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Showing posts from December, 2008

Churches, Organizations, etc. The Current Board Have In Common

We are citizen volunteers from all areas of the city who share in the common support of excellence in Lee’s Summit. Citizens For Excellence In Lee's Summit City Government Meet Our Members & Supporters Dr. Steve & Patti Buie Manne Magady John Plaas Lee's Summit United Methodist Church Pattie Buie Gene Brixey Manne Magady Jeff Tindle Lee's Summit R7 Citizens Advisory Committee Gene Brixey is the President of the School Board Manne Magady is on the School Board David McGehee is the Superintendent of the Lee's Summit School District David Musgrave is a teacher at Lee's Summit High School Janice Phelan is the person in charge of Public Relations for the Lee's Summit School District Cheryl Ward is a teacher at Trailridge Elementary School Ann Starlin-Horner is an Assitant Superintendent for the Lee's Summit School District Tom Kuruca is anAssistant Superintendent for the Lee's Summit School District They or a family member receives a paycheck or pensi

Parents Concerns Are Not Allowed In IEP

This district has not allowed my son's evaluation scores to be put into his IEP. How is anyone ever going to know his deficits if they don't include those in his IEP? I put them in the parent concerns. They denied my right to have my concerns in the IEP. They decided to edit them. See below the comments that they wrote on his IEP. Attaching 4 pages of parent concerns in PLAAFP without specific test scores and diagnostic interpretations. IEP Goals & Objectives:A Tactics and Strategy Sessionwith Pete & Pam Wright Print this page Question: As an LDA President from a midwestern state, I coach parents about how to write Present Levels of Educational Performance (PLEP) for their children's IEPs. We tell parents that standard scores from evaluations and reevaluations should be included as present levels in the IEP. Some schools resist . They insist on using "teacher observations" instead of using objective information from standardized tests for the present level

My Meeting Notes vs The District's Meeting Notes

My Notes: I would like to make sure that we all have a clear understanding of the meeting that took place yesterday. It was scheduled on September 19, 2006. The attendees were Sherri Tucker, Diane Stark (sister of Sherri and employee of Children's Mercy Hospital since 1981), Todd Wilson, Kim Berkstresser, and Suzanne Vleisides. Jannette Cooley attended half of the meeting. I need a copy of the schools' minutes for this meeting. Please correct me on any items that I am mistaken on. The meeting was called to discuss the modifications that should be made to Jacob Tucker's IEP. He has modifications in every class and his mother felt that he needed modifications in PE. She has done a great deal of research on this subject and has offered the information to all that were involved in this meeting, with the exception of Ms. Cooley. I began the meeting by reading some information that had been given to me by a specialist in AS. I wanted the team to be privy to knowledge that I had g

Why Won't The School Board Let Us Tape Record Meetings?

Dear Mrs. Tucker: Attached is a copy of Board Policy IGBA. I outlined in aqua the portion of the policy that pertains to your request. You can directly view the policy through the R-7 website, leesummit.k12.mo.us. Once you are on the website, go to Board Policies under Board of Education, and request PoIicy IGBA. (See attached file: IGBA.doc) Sincerely, Ann Starlin-Horner, Ph.D. Associate Superintendent Instruction and Leadership 816) 986-1027 FILE: IGBA Critical General If any person knows or believes that a student has a disability and is in need of accommodation, that person should contact the school’s principal or district administration immediately. All complaints regarding discrimination will be resolved in accordance with policy AC. Anyone who has a complaint or suspects discrimination should contact the compliance coordinator identified in policy AC. The district will notify all parents and students of its obligations under this policy and the law. Unless the parents of the chi

How I Let Lee's Summit and Missouri Steal My Son's Future

I was talking to a friend today and some things came to mind. Many people want to know why I fight with the school district and the State. I have earned quite a reputation as a crazy mom. There are many people that are happy with the education that their children are getting and wonder why I am not. Well, let me explain it to you. I have known that my son has autism since he was three years old. I lived in a very small town in Illinois and the district felt that he "wasn't right" and put him into school. They didn't know what the problem was, but they were determined to find out and give the best that they had. This was a town of 1,200 people. Their resources were very limited. I didn't even know that my child had an issue. I was blind. Something that would affect my judgment for the next ten years. These wonderful people put my son into a classroom of six students and two teachers. They gave him OT and ST. They worked on his social skills. They worke

Some Area School Districts Receive Sanctions and Awards

This is how Lee's Summit got their award for distinction in performance. That is very misleading. Read on to see how most districts in Missouri got the same award. http://www.semissourian.com/article/20081215/NEWS01/712159918 Some area school districts receive sanctions and awards Monday, December 15, 2008 By Lindy Bavolek Southeast Missourian Some school districts that received federal sanctions this year for not making enough progress are now receiving a state award for distinction in performance. That's because the state looks at a broader range of data, including ACT scores, college placement rates and availability of advanced courses, while the federal government focuses mainly on test scores, holding all subgroups of students accountable. So some districts that received criticism when Missouri Assessment Program results were released in August are now celebrating their state distinction. The state's education department doled out awards to 330 districts out of 523 t

Only Vote For One

It came to our attention that the ballot will state that you should vote for two for the school board. That automatically gives one of my opponents an extra vote. Only vote for one. You have that choice.

The Fight Continues

The Fight Continues Parents protest R-7 official’s autism presentation By Brett Dalton, The Journal Staff A series of meetings that may have eased the tension between the R-7 School District and the Lee’s Summit Autism Support Group have been put on hold after members of the LSASG protested a conference at which an R-7 official was speaking. After Sherri Tucker, co-founder of the LSASG, was unsuccessful in her bid for a seat on the R-7 Board of Education earlier this year, R-7 Superintendent David McGehee reached out to Tucker in hopes the two groups could find at least some common ground. Tucker and other LSASG members have been consistently outspoken about what they feel is a lack of proper services and programs within the school district for children with special needs. In fact, Tucker admitted freely that she ran in the April election solely on the issue of benefiting students with special needs. And she pulled no punches when criticizing the school district. While McGehee said the

I Am Running For Lee's Summit R-7 School Board

My name is Sherri Tucker. I am forty-seven years old. I have resided in Lee's Summit since May, 1998. I am the mother of three children. My identical, twin daughters are graduating from Lee's Summit High School in May. They have been rather successful in school and their diligence is paying off. They have struggled many times and I have spent more nights staying up to three or four in the morning than I care to remember. They worked hard for their education and it hasn't always been a group effort. My son is fifteen years old. He was born with autism. His official diagnosis is Kanner's Syndrome/Early Infantile Autism. He has also been diagnosed with dysgraphia, Inattentive ADHD, and Anxiety produced by the struggles he has with the school district. I have spent the last three years educating myself in autism, special education, NCLB, OSEP, IDEA, and civil rights. Why?!!! It certainly is not because I am bored or have a desire to spend every waking moment fight