Lee's Summit R-7 School District

Spending on St. Louis area superintendents has risen 30 percent in 10 years - World News Report Our Superintendent is the highest paid in Missouri.  How outrageous is that? The  Lee’s Summit School District superintendent earned $258,660 . Indeed, this was the figure cited in the recent audit of the school district and it was an accurate figure. It is not, however, his current salary. Shortly after we published the post, an astute reader of the blog pointed me to the superintendent’s current contract. This year, he is earning $282,831. Yes, he received a $24,171, or 9.3 percent, raise from last year to this year. Next year, he is due to receive $294,463, and $306,735 the year after that. Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced that he will submit a program bill to cap the salaries of school superintendents across the state. The cap would be based upon student enrollment and if approved would save a combined $15 million. "We must wake up to the new economic reality that gove

Missouri’s Common Core rewrite off to a ragged start | The Kansas City Star The teams trying to rewrite Missouri’s learning standards can only hope things go smoother from here. The political storms over the Common Core State Standards that propelled the Missouri legislature’s  decision  to re-examine the state’s learning targets has given way to a “logistical nightmare.” In all, 132 educators and parents in eight panels are supposed to be in place Monday morning in Jefferson City to begin their work. In a perfect world, they’d have been recruited weeks ago, be prepped and ready — with the costs of meals, lodging and transportation covered in return for their commitments to the many hours of labor ahead. But as late as Friday, legislative and department staffs charged with putting the teams together were still completing their lists. The fact that the  bill  that lawmakers passed last spring to create the process made no provisions for funding it isn’t helping the recruiting. Individ

Lee's Summit School District » Board Policies Recording of Meetings The Board of Education prohibits the use of audio, video or other recording devices at meetings held pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) or Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as well as other meetings between district employees and parents/guardians.  Exceptions to this prohibition will be made only in accordance with Board policy and law.  Requests for such exceptions must be made within a reasonable period of time prior to the scheduled meetings.  This prohibition does not apply to conversations held within view of district security cameras. I would think that it would be critical for both sides.  This would eliminate any confusion or statements that are not true for both sides.  You only deny it when you have something to hide.  Below I will add what IDEA says about it.  The above statement is not accurate.  I asked for an exception and it was denied. An IEP meeting

Disturbing Facebook Video Shows Police Manhandling 13-Year-Old Autistic Boy | The Free Thought Project Lee's Summit has done this to it's autistic students.  They have had children arrested and handcuffed for ridiculous reasons. Royal Oak, MI — A disturbing video was uploaded to Facebook Friday that highlights a terrible trend of using police violence to deal with autistic children. The video shows multiple police officers holding down Kevin, a terrified 13-year-old autistic boy, who is screaming for help. According his mother, Kevin was non-violent and in his own room without other students. EMS was called in order to treat the boy’s refusal to get up from his desk as a medical situation. However, police showed up and did what they do best. “After quite a bit of time, because the situation had escalated to the point that it had, and the refusal of staff to leave the room so that I could calm Kevin down myself, and their continual interjections that he had to leave, it beca

Doing Social Justice: 10 Reasons to Give Up Ableist Language | Rachel Cohen-Rottenberg Disability metaphors abound in our culture, and they exist almost entirely as pejoratives. You see something wrong? Compare it to a disabled body or mind: Paralyzed. Lame. Crippled. Schizophrenic. Diseased. Sick.  Want to launch an insult? The words are seemingly endless:  Deaf. Dumb. Blind. Idiot. Moron. Imbecile. Crazy. Insane. Retard. Lunatic. Psycho. Spaz. I see these terms everywhere: in comment threads on major news stories, on social justice sites, in everyday speech. These words seem so "natural" to people that they go uncorrected a great deal of the time. I tend to remark on this kind of speech wherever I see it. In some very rare places, my critique is welcome. In most places, it is not. When a critique of language that makes reference to disability is not welcome, it is nearly inevitable that, as a disabled person, I am not welcome either. I might be welcome as an activist, but

Middle school student commits suicide at school | theGrio A Florida middle school student committed suicide in the bathroom last week after allegedly enduring bullying from fellow students. Lamar Hawkins III, 14, used his father’s gun to shoot himself Wednesday at Greenwood Lakes Middle School,  reports  WESH . The family told the local news station the weapon had been stored properly. Shaniqua Hawkins, Lamar’s mother, said the family moved from New York to Florida to escape bullying, but it continued despite the move. Lamar, who was called Shaq by family, had stunted growth. His mother believes this made him an easy target for bullies. “I felt paralyzed by the inability to make the bullying stop at school,” she told  WESH . “I watched him walk out the door of our home and knew there was a very good chance others would be cruel to him.” Hundreds of community members gathered at a vigil for Hawkins last week.

New Bill Would Help Parents Fight School Districts | Care2 Causes A bill that would help parents fight their school districts might seem weird — after all, wouldn’t parents want to work with their school districts? Some parents are forced to take their districts to the mat, though, typically over disability services for their children, and the process can be frustrating, expensive, and, sometimes, unfruitful. Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa), who has proved to be a tireless advocate for disabled Americans, has just taken this issue up, and  his proposal  will make it easier for parents to take schools on when they refuse to provide sufficient disability services. If the bill passes, it could be yet another step towards full inclusion in schools for disabled children. The bill involves the  Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) . This critical law mandates that school districts provide educational services to disabled children from ages three through 21. Schools are not allowe

An Apology From Your Child's Former Teacher | Flappiness Is…Flappiness Is… Dear Parents of Special-Needs Children I’ve Taught In the Past, I need to make a big apology.  You see, I’ve been teaching now for fourteen years, but I have only just recently joined your ranks. I didn’t know.  Not even a clue.  I thought, mistakenly, that having two special-needs children in my family made me more sensitive to your  needs as a parent.  It didn’t.  And I’m so sorry for operating under the assumption that it did.  I’m not attempting verbal self-flagellation here.  I meant well.  I knew a lot about autism and some about other special-needs conditions.  I did care about your child.  And I did want to do right by him.  But, like a lot of teachers who Just Don’t Get It, I thought doing right by him meant giving him extra time on assignments and not allowing him to fail my class.  I thought being extra nice and seating her at the front of the room was what you needed from me. But you needed mor