Outrage in NJ and MN
November 30, 2007 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
This I can understand:
Parents in the Cherry Hill, NJ, school district called for the resignation of the special education director Israela Franklin at a school board meeting on Tuesday night. Parents were concerned (if not, it seems, outraged) over a padded room at Russell Knight Elementary School in Cherry Hill.
This is still hard to grasp; outrage seems understandable.
Between August 2004 and June 2007, Shianne Verness embezzled more than 40 thousand dollars from an autism organization, the RT Autism Awareness Foundation, and transferred the money to a personal account. Yesterday, November 29th, Verness was sentenced to 60 days in jail, 10 years of probation, and 500 hours of community service.
Ah, but was she order to pay restitution?
Cheers
“she fully intended to return the stolen money and she has since done so.”
Looks like it.
I always go and read the original stories and then the feedback comments. There was an alleged “special ed teacher” defending the actions of the padded room while describing her job in a very offensive way. I was sick after reading her comments and one defense of them. Yuck.
so upsetting. at least the money is going to be returned in story #2, but how will what was taken by those kids put in that padded room be returned?
sickening.
I am the person who took the photos of the padded room in cherry hill. It has been an ongoing ordeal. The padded room is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to how our Special Needs children are treated in this school district. We repeatedly get denied when we ask for evaluations to be performed. We get non answers when we question why the IEP is not being followed. We have a minimum of at least 40 students who have not received OT services this year while our Superintendent of Special education services says: In a letter sent home to parents of special education children in the district, Franklin said the missed therapy sessions would be made up later in the year.
This is not lost time at all. We can make up the sessions these children have missed. The therapy sessions are a related service; it’s not the bulk of their program. We’re not talking about the children missing any school,” Franklin said. http://www.elauwit.com/cherryhillsun/news.php?nid=757
It is appalling that this woman and this administration feels this way. This is why we asked for her termination. This is far from over.
Ms. Grams, I really appreciate your posting here—and your taking those photos. We’ve had our “difficulties” with the director of special ed (in a previous school district)—-it was not over till it was over. I’ll be following what goes on.
Someone needs to help us with the here and now before the children become adults. I am so tired of excuses. My children did not ask to be born with a disability, and they deserve help. We can rehabilitate criminals without batting an eyelash, but we have to THINK about helping a child? What happened to NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND? Does that statement only apply to “NORMAL” children?