Taylor Elem - principal promoted

[Anonymous]

I very much doubt any parent who describes the IEP or 504 process at Hamm as smooth and/or who waited until middle school to help their child. But then I see where a parent who describes kids finally get assistance as an onslaught as compared to a history of ignoring kids or sending them to a different school (seriously, PP? seriously?) probably would rather their own child was "normal."

Also, you can google accommodations, 504s, IEPs for elementary school kids. But you didn't do that when your kid needed them because you were ableist. So there's that.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What did the email say?

She was great, this is a big loss.

Update for the 2025-2026 School Year

Dear Taylor Families:

It has been an honor to serve as the principal of Taylor Elementary School. This school is more than a place of learning, it is a vibrant, caring community made up of incredible students, devoted staff and engaged families. I am proud of what we’ve accomplished together over the years, and I will always cherish the memories, milestones and connections we’ve shared.

At the end of the school year next week, I will transition to a new role at the Syphax Education Center, pending School Board approval. In this position, I’ll have the opportunity to support instructional practices across the division and help shape teaching and learning throughout APS. While I am excited for this new chapter, leaving Taylor is not easy. This community has been my home and it has helped in part to shape the leader I am today.

I want to thank you for your partnership, trust and support over the years. Taylor’s strength is in its people, and I have full confidence that this tradition of excellence will continue. APS leadership will share more about next steps in the coming days to ensure a smooth transition for our students and staff.

Thank you for the joy, the learning and the unwavering support. It has been a privilege to be a part of your students’ educational journey.

Parent here. Not a fan. Not sorry she’s gone. I get that you cant please everyone but just so the thread isn’t all glowing reviews.

Did you experience the principal before her? Have you seen the WL principal? I think we will miss KM.

I will ask then, we have a survey out — what challenges is the school facing — it sounds like you experience them first hand.

Yes, been in APS a long time and now experienced several schools. Look, I get that it's a job where you can't please everyone but my experience with her on a child who had some minor needs was frustrating -- she was dismissive of my concerns. I didn't think she was helpful or in our court or interested in problem solving. Also, of the people I know who were fans of hers, they didn't have kids who had any sort of needs; rather, they dealt with her more on an organizational/planning level as opposed to a problem solving for their child level. And, she's capable on that front, which I guess is something.

She did seem old school so maybe she is a bit dismissive of the endless on slaught of special need kids versus prior decades.

We have a DC with mild ADHD but diagnosed later in life. What accommodations do you even need in elementary school? We get extended test time, and someone meets one a week to help organize homework and assignments. But elementary school has no homework; is she refusing extended test time? What other services are available?

Your attitude sucks too.

Well I liked KM, and I'm a little skeptical of some people looking for support and pining the blame on the Principal. She was just part of the IEP team, and most of the heavy lifting is accomplished by the Special Ed Coordinator and Special Ed Teacher, with more help from school psychologist. The Principal is mostly just validating that resources are available for the specifics of the plan; she may eventually go back to APS and request more resources but that is usually part of the annual budget process not on a per student basis.

So I asked what sort of supports you need, and what supports are available for this age group. I do feel there are a lot more requests for special needs requests than in prior generation; perhaps my choice of onslaught was in poor taste, and I feel that mainstream educators feel like it has been a much larger switch since they are now mainstreamed by default rather than siloed in decades past.

DP. It honestly does not sound like you have any experience with the iep process at Taylor is kind of odd that you would be so dismissive to PP. my child has an IEP and the Special Ed Coordinator has never meaningfully participated ( typically has not joined the meetings etc) let alone “done the bulk of the heavy lifting” so not sure why you feel the need to invalidate PP’s experiences. I’ve personally had very minimal contact with Madigan so can’t speak to that.

No longer siloing special education students by default is no more an “onslaught” than no longer segregating students by race is an “onslaught” of POCs.

My point as a mainstream principle, suddenly, 16% of your students are making special requests, when 20 years ago they just went to a different school.

My kid is on an IEP in middle school, and I was basing it on the process we have there at Hamm. If you don’t meet coordinator and don’t meet with KM, are you just working with a SE teacher? I am just curious what PP expected of the principal for their IEP support — the process is pretty well established and legally mandated so I wouldn’t expect KM to be that involved, yet they have a beef with her over her part of the IEP??

Kids with disabilities are students too. If you don't want to work with 16% of your students, you should not be a principal.

AMEN.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I very much doubt any parent who describes the IEP or 504 process at Hamm as smooth and/or who waited until middle school to help their child. But then I see where a parent who describes kids finally get assistance as an onslaught as compared to a history of ignoring kids or sending them to a different school (seriously, PP? seriously?) probably would rather their own child was "normal."

Also, you can google accommodations, 504s, IEPs for elementary school kids. But you didn't do that when your kid needed them because you were ableist. So there's that.

Are none of you able to read my posts? I was saying that to someone who had been teaching for 20 years, the landscape had changed considerably and it could feel like an onslaught. It wasn’t my own impression.

Anyways, my kid did great in elementary school, it was no problem and had the highest ratings on standard base grading, high scores on SOL‘s, it was easy. But then when you get to middle school and the necessity of tracking homework and projects and actual test that matter, it became apparent the disorganization and executive function was

We are at HBW, and I suspect the fact that we have a counselor, i.e. a teacher who has a smaller subset of students may make it easier for our IEP to be met. I don’t know how it is at Hamm.

our psychologist was very clear that the school must provide the services, it’s the law and once you show up with the testing, they just check through the list of accommodations hard by law. What does the principal have to do? I just don’t understand?

I know that there are pullouts for social skills, we do not have experience with that, executive function, coaching, and then they do things like your kid at the front of the class and let them have tools to help them focus in class. I just don’t see where the principal gets involved.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I very much doubt any parent who describes the IEP or 504 process at Hamm as smooth and/or who waited until middle school to help their child. But then I see where a parent who describes kids finally get assistance as an onslaught as compared to a history of ignoring kids or sending them to a different school (seriously, PP? seriously?) probably would rather their own child was "normal."

Also, you can google accommodations, 504s, IEPs for elementary school kids. But you didn't do that when your kid needed them because you were ableist. So there's that.

Are none of you able to read my posts? I was saying that to someone who had been teaching for 20 years, the landscape had changed considerably and it could feel like an onslaught. It wasn’t my own impression.

Anyways, my kid did great in elementary school, it was no problem and had the highest ratings on standard base grading, high scores on SOL‘s, it was easy. But then when you get to middle school and the necessity of tracking homework and projects and actual test that matter, it became apparent the disorganization and executive function was

We are at HBW, and I suspect the fact that we have a counselor, i.e. a teacher who has a smaller subset of students may make it easier for our IEP to be met. I don’t know how it is at Hamm.

our psychologist was very clear that the school must provide the services, it’s the law and once you show up with the testing, they just check through the list of accommodations hard by law. What does the principal have to do? I just don’t understand?

I know that there are pullouts for social skills, we do not have experience with that, executive function, coaching, and then they do things like your kid at the front of the class and let them have tools to help them focus in class. I just don’t see where the principal gets involved.

So you've never had trouble getting your kid what they need at school. But others have. Why is that so hard for you to grasp?

It's hilarious that you think schools always follow the law automatically. They don't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I very much doubt any parent who describes the IEP or 504 process at Hamm as smooth and/or who waited until middle school to help their child. But then I see where a parent who describes kids finally get assistance as an onslaught as compared to a history of ignoring kids or sending them to a different school (seriously, PP? seriously?) probably would rather their own child was "normal."

Also, you can google accommodations, 504s, IEPs for elementary school kids. But you didn't do that when your kid needed them because you were ableist. So there's that.

Are none of you able to read my posts? I was saying that to someone who had been teaching for 20 years, the landscape had changed considerably and it could feel like an onslaught. It wasn’t my own impression.

Anyways, my kid did great in elementary school, it was no problem and had the highest ratings on standard base grading, high scores on SOL‘s, it was easy. But then when you get to middle school and the necessity of tracking homework and projects and actual test that matter, it became apparent the disorganization and executive function was

We are at HBW, and I suspect the fact that we have a counselor, i.e. a teacher who has a smaller subset of students may make it easier for our IEP to be met. I don’t know how it is at Hamm.

our psychologist was very clear that the school must provide the services, it’s the law and once you show up with the testing, they just check through the list of accommodations hard by law. What does the principal have to do? I just don’t understand?

I know that there are pullouts for social skills, we do not have experience with that, executive function, coaching, and then they do things like your kid at the front of the class and let them have tools to help them focus in class. I just don’t see where the principal gets involved.

So you've never had trouble getting your kid what they need at school. But others have. Why is that so hard for you to grasp?

It's hilarious that you think schools always follow the law automatically. They don't.

I’m asking at Taylor what services they are having trouble getting? It seems like for elementary school it’s pretty low hanging fruit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I very much doubt any parent who describes the IEP or 504 process at Hamm as smooth and/or who waited until middle school to help their child. But then I see where a parent who describes kids finally get assistance as an onslaught as compared to a history of ignoring kids or sending them to a different school (seriously, PP? seriously?) probably would rather their own child was "normal."

Also, you can google accommodations, 504s, IEPs for elementary school kids. But you didn't do that when your kid needed them because you were ableist. So there's that.

Are none of you able to read my posts? I was saying that to someone who had been teaching for 20 years, the landscape had changed considerably and it could feel like an onslaught. It wasn’t my own impression.

Anyways, my kid did great in elementary school, it was no problem and had the highest ratings on standard base grading, high scores on SOL‘s, it was easy. But then when you get to middle school and the necessity of tracking homework and projects and actual test that matter, it became apparent the disorganization and executive function was

We are at HBW, and I suspect the fact that we have a counselor, i.e. a teacher who has a smaller subset of students may make it easier for our IEP to be met. I don’t know how it is at Hamm.

our psychologist was very clear that the school must provide the services, it’s the law and once you show up with the testing, they just check through the list of accommodations hard by law. What does the principal have to do? I just don’t understand?

I know that there are pullouts for social skills, we do not have experience with that, executive function, coaching, and then they do things like your kid at the front of the class and let them have tools to help them focus in class. I just don’t see where the principal gets involved.

So you've never had trouble getting your kid what they need at school. But others have. Why is that so hard for you to grasp?

It's hilarious that you think schools always follow the law automatically. They don't.

We were considering private school, but were assured services at public school were much easier to get. I think your experience is atypical for APS.

[Anonymous]

Can we please regroup away from IEPs etc.? There’s a whole forum for that.

Personally, I am dismayed at KM’s handling of the situation. She must have known months ago that she was leaving and yet chose to delay sharing the news with teachers and parents. Also, my understanding is that she pledged to be at Taylor for a long time when she was hired and I’m not sure what changed or if she was lying.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can we please regroup away from IEPs etc.? There’s a whole forum for that.

Personally, I am dismayed at KM’s handling of the situation. She must have known months ago that she was leaving and yet chose to delay sharing the news with teachers and parents. Also, my understanding is that she pledged to be at Taylor for a long time when she was hired and I’m not sure what changed or if she was lying.

The only people complaining about her tenure are folks with IEP, that’s why the conversation veered that way.

Unless there was a contract I’m not surprised. Being a principal in current environment is a thankless task, expect to see more and more job hopping. Is she going to Syphax?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I very much doubt any parent who describes the IEP or 504 process at Hamm as smooth and/or who waited until middle school to help their child. But then I see where a parent who describes kids finally get assistance as an onslaught as compared to a history of ignoring kids or sending them to a different school (seriously, PP? seriously?) probably would rather their own child was "normal."

Also, you can google accommodations, 504s, IEPs for elementary school kids. But you didn't do that when your kid needed them because you were ableist. So there's that.

Are none of you able to read my posts? I was saying that to someone who had been teaching for 20 years, the landscape had changed considerably and it could feel like an onslaught. It wasn’t my own impression.

Anyways, my kid did great in elementary school, it was no problem and had the highest ratings on standard base grading, high scores on SOL‘s, it was easy. But then when you get to middle school and the necessity of tracking homework and projects and actual test that matter, it became apparent the disorganization and executive function was

We are at HBW, and I suspect the fact that we have a counselor, i.e. a teacher who has a smaller subset of students may make it easier for our IEP to be met. I don’t know how it is at Hamm.

our psychologist was very clear that the school must provide the services, it’s the law and once you show up with the testing, they just check through the list of accommodations hard by law. What does the principal have to do? I just don’t understand?

I know that there are pullouts for social skills, we do not have experience with that, executive function, coaching, and then they do things like your kid at the front of the class and let them have tools to help them focus in class. I just don’t see where the principal gets involved.

So you've never had trouble getting your kid what they need at school. But others have. Why is that so hard for you to grasp?

It's hilarious that you think schools always follow the law automatically. They don't.

We were considering private school, but were assured services at public school were much easier to get. I think your experience is atypical for APS.

It's not atypical.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I very much doubt any parent who describes the IEP or 504 process at Hamm as smooth and/or who waited until middle school to help their child. But then I see where a parent who describes kids finally get assistance as an onslaught as compared to a history of ignoring kids or sending them to a different school (seriously, PP? seriously?) probably would rather their own child was "normal."

Also, you can google accommodations, 504s, IEPs for elementary school kids. But you didn't do that when your kid needed them because you were ableist. So there's that.

Are none of you able to read my posts? I was saying that to someone who had been teaching for 20 years, the landscape had changed considerably and it could feel like an onslaught. It wasn’t my own impression.

Anyways, my kid did great in elementary school, it was no problem and had the highest ratings on standard base grading, high scores on SOL‘s, it was easy. But then when you get to middle school and the necessity of tracking homework and projects and actual test that matter, it became apparent the disorganization and executive function was

We are at HBW, and I suspect the fact that we have a counselor, i.e. a teacher who has a smaller subset of students may make it easier for our IEP to be met. I don’t know how it is at Hamm.

our psychologist was very clear that the school must provide the services, it’s the law and once you show up with the testing, they just check through the list of accommodations hard by law. What does the principal have to do? I just don’t understand?

I know that there are pullouts for social skills, we do not have experience with that, executive function, coaching, and then they do things like your kid at the front of the class and let them have tools to help them focus in class. I just don’t see where the principal gets involved.

So you've never had trouble getting your kid what they need at school. But others have. Why is that so hard for you to grasp?

It's hilarious that you think schools always follow the law automatically. They don't.

I’m asking at Taylor what services they are having trouble getting? It seems like for elementary school it’s pretty low hanging fruit.

Why do you feel entitled to this information about someone else's kid? No one is going to put specific info on here that could lead back to their kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I very much doubt any parent who describes the IEP or 504 process at Hamm as smooth and/or who waited until middle school to help their child. But then I see where a parent who describes kids finally get assistance as an onslaught as compared to a history of ignoring kids or sending them to a different school (seriously, PP? seriously?) probably would rather their own child was "normal."

Also, you can google accommodations, 504s, IEPs for elementary school kids. But you didn't do that when your kid needed them because you were ableist. So there's that.

Are none of you able to read my posts? I was saying that to someone who had been teaching for 20 years, the landscape had changed considerably and it could feel like an onslaught. It wasn’t my own impression.

Anyways, my kid did great in elementary school, it was no problem and had the highest ratings on standard base grading, high scores on SOL‘s, it was easy. But then when you get to middle school and the necessity of tracking homework and projects and actual test that matter, it became apparent the disorganization and executive function was

We are at HBW, and I suspect the fact that we have a counselor, i.e. a teacher who has a smaller subset of students may make it easier for our IEP to be met. I don’t know how it is at Hamm.

our psychologist was very clear that the school must provide the services, it’s the law and once you show up with the testing, they just check through the list of accommodations hard by law. What does the principal have to do? I just don’t understand?

I know that there are pullouts for social skills, we do not have experience with that, executive function, coaching, and then they do things like your kid at the front of the class and let them have tools to help them focus in class. I just don’t see where the principal gets involved.

So you've never had trouble getting your kid what they need at school. But others have. Why is that so hard for you to grasp?

It's hilarious that you think schools always follow the law automatically. They don't.

I’m asking at Taylor what services they are having trouble getting? It seems like for elementary school it’s pretty low hanging fruit.

DP. What is that based on though? You don’t seem to know what services would/could be available in elementary school so how would you know if it’s low hanging fruit? And also the person who started here might as well post her kids name if she’s just going to post the specific service they had trouble with. It’s not that big a school and the principal was only here since 2022.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Can we please regroup away from IEPs etc.? There’s a whole forum for that.

Personally, I am dismayed at KM’s handling of the situation. She must have known months ago that she was leaving and yet chose to delay sharing the news with teachers and parents. Also, my understanding is that she pledged to be at Taylor for a long time when she was hired and I’m not sure what changed or if she was lying.

Did the teachers find out at the same time the email went out?

Does Syphax pay more? Seems very easy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we please regroup away from IEPs etc.? There’s a whole forum for that.

Personally, I am dismayed at KM’s handling of the situation. She must have known months ago that she was leaving and yet chose to delay sharing the news with teachers and parents. Also, my understanding is that she pledged to be at Taylor for a long time when she was hired and I’m not sure what changed or if she was lying.

The only people complaining about her tenure are folks with IEP, that’s why the conversation veered that way.

Unless there was a contract I’m not surprised. Being a principal in current environment is a thankless task, expect to see more and more job hopping. Is she going to Syphax?

I complained about her and my kid doesn’t have an IEP so you aren’t right.

Also she gets paid probably $200k of our taxpayer money to be an ES principal, so while the job is thankless—which, let’s face it, most jobs are—it’s not like some sort of terrible job that no one is applying for. Give me a break.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I very much doubt any parent who describes the IEP or 504 process at Hamm as smooth and/or who waited until middle school to help their child. But then I see where a parent who describes kids finally get assistance as an onslaught as compared to a history of ignoring kids or sending them to a different school (seriously, PP? seriously?) probably would rather their own child was "normal."

Also, you can google accommodations, 504s, IEPs for elementary school kids. But you didn't do that when your kid needed them because you were ableist. So there's that.

Are none of you able to read my posts? I was saying that to someone who had been teaching for 20 years, the landscape had changed considerably and it could feel like an onslaught. It wasn’t my own impression.

Anyways, my kid did great in elementary school, it was no problem and had the highest ratings on standard base grading, high scores on SOL‘s, it was easy. But then when you get to middle school and the necessity of tracking homework and projects and actual test that matter, it became apparent the disorganization and executive function was

We are at HBW, and I suspect the fact that we have a counselor, i.e. a teacher who has a smaller subset of students may make it easier for our IEP to be met. I don’t know how it is at Hamm.

our psychologist was very clear that the school must provide the services, it’s the law and once you show up with the testing, they just check through the list of accommodations hard by law. What does the principal have to do? I just don’t understand?

I know that there are pullouts for social skills, we do not have experience with that, executive function, coaching, and then they do things like your kid at the front of the class and let them have tools to help them focus in class. I just don’t see where the principal gets involved.

So you've never had trouble getting your kid what they need at school. But others have. Why is that so hard for you to grasp?

It's hilarious that you think schools always follow the law automatically. They don't.

I’m asking at Taylor what services they are having trouble getting? It seems like for elementary school it’s pretty low hanging fruit.

DP. What is that based on though? You don’t seem to know what services would/could be available in elementary school so how would you know if it’s low hanging fruit? And also the person who started here might as well post her kids name if she’s just going to post the specific service they had trouble with. It’s not that big a school and the principal was only here since 2022.

I asked broadly what services. They told me to Google it. I did. I listed those services and don’t see why a principal would be involved in moving a kid to the front of the class or getting an organization binder.
They can list their bit along with other bits to be anonymous.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Can we please regroup away from IEPs etc.? There’s a whole forum for that.

Personally, I am dismayed at KM’s handling of the situation. She must have known months ago that she was leaving and yet chose to delay sharing the news with teachers and parents. Also, my understanding is that she pledged to be at Taylor for a long time when she was hired and I’m not sure what changed or if she was lying.

The only people complaining about her tenure are folks with IEP, that’s why the conversation veered that way.

Unless there was a contract I’m not surprised. Being a principal in current environment is a thankless task, expect to see more and more job hopping. Is she going to Syphax?

I complained about her and my kid doesn’t have an IEP so you aren’t right.

Also she gets paid probably $200k of our taxpayer money to be an ES principal, so while the job is thankless—which, let’s face it, most jobs are—it’s not like some sort of terrible job that no one is applying for. Give me a break.

Have you met the prior principal?? No one is applying.