Richmond - The Editor, Re: "No special need to move son: Mom," News, June 25.As a parent at Sea Island elementary whose family has been impacted by the situation described in the above article, I wish to provide some clarity.
Richmond - The Editor, Re: "No special need to move son: Mom," News, June 25.As a parent at Sea Island elementary whose family has been impacted by the situation described in the above article, I wish to provide some clarity.My son was the student who the little boy featured in the article attempted to strangle. This was witnessed by another parent who reported it to both me and the principal. No teachers or EAs were present when this happened, so that parent had to step in.The class teacher phoned me after school. I was understandably upset, as this was not the first incident of the year involving my son and this other little boy.Burkeville is a small community, where many parents know each other and if something happens between children, we usually try to approach each other directly to resolve it.It was in this light that, when talking to the teacher about the situation, that I said it might be helpful to get a few of the concerned parents together with the boy's mother so she can help us understand what plan is in place to manage her son's special needs. But, I added, such a meeting may not be possible without the mother feeling ganged up on - and ganging up was absolutely not what I wanted to have happen. My intent was to work with the mother, and I certainly never suggested she not be there.Moreover, neither I, nor any other Sea Island parent I'm aware of, called the school district asking to have this child 'kicked out.' School district staff are professionals with experience in school composition. On that point, the incident with my son happened while there was a gap in direct teacher supervision, and that is clearly a serious safety issue given this child's particular needs. A school must be able to support special needs students, while keeping other children safe at the same time. This is not a reflection of the children with special needs or their parents, it is a reflection of the limited resources available to our school system.I empathize with this mother, and the unique challenges she faces as a parent. As two parents who both care about all of the children in this community, I would love to see us come together and work on a resolution, instead of give in to hearsay and suspicion about mythical, "vociferous" parents trying to get a child kicked out of his school, none of which is accurate. I truly hope for the best in this situation, for all of the children and parents involved.Stacey PanlilioRichmond
