Just Let It Go?

Below is a post from tigeralumni that I felt needed to be moved to the front page for everyone to see my response.

tigeralumni said...
Respectfully, I think you are not giving enough credit to the new principal at GHS. From reading your blog entries, I take it you have never had him personally as an educator. He is fair to both students and teachers alike, and believe me, if you need a reprimand, you will receive one. I would bet he has investigated, and taken the appropriate action internally, even though he may not have told the details to you. He would not have been hired if it was believed he could not handle the job. Sometimes, you have to trust people and trust that things are being handled, even though they might handle it differently than you. My advice would be to let this go in your heart. Life is way too short, use your energy and enjoy your family instead.
September 26, 2008 3:27 PM

No the current principal was never an educator of mine but this is my third child to go thru Gordonsville and I have never had any issues at this level. GHS has a lot of good teachers, administrators, and staff which have made positive influences in all three of my children’s lives and for that I am thankful. While I believe most teaching comes from home, I also believe that we as parents must trust and support our educators to teach our children to prepare them for their future. We also must trust that our children will be treated fairly with the same respect they are required to show when they are in school.

My question to you is why do you assume that my child needed to be reprimanded, that she did something wrong and the punishment handed out was deserved? Why is it that we automatically believe the bad about a child instead of the good? Why just because we have had these educators as coaches, principals, teachers, friends, neighbors or church members do we automatically believe they are in right without any questions? Maybe just maybe the school system is wrong on this and other issues and we as taxpayers or parents have the right and responsibility to question the system.

If the school administration did handle this internally then at the very least they should have included the parents. I have asked a lot of questions to the GHS Administrators and Mr. Lewis which to date have not been addressed.

Below are the issues we have brought before Gordonsville Administrators and Mr. Lewis’s office. I know this is a repeat from a past post but I wanted to make sure you saw the seriousness of our complaints.

Physical Abuse/Assault
Verbal Abuse
Emotional Intimidation
Discrimination
Slander
Public Humiliation
Bullying
Harassment
Retaliation

These complaints aren’t small, school board policies, school rules and the law have been broken. Even if one of the things listed above was done to your child would you let it go in your heart because life is to short or would stand up for your child?

I have taught my children to stand up for what they believe in even it means standing alone. Now is my time to stand and I will not let this go but I thank you for the advice.

Two Sides to Every Story

I would like to thank all of the folks that have given me advice on my blog and from the visitors it appears I am not the only one that has concerns about our schools.

I have had one comment on another blog that if you visit my site to remember there are always two sides to every story. I have always believed this statement and agree that there are two sides two every story. This blog was to make sure mine was heard. I want a full investigation into my issues and I want both sides to be heard. Then after the full investigation of all parties, witnesses and most importantly the victim then render your decision but not until this has been completed. Doing so hastily to sweep things under the carpet or just make it go away is an injustice to all parties.

Just a Few Facts

A lot of people have asked did I give Gordonsville High School Administrators, Janice Fox and Roger Lewis enough time to address our issues or make any corrections. I feel 8 months is more then enough time.

Our issues started with this teacher on January 3rd, 2008 when she physically grabbed our child for the first time. The conflict and confrontation with her have progressively gotten worse to the point where we felt the need to withdraw our child from any further contact with this teacher for her protection until the school district could remedy the situation. We withdrew her from a activity in which she has been a member for 4 years on July 25, 2008 until the administration addressed our concerns.

After weeks of conversations and requests for help our family was told that because of the conflict it would be better for our child to sit out a year and maybe return next year. In a nutshell the school system thought it would be better to punish a child and keep all of our issues under the rug.

We also requested help from Janice Fox and Roger Lewis only to go through countless unreturned phone calls, visits to the office with no meeting and empty promises to get back to me. Upon telling Mr. Lewis if he didn‘t address the issue I would need to seek help from someone else he commented “I will inform Jackie Bellar“. Then
he slammed the door in my face literally. Mr. Lewis our Superintendent of Schools would rather have a parent file a lawsuit versus resolve the issue.

In all fairness we did get one piece of advice from Janice Fox however. If we weren’t happy we could always transfer our child to Smith County High School and sign her up for classes in Lebanon to keep her active. Of course she neglected to tell us we only had 12 hours to make that decision because the next morning school started. School board policy states that once your child attends the first day of school they can not transfer in district without school board approval. So bottom line we live with this injustice or move.

Gordonsville High School - Where are the Policies?

Below are some questions that I have and I am asking if anyone can help shed some light on these policies or share advice. I have addressed all of these concerns and filed my complaints with Gordonsville High School Administrators, Janice Fox and Roger Lewis.

1. Why is it impossible for a parent to see the school board policies. It took me three weeks and I went to the School Board every morning. Why are these locked in Mr. Lewis's office? But my biggest question is why do I have to talk to him or Mrs. Fox before I can look at them? Why do they have to approve the policies I can copy?

2. When you file a complaint against a teacher why does Mr. Lewis feel that he doesn't have to talk to parents or even return calls? How long should parents wait for a response or remedy? What is the time policy for complaints? Do we have anyone in our School District that can deliver payroll and mail to all the schools in our county so Mr. Lewis has more time to address our issues and spend more time in the office?

3. What is the school board policy for a teacher bullying and harassing a student? What are the consequences for the teacher?

4. What is the school board policy for a teacher physically grabbing a student not once but three times on three different occasions? What course of action does a parent have for a teacher publicly humilitating a student in front of thier peers, parents and other school employees?

5. What is the school board policy on a teacher violating the FERPA law and releasing student information such as grades, medical information and discussing private meetings with other students, parents and teachers.

6. What is the school board policy for principals to follow when a formal complaint is filed against a teacher for discrimination, physical & verbal abuse, harassment and bullying of students? What is policy against principals rendering decisions without doing a investigation? What are the options for the parents?

7. What is the school board policy when a principal randomly changes the rules to meet his and the teachers needs to retaliate against a student whose parents tried to address legitimate issues? Does a phone call at 9:30 at night to inform the parents of the rule change follow policy?

8. What is the school board policy when a student is retaliated against by being made an example and being punished for 365 days and being forced to sit out of an activity they love and have been involved in for 4 years because thier parents came forward? Why is the teacher in question gotten nothing or even been reprimanded? What are the steps to resolve? What is the time frame for a resolution? If the child is still being singled out is there any recourse for the student and parents?

9. Why do all of the athletes at Gordonsville High School have different rules to follow? Why are some held to higher moral and educational standards? Don’t get me wrong on this one I think that rules are great and we need them but why do only a handful of students have to follow them? Does the school board agree with Gordonsville High School, Janice Fox and Roger Lewis in allowing discrimination to continue?

10. These are the issues that were presented to Gordonsville High School Administration, Janice Fox and Roger Lewis.

• Physical Abuse
• Verbal Abuse
• Emotional Intimidation
• Discrimination
• Slander
• Public Humiliation
• Bullying
• Harassment
• Retaliation

There are policies covering teachers and administrators but what are the policies to protect our children? Are teachers allowed to physically & verbally abuse, bully and harass our students with no recourse in Smith County?

What recourse do parents have besides suing the county? There are currently 10 to 12 lawsuits pending against our school district at this time. Does the school system not get the fact that this is taking away from our students? Why does the school system not address the issues they are presented so the parents & taxpayers don’t have to sue the school system to be heard?