A Parent's Testimonial- We Don't Make Accommodations And We Never Will

“I’ve never had a student like him before, ever, I don’t think he would do well anywhere,” is something you never want to hear from your child’s teacher. My son started to have “issues” in k4, it was reported to me that he couldn’t pay attention, sit still in his chair, he would blurt out answers, and ask random questions. His teacher would make him sit at his desk for hours, until he finished his assigned work. A few weeks after that he began to cry and scream, “I don’t wanna go in there, I’m the bad kid,” as we would drive into the parking lot each morning for drop off. I discussed his behavior with Monica Van Aken and she would just say “he’s just being a little shit, we will straighten him out.” We then sought psychological testing for him and he was diagnosed with Anxiety, ADHD, and Sensory Processing Disorder, and the psychologist recommended school accommodations for him. We shared this information with Monica Van Aken and his teacher. When I asked about the accommodations Monica stated “we have never made accommodations and we never will!” Even with the school knowing about his diagnosis, they continued punitive punishments on my four-year-old. I was informed by the assistant teacher that Monica instructed them to make him sit at his desk and face the wall from 8:00am - 11:15am for one whole week, “to teach him that if he didn’t want to work, he won’t get any work.” I was angry and surprised by this type of punishment. That summer, as punishment for talking during quiet time during class, I found my son standing in the middle of a dark classroom while younger kids napped. Another day I found him sitting in a dark classroom for not following directions. His kindergarten teacher tried her hardest to work with us on his accommodations but stated “We cannot let Monica know we are doing these, she has told us we cannot do anything special for him, I’m sorry.” This was the last straw and I started to look for a new school for my son. 

The moment I saw my three-year-old son being dragged into the school office by one leg and one arm I knew something was not right. It was reported to me that he was not listening and rolling around the classroom rug. I was informed as a punishment for speaking out during class he was often brought down to the office and made to sit on the floor for hours. He would be slid on the floor from the main office area into Monica’s office and back and forth. Another day I witnessed his teacher carrying him into the office as he screamed “stop, you’re hurting me, stop!” I then took him to a therapist where he was diagnosed with Adjustment Disorder - Emotional. I gave the diagnosis and school recommended accommodations to Monica Van Aken and his teacher, and I was told by Monica “we have never made accommodations and we never will.” At his parent teacher conference when I brought up his accommodations to his teacher, she stated “I’m sorry, you know Monica won’t let me do anything different to help him.” Him being dragged to the office continued for months, but lessened when a kind teacher started to take him into her classroom when he started to feel overwhelmed. When I thanked her for her help with him she stated, “I enjoy him, but we cannot let Monica know that I am helping him.” Once he was able to attend my local public school I yanked him out immediately. 

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