Skip to main content

On communication with systems of public education

Our youngest child attends Dean Allan Elementary School. A CCSD school in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Dear Ms. Frasier. Yesterday, we received Elijah’s report card. Although we do have some concerns about his academic progress, we need to have a conversation about his behavioral grades. We have a child who still cares enough about these things that he cried for hours over the “N”s that he received. We are fully aware that Elijah can be and is, challenging at times, and we in no way want to excuse these behaviors, but we were unaware that our child is seen as “in need of improvement” by your staff. I want to assure you that we send the best version possible of him to you each day, and we were unaware of the label that his teachers have placed on him. Had we been collaboratively involved by the school, we would have been actively engaged in his improvement to the best of our ability. My partner and I would like to meet with you as soon as possible to discuss what support Elijah received for his behaviors during the first semester and what support will be like for him through the rest of the school year to help him meet the expectations of children at your school.

For-what-it’s-worth, from our point-of-view, Elijah’s biggest struggle is with immaturity. As an educator, you know that this will come with time. I would like to see what we can do together as a team to help keep him feeling okay about school, to support him as a work in progress as all children are, and to continue to love him, while we wait for his maturity to blossom. Elijah will not be returning to your school until we hold this meeting, and we receive assurances of his emotional safety while in your care. Please administratively excuse his absences.

Thank You,
The Moses Family
Glenn, Rae, Owen, Audra, and Elijah

P.S. Ms. Frasier, we met last year about one of your teachers who made it known to my child that she disliked him. In that conversation I told you about some of the challenges our family faces. Over Winter Break, we spent several days at Sunrise hospital with Elijah’s older brother, Owen; as we continue to manage the aftercare of another traumatic event in a lifetime of traumatic events for that child, I need you to know that I do not have the emotional energy for this and your school is making me dig deep to advocate for my baby. Principal to principal (and as a principal that has done the daunting work of righting a school’s culture in the past, I have some idea of what you’re trying to do and I think you’re doing a great job, fwiw. I see you.) please protect my child from this system as you do the work to make this school the best place it can be for children. I’m not above begging a system for what my children need. So, please help him. Please.

1 Blog 3 Goals: 1. A Constitutional amendment overturning Citizen's United | 2. Abolish the Electoral College | 3. Reinstate Glass-Steagall. We. Can. Do. This.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

On the horror of reality

When I was in grade-eight I went to the Red Rock Theater on Charleston... ...by myself and bought a ticket for Rescuers Down Under with the full intention of walking into the theatre showing Total Recall . I won't tell you that this film changed my life, but there was a practical effect costume of a woman with three boobs . Okay. It changed my life. Thank you, John Carpenter. This led to finding David Cronenberg which led to a near obsession with splatter-fest horror flicks. I can’t count the number of times I’ve watched the whole Troma catalog up to 1999. Buckets of blood, check! Gratuitous violence, check! Terribly beautiful practical effects and costumes, check! Playing for $2 at midnight, check! The Night Birds, wrote a great song about this: Lyrics , if you’re interested. And, if you want to see what it’s like to play your heart out to a bunch of punks who are too cool to be a part of the art, watch th...
1 comment
Read more

On our President and my son on Owen’s 17th birthday.

This is our President, mocking a person with a disability not unlike the disabilities my child has. This was a strategy used during the primary and campaign which helped Donald J. Trump win the 2016 election. Well, that and the fact that the DNC has an innate ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. Unlike the journalist who's physical disabilities are are being derided, Owen is not fortunate enough to have the cognitive capacity for employment (not even as a CEO) but it’s good to know how the world would see him if he were out around the rest of you; you know just in case I forget next time I’m changing his diaper and wiping the shit out of his pubic hair for the second or third time on any given day. Side note: having someone else wipe your ass seems like it's the primary qualification to run a Fortune 500 company; well that and an MBA from Columbia, or is that redundant? I'm telling you, Owen could do this. But I digress. ...
2 comments
Read more

A Note to Bernie 12/26/2019

I registered as a Democrat this morning so that I can early caucus with Bernie on February 15 here in Nevada . My family has a child who was born with significant cognitive and physical disabilities. His 17th birthday is this January. The American healthcare system is an ongoing nightmare for us both financially and in terms of level of care (and it’s painful that “financially” is the first thing that came to mind as I typed that sentence). 17 years of grinding on a system for someone you love has become what we do and who we are, but we are so fucking tired and we have a long road ahead of us. Until the focus on profit in this industry is curbed there will be no resolution in the economic impact situations like these have on families and until we get that resolved, the conversation that needs to happen about what care could and should look like in our nation will never happen. Bernie is the only candidate who is going after this in the way I wish I could if I were doing it my...
1 comment
Read more