PAUSD SpEd does have a systematic approach to providing needed services: it the services are inexpensive or the parents have the backing of a lawyer, the services are generally provided; otherwise the child is SOL.

What Dystematic says is the absolute truth!

I even offered to pay for my son to stay with a certain math teacher to work with him an extra year-- he was on the verge of a breakthrough in that subject-- and was told "absolutelyNO, this simply isn't done". Even though it was in his best interest.

Jordan released him from Specisl Ed entirely. He was not ready, and of course, his grades dropped drastically in 8th
grade.

It is public education, not private concierge education. There are fixed and limited dollars, teachers, time for everyone to share.

@john_alderman Actually, school districts receive special education funding to provide the services that are necessary for children who have challenges to participate in public education.

Sounds to me like she got a better offer in a less-crowded district!

Probably cheaper rent or a shorter commute, too.

It's too bad, Perry seemed a good egg in a basket of too many bad apples. [Portion removed.] This is a step backwards. We do not need people to drag us back into the morass.

I do not believe it. Nobody leaves in the middle of the school year, something went really wrong, and they are hiding it. Perhaps is related to the bullying of the special ed. student at Jordan if not something worst.

I would guess that anyone at Churchill who has options will be thinking about them pretty seriously.

Cutting back on staff is one of the few things that they can do to balance the budget, and it will not be pleasant.

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[Portion removed due to deletion of referenced comment.]

The elementary teachers possibly feel more of the need to be superficially warm, due to the ages of the younger students, while still maintaining a conditioned, legalistic and antagonistic stance towards students and their families. [Portion removed.] Once a child and his/her family encounters dishonesty in PAUSD, and sense the pervasive dishonesty operating in the background as a collusion between teachers and administrators and counselors, there is virtually no room for trust anymore. [Portion removed.]

@@Two Steps,
Unfortunately I did not see your whole post before it was deleted. Your sentence rings very true: "Once a child and his/her family encounters dishonesty in PAUSD, and sense the pervasive dishonesty operating in the background as a collusion between teachers and administrators and counselors, there is virtually no room for trust anymore." There was a recent article about soe ial ed in which another parent spoke critically about that collusion.

I think the district should not reward that kind of behavior in its employees. I wonder if Perry left to get away from it, too.

I wonder what happened- I suspect some big screwup or being forced out. My impression of Chiara Perry was that she seemed completely out of her depth, and just towing the party line; interesting that Holly Wade does not seem to have backed her up.

Or perhaps she got sick of Wade's policies of non-help for special ed families, and frequent use of legal assistance in browbeating families, and left.

I am sorry to see Chiara Perry leaving. She is supportive of families with children with special needs. I am afraid that like the previous post "@a parent" suggested that "perhaps she got sick of Wade's policies of non-help for special ed families, and frequent use of legal assistance in browbeating families, and left."

By the time I post on this forum, we already learned that Holly Wade is leaving the school district. Let's hope we find an excellent special ed director like our beloved Carol Zepecki. Carol is the best of all special ed directors I have experienced in Palo Alto over the last 20 years.

Katie Kinnaman's (Ms. Cinnamon, according to students) departure is welcome. She was merely a figurehead; unproductive is an understatement.

McGee announced this morning the name of our new principal from the Campbell District Office, Dr. Valerie Royaltey-Quandt.

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