SOS

Recently I have heard two different accounts of disgraceful behavior towards special needs children in our school district on the part of the teachers or aides who serve them. As the mother of a special needs child about to enter kindergarten, these accounts sicken and terrify me. How do I protect my child from one of the worst kinds of evil, those who would hurt "the least of these?" How do we as a society protect our children when increasingly schools and curricula are closed to parents, when lousy (or cruel) teachers in our public schools are protected by unions and tenure? How do we find out what is really going on in our children's classrooms? These are "public" schools supported in part by our tax dollars. We as parents have every right to be inside our schools, aware of what's going on. But parents in our school district at least are told they are no longer needed or wanted to volunteer. We don't want to micromanage. We don't want to get in the way. We want to be informed! And that's the mission I'm about to embark on. I'm going to find out everything I can about the teacher and aides who will be spending six hours a day, five days a week with my precious child. If you have any suggestions about the best way to do this or any information to offer, I'm open to any and all ideas.