Many parents eager to help kids succeed - St. Petersburg Times

Long-time readers of my blogs would know I have written frequently on how school systems use the "first we blame the student, then we blame the parent" as a defense of the inadequacies of the system, or as an offense to intimidate the parent.


As a parent of a disabled kid, I know the story well. Thanks to the link from The Gradebook, here is an article written by Bill Mawwell that suggests some insight about all of those parents that use "broad brush attacks", are malcontents, and are thousands of "isolated incidents".

Many parents eager to help kids succeed - St. Petersburg Times

Not On My Bus

School buses have Hillsborough parents fuming - St. Petersburg Times

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.

Here is a picture: "LMAO".

I would assume everyone has heard about the busing fiasco. There has been enough finger pointing to go around that no glove could fit and would again vindicate OJ.

I understand that a large majority of the public doesn't read the information sent to them. I get that side of the mess. What is lost to most people is that even when the public does read the information sent to them, it doesn't take much to see that the information provided isn't adequate nor sufficient.

In other words, are we to believe that if every parent had read and understood the information sent to them about the transportation issues, none of these issues would have occurred?

I read my letter last January and bought my bus last Valentine's Day so I would be ready in August's first day of school.

Enough about me.

In the above link provided by "The Gradebook", there is a sentence that got my attention:

"Gina Hammons is hearing horror stories from friends about their children being teased, and drivers not attuned to their special needs. She knows five people having problems, including a driver who simply refused to pick up a special needs child at the stop.

After we get passed the "isolated incident" defense, if this really did happen (and I believe it did), what is the rest of this story?

Was the driver being responsible to recognize that she could not meet the needs of the disabled student because there were not enough supports and related services written into the well designed IEP drawn up by the special education experts?

Or, was the driver discriminating against a disabled person because the driver thought that is was not his/her job to provide service to a disabled student?


This sentence may say it all: "Throwing everybody on the same bus and not preparing the drivers, not preparing the parents."


The key word in that phrase is "preparing". I know that every IEP written in the HCPS is very comprehensive and is carefully designed to meet the individualized needs of the student (said with sarcasm). I wonder why the bus driver wasn't told about the IEP? I wonder why the ESE specialist didn't make it a point to inform the driver? I wonder if the Principal knows that the IEP must be implemented?

Just wandering.