Comments on: Pioneer questions persist

By: Polly Zagone

Polly Zagone — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:55:52 +0000

Dear Columbia Parent and other Pioneer Parents,
I recently met with Xavier Botana, the new Chief Academic Officer. I believe that the message is finally getting across to the district administrators. Discrimination has been happening at Pioneer and things need to be fixed. Mr.Botana has reassured me that a letter will be going out to the Pioneer community discussing what they see as the issues and how and when they will be fixing them. We also discussed Pioneer parents being able to meet with administrators to go over their student’s credits and IEP to see what can be done to get things back on track for these kids. However, the letter with this information has not gone out yet. I would suggest you copy your comments into a letter or e-mail and send it to the Pioneer Columbia Vice Principal and copy it to Jenifer Jackson, Assistant Director of Special Education. That way they know you would like to be first in line to talk to them.

By: Columbia Parent

Columbia Parent — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:05:04 +0000

Polly and all, I’ve really appreciated this thread. I think it’s important to differentiate between the two Pioneer high school programs, The Annex (at Holladay Park), and Columbia High School. As explained to us, The Annex is for “fragile” children and Columbia is for “behavioral” children. Everything you say about inequity at the Annex is true, but have you seen Columbia lately? Our student’s teacher has said that her students are old enough to make their own decisions, and if they’re not going to do work she’s not going to “force” them. As far as we can tell, our student mainly watches movies at school, with maybe an hour or two of academics a day. And this is a kid who, while certainly not an easy kid, has done well academically in other settings, including a classroom in Pioneer’s middle school.

Our student is both fragile and behavioral. Because Pioneer can’t accommodate children who are both, and because our child often displays violent outbursts, our child is placed at Columbia. It’s worth noting that those outbursts are associated with our child’s disabilities. Our child was moved out of a day treatment program, where significant academic and therapeutic progress had been made, to a program without any therapeutic component. Even the more therapeutic parts of Pioneer don’t measure up to an actual day treatment program, the “year-round” calendar notwithstanding. Our experience as parents has been (largely) one of being not listened to, and even disrespected.

This is one area where our experience at Columbia has been better than our experience with the more therapeutic branches of Pioneer. Columbia’s therapist is very good, and has been open to input from us as parents. When our student was at Foster, one teacher actually refused to send daily information home about our child’s behavior, because he said he couldn’t trust that parents would discipline their children non-abusively. This from a man who refused to meet with us, when daily communication is actually written into our child’s IEP. Our student was having multi-hour rages, running through the halls and entering private offices, because Pioneer staff would only respond using CPS. I think CPS is a really worthy approach, but it only serves to further inflame my child when raging.

The choice PPS offers our family seems to be: a semi-therapeutic environment where our child will rage for hours because people continue to engage him during his rages, or a non-therapeutic environment with virtually no academics, no respect for students, and no expectations placed on students. Yet, again, my student has been placed in two non-district day treatment programs over the years, both of which were able to manage his behavior better using flexible approaches (vs. applying a stated philosophy to all students across the board), and were teaching him. We haven’t noticed any learning going on since our student was placed at Columbia. In our case, we would really like the district to admit that they are not equipped to educate our child, and send him elsewhere.

One last note, in response to this statement posted by Pioneer Staff: “If an O.T. told the teacher to do something the teacher would do it.” We had the district OT in our child’s IEP meeting, and my child’s teacher and therapist rejected two of her recommendations outright, on the grounds that they would cause other students to tease my child. The teacher did not write the O.T.’s recommendations into the IEP (We haven’t signed it, but are not sure what to do beyond that).

Hopefully I’ve written this in a non-inflammatory way. We’ve certainly met caring, insightful individuals working in the Pioneer program. But the system as a whole is very broken.

By: Polly Zagone

Polly Zagone — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:58:59 +0000

That is as it should be. It should not be easy. More time, effort and supports should be used to make sure students have a chance to stay with their peers in their neighborhood school. A question I have for teachers is…When you write on the Placement page of a special education student that a Special School placement would “best meet their needs”, do you actually know where the student is going and what kind of services or access to an education they will receive there? The answer is NO, you don’t know. You are recommending a placement sight unseen, it could be Pioneer, it could be Serendipity. The IEP team does not get to choose. The placement is done at the district level. As a teacher you are stating that a “placement will best suit the needs of a student” but do you know that Pioneer has lousy inequitable lunches for all students. For the high school students there are no world language classes, no computer tech classes, no science lab and no electives whatsoever, to name a few things lacking. Does that sound like a placement that would “best suit” any student’s needs? Yet teachers all over Portland Public Schools continue to write on student’s placement pages that a Special Schools placement will “best meet their needs”. Those teachers are taking it on faith that the district is actually supplying the required qualified teachers, curriculum, tools, materials and lunches to the Special Schools. Instead they are sending them to be discriminated against. Don’t get me wrong, I still think there is a need for Pioneer and perhaps other Special Schools. Pioneer in particular has a wonderful therapeutic component that is working very well with the broad spectrum of students in attendance. The staff is well versed in disabilities and treat students with respect. The district on the other hand has limited the academics to a remedial level disregarding the state and federal laws that require academics to align with the needs of the individual student and their IEP. They have allowed Nutrition Services to continue to cheat these students out of equitable lunches no matter how many times parents complained. The career training/vocational program, which is also required by law, has been cut by the district over and over again to near nothing. Pioneer is unable to provide their high school students with what is required to graduate with even a modified diploma. Not because the staff doesn’t want to or doesn’t care. They are not given the ways and means to do it.
I would like teachers to find out if these inequities are corrected before they consider sending students off to a Special Schools placement. Do not take it on faith that the placement is suitable at all for any student. Parents and students are assuming that when you say “this is a better placement” that you actually know what you’re talking about. Please be honest and don’t be part of the problem with the system.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:56:53 +0000

Bill in your school what is the title of the person conducting the FBA and writing the BIP? I am a behavior consultant and I have found the plans I have reviewed with parents have been cookie cutter plans. These plans often have someone elses’s name in them somewhere and even the wrong gender. The function of the behavior is nearly always attention. In my line of work doing state behavior plans we measure a bad behavior plan by when attention is the function. Attention is actually rarely a true function. I do believe that it is a difficult experience for teachers and a hard decision but the behavior plans should be working is the bottom line. If they aren’t then the author made an incorrect hypothesis and needs to conduct a new FBA/BIP. After developing additional functions and reviewing strategies, implementation, and training then perhaps a change of setting within the school or near the school….bussing kids to BFE is just plain odd really when you think about it and blatant discrimination. As a teacher I am curious as well if you felt heard and supported in the process?

By: Bill

Bill — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 14:28:52 +0000

Polly,

As a teacher who has moved students to Pioneer I can assure that it is not easy. It may be different in wealthier parts of town, but when I was teaching in an SLC-B in North Portland I can attest that it was not easy. There is a long list of things that must be completed before any movement occurs i.e. a functional behavior assessment and a behavior intervention plan. I am speaking from my experience only.

By: Polly Zagone

Polly Zagone — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:21:39 +0000

Just to be clear, there is no written “no tolerance” policy. It’s a phrase that was and still is used by many principals to state that they will be tough on discipline. The policy that is written states that special education students are subject to the same disciplinary procedures as non-disabled peers, which isn’t bad thing in itself. There are “special procedures” that exist for students with an IEP, a formal Section 504 plan or those who have been identified for a special education referral that supposedly allows for consideration of the student disability in regards to misconduct. Unfortunately these “special procedures” only take affect after the student has been suspended for more than ten (10) days in any school year. At that time the “special procedure”, a Manifestation Determination meeting, could be scheduled. At the Manifestation Determination meeting, the IEP team determines if the behavior that caused the student to be disciplined was a manifestation of the student’s disability. If the team determines that the conduct in question is considered a manifestation of the child’s disability. “The student CANNOT be removed from his/her current placement for disciplinary reasons. (IEP/placement teams may change the student’s placement using standard special education placement procedures if the data support such a change. This is not a disciplinary removal).” http://159.191.14.141/www/dept.....dures.html So you’re student would have to be suspended ten days before you get to ask for a meeting that may or may not conclude that the misconduct was a result of the student’s disability and no matter the outcome, the team may still decide to do a change of placement. My experience is that even if you ask for a Manifestation Determination meeting, chances are you won’t get one. It will come back to some sort of comment like “we just don’t have the supports he needs here” that is essentially the door opening as they usher you and your child out, because basically school principals are unwilling to make allowances for students with disabilities. There is no tolerance, especially for kids with social/emotional disabilities.

By: parent of child with special needs

parent of child with special needs — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 21:50:38 +0000

Being in a special school is very difficult on families and students. But years ago these families were placed at private schools and isolated even further from their home schools and friends. At Pioneer there was a parent group, a PTSA, run for the arts and many other celebrations to help families come together. It would be great if all students could be in a traditional public school setting (Michael Remus tried that) and more kids were sent to Pioneer then. Many of us have had horrible times with our kids in those traditional settings. I have always thought it was funny that even within the special education world their are hierarchys of behaviors and problems and what is thought of as in, in special education. Because my child had acting out behaviors I would get dirty looks from other parents (even special ed. parents), yet parents whose child had more socially acceptable behaviors could not seem to understand my plight and what it felt like to have a child who was ostracized and as a parent I felt more isolated and embarrassed and alone. At Pioneer I atleast have others who understand what I have gone through and our kids are accepted and we have many celebrations for their small growths and accomplishments. When we get to Utopia and my child can be in a typical school that will be great but until that happens please help us get the supports that my child needs at Pioneer.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 08:36:51 +0000

A friend of mine said to me once on this issue that we all have to get on the same side of the boulder. I actually am less militant about inclusion than some of my friends but I have, like you said, different experience and background. Before I was a parent I worked with the last wave of people who left the Fairview institution in Salem. I read their histories and heard the stories and it is just horrendous what these people endured. I found the part that affected me the most was that parents of young children were told to leave them in the institution, go home, have more kids, forget about this one. Children, babies were still being admitted into the late 60′s and 70′s. When I became a parent of a child with a disability I just saw these special schools and programs as a slippery slope backwards whether the parent chose it or it was a matter of “placement”. The families I work with are isolated and lonely because of self-contained settings. I spoke with a very proactive parent trying so hard to get to know the other parents of the kids in the life skills classroom. I told her to lurk on parent conference day to get some face time with them. This is a very common complaint that parents have no outlet provided to meet, no accommodations for open house, and these kids are just transferred whenever and wherever. Kids somehow suddenly have new rules in “placement” and while the school has very low expectations of their ability and what they will teach them they act as if they should be more mature than kids twice their age. This no tolerance policy must be why the basketball player can get away with it while a teacher looks on but the kid with the disability will lose his “incentive” if he blows bubbles in his milk at lunch. Can you post a link to that policy? I am a policy person and would love to spend some time with it.
Even with the community it seems is building in Pioneer there are still a lot of parents in isolation because they are even more segregated based on their placement within a placement. That is no one’s fault at Pioneer of course and just an example of the people all over the state I see that are so lonely because they are still hidden away and hiding themselves away. The larger community is much more understanding than these parents think. I have on many occasions coached these parents through a trip to the playground without swearing at other children and allowing their child to be just as immature as the other kids. I don’t mean to make it sound like rainbows and puppies; I had a kid pretty much destroy a birthday cake (not his) once at a park….Most of these parents feel their child should be excluded. After being in the small chair at the IEP surrounded by people telling you what is wrong with your child and perhaps even calling DHS on you for nothing substantiated I don’t blame them.
I am starting to think the best way to get on the same side of the boulder is just to tell our stories. Can you imagine if every parent in special education told their story? We would find out about some incredible educators to be sure. On the flip side we would hear some things that many people have no idea is going. Things, such as your story, that are beyond appalling. A big part of the Parent Union is going to be celebrating parents where they are at in their journey and hearing their stories.
OK, tangent aside, keep us posted on progress and how we can help. Hope you called Disability Rights Oregon?

By: Polly Zagone

Polly Zagone — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 22:28:40 +0000

Thank you, Stephanie, for offering to stand by me. I know we all have different experiences and backgrounds from which we draw our opinions and make our choices. I’m sure we would find common ground as we both are working for what is best for our kids. As you probably know, neither my son nor I “chose” Pioneer. When my son was placed at Pioneer it was the only educational option available that would meet what are referred to as his “therapeutic” needs. But more to the point, Pioneer was and is the only placement that would accept him and work with him to build his skills. As long as there are students with behaviors that are deemed unacceptable and the laws back up their removal from their peers, there will have to be self-contained classrooms. The reason the “removal” for some of these students means a whole other building is because of the “no tolerance” type rules. It is difficult for administrators to understand the importance of not being punitive with students whose disability involves outbursts and lack of control. It is easier for them to remove those students from their building altogether than have what they would consider a double standard when it come to consequences given students for unacceptable behavior. So until this is all fixed there is a need in the continuum of services for Pioneer. Otherwise there would be no place for students like my son. But Pioneer need not be a warehouse. The staff doesn’t consider it a warehouse and work hard to have assemblies, field day and other school activities. The students and parents believe that their students are in a school. It’s only the district that is making it a warehouse by refusing to actually provide to Pioneer what any school would legally provide for their students and staff.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 07:40:43 +0000

I should open by saying that every single teacher I have met at Pioneer is hands down the salt of the earth and above and beyond is an understatement. A few people in particular will always be heroes to me for the support they gave and continue to give to a student I care deeply about who experienced a sudden family crisis.
From the feds never fully funding IDEA to the district sweeping these kids under the rug it is just unbelievable that over 30 years since the IDEA Polly’s son does not have even the basics of a public education due to needing a different learning environment. I am just starting on my path in IEP world and I take nothing for granted. I try not to be hypervigilant but just today I received an email from someone trying to decrease supports in the IEP. I am very passionate about the issue of inclusion and segregation but I am now better able to understand your perspective about finding a place of acceptance for your son. I have told myself that if my daughter ever chose to be in a self-contained setting I would have to honor her choices despite how I personally feel. In whatever form it takes know you can count on me to stand with you on this issue. It’s just not right. Have you contacted Disability Rights Oregon? They are amazing and won a case for one of the kids I work with and got them out of day treatment back into their neighborhood school with the right support.
All of my direct Pioneer experience has been with K-6 and with children that are very physically aggressive and may also be medically involved as well. I realized I should have clarified that I have never been to what I think they call the annex. While CPS principles can be somewhat adapted for the kids I know in straight practice it is a system for kids who are primarily verbal. I am an OIS trainer and biased against CPI because it does not focus on proactive person centered positive behavior supports but that is truly just my opinion as an OIS snob. The state has not mandated OIS but has adopted OIS in the OAR’s for developmental disabilities but this does not apply to schools yet. Many school districts have adopted OIS and positive behavior supports in the state. The new PPS discipline policy requires for the use of positive behavior supports.
One question I have about parents visiting the school is why do they need permission? I go to my daughter’s school whenever I want, sign in and go straight to the classroom. What is it about having a disability that makes a parent need notice? It is not just Pioneer, in other classrooms I see the kids are treated like patients and the parents are discouraged from communicating. A parent invited by a teacher because she wants to learn how to be more successful at home is then escorted out of the school like a criminal in front of her child? It’s not a hospital, but according to PPS it is not a school either? If there is someone with training in writing behavior plans in the school then why is a teacher doing it? The teacher is the academics expert and if all these people with behavior expertise are in the building then why aren’t they writing the plan? For the sake of the teachers, students, and parents I am glad there are improvements to report.
If you haven’t already call Disability Rights Oregon.