I can tell you as a behavior consultant what really bothers me is an IEP meaning you get a free pass to behave inappropriately. At Ockley it took more than one conversation and email to help the special education dept. understand that I expect my child to behave and under the same circumstances as the other children. It is their job (with my help) to identify the supports she needs so she does not have the behavior at all; if she does though, same consequence must fall. I expect to have to go through this again every year and make sure she does not get a pass for being rotten. That is a huge issue that does not help right now however and I can understand your position and how hard it must be to be told to let it go because they have an IEP.

As an aside, I actually think Ockley is doing a great job with the K-8 and the older kids crossing paths with the little ones has not been an issue this year at least for me and the kindergarten parents and those who I have talked with at the PTO meetings. Not sure what is working or if I am just not seeing the problems yet. I am very aware of how poorly it is going elsewhere and while feeling lucky (or blissfully unaware) that OG is not experiencing it to the same degree it makes me upset about how little attention to improving this seems to be happening. I am especially upset that K-8 gets the brush off while new projects are being undertaken such as taking the early intervention assessments away from MESD and saying it will save money….perhaps but at what expense in the future. To the credit of the district they are having public forums on this. Word on the street though is that the PPS early childhood team is not going to be ready by July 1st and that kids that would have been able to begin services for EI in the summer will be pushed off till September (so much for seamless if this is true). I will be watching this very closely.

When I observe middle school age students screaming every curse word in the book at teachers in front of 5 year old students, I find it disturbing. When I am told to not intervene, and “let it go because they have a behavior IEP” when it comes to behaviors that interfere with the learning of other students, I find it disturbing.

I don’t think it would be any less disturbing in a straight middle school, but I think that children in the same age bracket and teachers who are used to working with that age group would handle it better.

I question why the district does not see a problem with middle school behavior rooms in k-8 settings. I was not trying to make a statement on the equity issues surrounding students in B rooms, but that it is another situation where schools in poverty are more likely to have them.

Five year old children should not have to witness a 14 year old who is struggling with mental health issues have a full breakdown in the hall. I am very passionate about early childhood students, and I have witnessed their needs being pushed aside for the needs of older students in this K-8 “transition”.

It is inane for the district to think we can keep the little ones away from middle school behaviors. I am asked to make sure each one of my students get to a parent after school, while on “duty” in the front of the building. I have had to pull small students out of the way of very large teenagers who were “rough housing” so they would not get hit or knocked over. I have been told that “that’s just the way they act”. Younger students see older running through the halls unescorted, yelling, cursing, and hugging inappropriately.

Perhaps this will all get better with time, but it is awful that young children are having to live through this “experiment” by the district.

The equity issue comes into the discussion because the k-8′s are mostly in schools of high poverty and ELL students. If k-8′s are so great, why are they not city wide? We know the answer to that question: they are not so great!
This news story about the child who may have witnessed a crime
is hard to hear, but I fear it is just the beginning of what could happen in this ill conceived k-8 model, but I will continue to hope for the best.

So the most behavior challenged middle schoolers in the district (they get bussed in) are in the same building with and sometimes using the same bathrooms of k-5 students.

I wonder how the parents at Beverly Cleary would feel if the district placed a “B” room for 6-8th grades in the same building as their first graders.

Nothing serious has happened yet with this situation (that we know about), but this is a disaster waiting to happen. I also can’t blame parents who find out that their first grader is down the hall from a class of disturbed 11-15 year olds (yes, 15, since many have also been retained) for pulling their child out and looking elsewhere.

Good thing for the district that they placed a focus option 7 blocks from Clark@Binnsmead, and left Chief Joseph a k-5. Almost like they wanted to give certain parents a way out, but leaves a highly inequitable situation for those who are not aware of, or able to complete the transfer process. (see previous posts)