it means the paper trail is lacking. I would like to see documentation of the MDUSD’s thought-decision process that resulted in them not using the program that you cite. If kickbacks are a motivating factor, documentation should point to such if their argument to not use these programs is proven to be scientifically invalid.