What Lee's Summit Stole From My Daughters

I have written many times about what the school district stole from my son.  They stole his future, his mental well being, and his self esteem.  He has recovered from two of those.  The first one will follow him the rest of his life. 

 I have never written what they stole from my daughters.  They stole time with their mother.  They stole their mother's attention.  They stole the faith that they had in adults.  They stole part of their youth.  The part of their youth where they believe in the goodness of human beings.  The part of their youth where they can trust adults.  The part of their youth where they can feel safe. 

 I have spent ten years fighting with the school district.  Ten years of trying to get the school district to give services to children with autism.  Ten years of appearing on television, in newspapers, at DESE, at legislators offices, on the telephone with OSEP, meeting monthly with the Superintendent, Chairing the Monitoring Committee at DESE Special Education Advisory Panel meetings, having support group meetings, talking on the phone to desperate parents, picketing, going to school board meetings, running for school board, and anything else that I could think of to make my school district do what they are mandated to do.

 I always believed in the "experts".  I never spoke up.  I believed that people were honest and would do what they were supposed to do.  That is the way that I was raised.  Never, in my wildest dreams, did I think that I would one day have to fight people so that they would do what they were supposed to do.  I didn't grow up in a world where people lied, cheated, destroyed evidence, and manipulated.  That is not the world I grew up in and not the way that I raised my children.

 I will never forget sitting at my daughter's baccalaureate and listening to one of my son's teachers profess her faith.  I had just sat in an IEP meeting with her and listened as she lied about what services she was giving my son.  That was a hard day.  My son had just dropped out because of the emotional and psychological damage that she and others like her had done to my child.  Now she was standing on the stage professing her faith.

 Having a brother with autism isn't easy.  Having to live with how others force their mother and even themselves to stand up is even harder.  

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Missouri Schools - The Washington Post

Missouri Schools - The Washington Post Some schools brag about their high passing rates on AP or IB, meaning the percentage of test-takers who scored 3, 4 or 5 on the 5-point AP exam or 4, 5, 6 or 7 on the 7-point IB exam. Passing scores make students eligible for credit at many colleges and universities. I decided not to count passing rates in this way because I found that many high schools kept those rates artificially high by allowing only top students to take the courses. AP, IB and AICE are important because they give average students a chance to experience the trauma of heavy college reading lists and long, analytical college examinations. Research has found that even low-performing students who got a 2 on an AP test did significantly better in college than similar students who did not take AP. On the list, we also give readers a sense of how well each school’s students are doing on the tests by posting the Equity and Excellence rate, which is the percentage of all graduating s
Read more

My Letter Requesting To Become A Board Member

Sherri R. Tucker 1200 SE London Way Lee’s Summit, MO   64081 816-554-3017 autism@kc.rr.com Lee’s Summit R-7 School District C/o Linda Ismert, Board Secretary Stansberry Leadership Center 301 NE Tudor Road Lee’s Summit, MO   64086 Ms Ismert I would like to submit my name for the position on the Lee’s Summit R-7 School Board.   As you know, I have expressed an interest in being on the school board in the past.   On my first attempt I only lost by 2% which would indicate that the voters have an interest in me being on the board as well.   I would think that the voters’ wishes would be taken into consideration. I have a strong relationship with many of the districts’ families and I can help to bridge the gap between them and the district.   I understand the commitment to the time and energy required each week for meetings, phone calls, conversations, visits to schools, and professional development seminars and workshops.   I already do that with the families that I work with and can c
Read more

School Board Candidates

I am attempting to find information on the school board candidates.  It has been much easier in the past.  This year it has been more difficult.  Susan D. Coffman Susan Coffman has served as the Outreach Program Coordinator and Finance Officer for Lee’s Summit CARES since 2008. She has been a mayor-appointed representative to the Human Services Advisory Board, facilitated alcohol retailer trainings, organized the annual Holly Festival with the DARE program, managed bookkeeping and accounting, and served as the community liaison between LS CARES and local business, universities and the cities.  Coffman’s financial background includes work as a customer support specialist at Jack Henry & Associates Inc. for 11 years and assistant vice president and customer support specialist at Merchants Bank for 17 years.  Her community activities include serving on the Human Services Advisory Board, Paradise Park Advisory Board, Lee’s Summit Social Services Board, former treasurer of Rotary C
Read more