As the school year progressed I had made numerous attempts to contact the principal to discuss other issues that were going on, including lack of physical excercise time for the kids that is mandated under Florida law, the need to keep our kids confined and constantly putting them on silent in the halls in the morning and in the cafeteria at school. Three months of voicemails and hand written notes left in her office yielded nothing from her. I finally felt I had enough when we went into the school to meet with his current teacher to discuss two weeks of bad markings on his daily sheet for conduct in class and it was insinuated (of course they know what they can and cannot say) that we get him tested for ADHD. Although we came home and decided that it was something to look into and made the appointments so we could help our son if it was needed, we were still angry.
It was a few weeks later that I finally felt the need to bring my problems and concerns up a few more levels...and I did just that.
At the bottom of this post is the text of the letter that I sent to the Superintendent of the Duval County Public Schools, at the bottom you can see who else received the letter. Again, I have omitted the actual names of the parties at the school from my original letter to save myself the trouble it may cause by including their names.
April 12, 2011
Ed Pratt-Dannals
Superintendent
Duval County Public Schools
1701 Prudential Drive
Jacksonville, FL 32207
Dear Superintendent Pratt-Dannals,
I am the parent of a first grade student at Chimney Lakes Elementary School. I have tried everything in my power not to have to write this letter, but I feel that I am left with no other options.
My problems with Chimney Lakes Elementary School started right away with the 2010-2011 school year. My son was assigned to a new teacher, <name omitted>, for first grade. Immediately my son began crying about going to school and crying when getting to school. This behavior apparently continued for about four weeks before I was told that it had carried on into the classroom by his teacher. I tried talking to him for a few days to come up with a resolution before he finally informed me that the reasons he was crying about going to school were because he missed me, and that when he got to school and continued to cry, <name omitted> would put him in a closet, most of the time closing the door when the crying didn’t stop. Immediately the next morning I took Hunter to school and then went to see the principal. She and I discussed what had happened and I was told that was not allowed in her school and that the problem would be taken care of anyway because <name omitted> was being moved to Kindergarten and could I just ride it out a few more days while they worked to reassign her class to new teachers. I accepted that answer at the time and I was happy when the crying had stopped immediately upon him joining his new teacher, <name omitted>. The problems that <name omitted> caused continued up through report cards being issued for the first quarter when I declined to sign my son’s progress report because the first teacher hadn’t input any grades into the system for the work that was completed for the four weeks that he was in her classroom. Only after I appeared in the principal’s office for a second time, the day report cards were issued, with a print out from the online grade book in hand, did the problem get addressed and my son had mostly accurate grades on his report card.
I am utterly shocked though that this teacher is still employed by your school system or that I was not given more of an answer than “he was going to be moved to a new classroom anyway”. HR 4247 Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act, prohibits teachers from using physical restraint or seclusion, unless such measures are required to eliminate an imminent danger of physical injury to the student or others and certain precautions are taken. To me, my son being placed in a closet to stop him from disrupting others is something covered by this very law and should never have happened. If I had put my child in a closet, the state of Florida would have had me in handcuffs and have taken my child from me, but it’s okay for your teachers’ to do this?
My next major concern about Chimney Lakes Elementary is that there is not any time each day for students to partake in any sort of physical exercise. Every morning the children arrive at the school and are required to sit, silent, in the hallways and read books. They then go in to their classes and start their school day. The only time they get any sort of physical education is what appears from my son’s planner as 1 day every other week (sometimes twice every other week they have an extra P.E. class) that they partake in physical education class. At no time during most days are they allowed to go outside and have a “recess” as was the norm when I was a child in elementary school. I understand that there are days when the weather is not conducive to outside play, whether that be extreme heat or cold, or rain, however it is my opinion that an alternative option should be made available to the teachers inside the school.
Under the Don Davis Physical Education Act of 2008 (Florida Statutes 1003.455) section 3 requires that 150 minutes per week are required for grades K-5 for physical education, with it being stated that at least 30 minutes of consecutive exercise per day be done to accommodate this law as well. This is not the case at Chimney Lakes Elementary and is therefore causing our children, especially in the younger grades, to be more active in the classroom and our teachers to have to deal with this higher level of activity. My son is one of these children that gets “in trouble” for his level of activity in the classroom, and it has even been mentioned to me that possible ADHD testing may be in order because he gets up and walks around the classroom so much. However, if you review his grades, he is a top level student, even being recommended for the gifted program by his teacher in Kindergarten. It is my firm belief that if the 30 minutes of continuous physical activity mandated by Florida law each day was allowed to my son that we wouldn’t have half the problems that we are currently experiencing in the classroom with him, as well as many other students.
My last complaint about the school is that there is too much focus on the kids not being able to be kids. This includes the items I have mentioned above as well as the fact that they are constantly being silenced, including in the cafeteria. I am always shocked when I come to the school to have lunch with Hunter and the noise volume gets a bit elevated and the teachers tell the kids to just go on silent. When is it that our children are supposed to talk to their friends if they can’t do it in the halls before school starts or at lunch and aren’t given the opportunity each day to go outside and play? Of course the outcome of not being able to talk and play is going to result in high energy levels in the classroom.
I don’t want you to think that I am unhappy with every part of Chimney Lakes Elementary, both of my son’s teachers from the past two years, Kindergarten and his second teacher this year for 1st grade are wonderful. They are top notch and totally what I would expect a teacher to be. I cannot sing their praises enough!
However, it is sad that the problems within this school overshadow the good that exists in so many of the teachers who love these kids and want to do what is best for them. The principal is anything but helpful, and as a matter of fact, I have left countless voicemails and written messages for her over the past three months asking her to call me back about these very concerns or to set up a time for me to come in and talk to her, and I have yet to get any sort of response from her. The only way that I have ever gotten her to talk to me (the instances stated previously are the only two times she has talked to me, period) are only because I sat down in the main office and told them I wasn’t leaving until she talked to me.
I am not requesting special treatment for my child, however I am asking that he be given a chance to succeed, and that it be in tune with the laws that our government both on the state and federal level have enacted to ensure that our children receive the best education possible and do so in a safe and healthy manner. At this time I do not believe that he is going to get the best education through the Duval County Public School system. My child continues to be expected to sit in a classroom (with the exception of lunch and occasional special classes of Art, P.E., etc) from 8:30 AM – 2:30 PM with no time allowed to get rid of some of his energy and therefore be productive in the classroom setting.
It is because of this that I am requesting that my son be waivered out of Duval County Schools and into Clay County Schools, beginning with the 2011-2012 school year. I feel that this is the best answer especially in light of the fact that my husband will be deploying in May, 2011 and Hunter will need a support system through the six months that my husband is gone that I do not feel he will get at Chimney Lakes Elementary or any of the Duval County Schools. I hope that you will work with me on processing this waiver request and allow my child the opportunity to succeed in an environment that meets the requirements of the very laws that our state and federal governments have put into place to keep our children safe and healthy while also receiving an education.
Should you have any questions or wish to discuss this matter further, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Sincerely,
Kelly Johnson
CC:
Principal
Chimney Lakes Elementary School
9353 Staples Mill Dr, Jacksonville, FL 32244
Dawn Mills
NAS Jacksonville School Liason
Department of the Navy
Bldg 2065 Mustin Road, Jacksonville, FL 32212
Commissioner Eric Smith
Florida Department of Education
Turlington Building, Suite 1514, 325 West Gaines St, Tallahassee, FL 32399
State Representative Daniel Davis
Suite 10, 8970 103rd Street, Jacksonville, FL 32210
State Senator Stephen R. Wise
1460 Cassatt Avenue, Suite B, Jacksonville, FL 32205
