I know, sounds crazy for me right? I mean, who would have thought that I would consider running for any kind of office, let alone the local School Board! But, since dealing with these people here in these schools where my children go, it has occurred to me that there are things going on around here that aren't quite right. The biggest problem is the programs they have in place for their Special Needs kids.
Being that I have two kids with special needs, one already out of school and one that is just getting into the system here, I have seen first hand the problems with the Special Needs programs at all levels, from the Elementary level all the way up to the High School level. The problem? Well the problem is that they tell you they have a wonderful Special Needs program for these kids, when in all actuality, you have to fight to get any kind of help for these kids because of the lack of any kind of program in place. And they will fight you every step of the way to getting your kids the help that many of them so desperately need.
In my daughters Kindergarten class, there are 5 other Special Needs kids, just in their classroom alone! I have witnessed first hand how these kids are treated! The teachers have absolutely no skills in how to deal with these children at all. They discipline these kids as they would the more normal kids in the classroom. In most cases, you can not treat these kids the same way you would a normal child. There are certain things that need to be set in place for each child, because each one of their needs are different. Another thing that is disturbing is that these kids have an IEP in place, that is hardly ever followed, mainly because the teachers could really care less if these kids have IEP's to begin with. If they have to treat these kids differently, they shrug it off. They've done it to our son, Zack, and they are now trying to do the same thing to our daughter, Hope. But the difference this time around with Hope is that we are much wiser to their ways than we were before. And let me tell you, we are screaming a lot louder than we ever have before too!
So why am I wanting to run? I want to do more to help them. I want to do more to help all of these kids that are dealing with this on a day to day basis in our School District. I want the North Newton school system to kick ass when it comes to teaching and dealing with their children that have Special Needs, starting from the Elementary level on up to the High School level. I realize that there are other problems also in our district, but my primary focus has to be these kids. Amy and myself have seen things here that most parents either ignore, or just aren't aware of. It needs to be brought to their attention. It needs to be brought to the entire community's attention. Knowledge is power, and once the parents around here are informed that they have a voice and they can be doing more, to be both informed and their part to help, we can be unstoppable. We can make a difference in our schools here in North Newton County. Watching the way these kids are being treated, and hearing the horror stories of other parents who have Special Needs children like we do, I have been inspired to stand up for them, to be their voice. Because I can tell you that most of them, if not all of them feel like they do not have one. I want to show them and prove to them that they do and that what they say and what their concerns are matter. They deserve to be heard. WE deserve to be heard.
That is why I want to run for the School Board here in my district. This is how I feel I can help make a difference and stand up and give these families and their children that voice that they feel they don't have. I want to be their voice. I want to be their eyes and ears to what's going on inside their schools. I want to show them and tell them that they DO matter.
