It is so very important to me that my son is at a school that fully includes special needs kids and that those kids are treated respectfully by staff and students. There is nothing more important for him to learn, imo.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, now I see the connection between the comments at the (now deleted) end of the other Oyster thread (regarding the molesting Mr. Pena) and this one. The OP dislikes the new principal/admin. because of how they have handled special needs students. As an Oyster parent, I would really like to know more about all threes sides of the story--Oyster's admins., the special needs students/families and the truth.

Good point. It's clear someone has a vendetta against the school, and this may be a reason why. The OP seems to forget that the Pena abuse happened under the previous principal--same as the test violations-- and that 90% of the parents and teachers seem much happier with the new principal than with the old one.

Am I missing something? The sexual abuse that Mr. Pena is accused of committing and the administration allegedly trying to get rid of special eds students are two different topics. Both of them are sad and both of them need attention.

+1

You should have read some of the comments (now deleted) on the other Oyster thread. If you missed those comments, you will miss what the PP is referring to in his/her post. It's not a big deal, so please carry on.

My comments asking about Dr. Lopez were deleted.
I have nothing to do with the special education students there, but I was appalled at the power the perpetrator had been allowed.
Sorry to burst your little bubble.

*Sigh*. Those are not the deleted comments the PP was referring to...whomever you are. The deleted comments that were referenced have nothing to do with Dr. Lopez. Please move along...

Certainly interesting which posts got deleted.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, now I see the connection between the comments at the (now deleted) end of the other Oyster thread (regarding the molesting Mr. Pena) and this one. The OP dislikes the new principal/admin. because of how they have handled special needs students. As an Oyster parent, I would really like to know more about all threes sides of the story--Oyster's admins., the special needs students/families and the truth.

Good point. It's clear someone has a vendetta against the school, and this may be a reason why. The OP seems to forget that the Pena abuse happened under the previous principal--same as the test violations-- and that 90% of the parents and teachers seem much happier with the new principal than with the old one.

Am I missing something? The sexual abuse that Mr. Pena is accused of committing and the administration allegedly trying to get rid of special eds students are two different topics. Both of them are sad and both of them need attention.

+1

You should have read some of the comments (now deleted) on the other Oyster thread. If you missed those comments, you will miss what the PP is referring to in his/her post. It's not a big deal, so please carry on.

My comments asking about Dr. Lopez were deleted.
I have nothing to do with the special education students there, but I was appalled at the power the perpetrator had been allowed.
Sorry to burst your little bubble.

*Sigh*. Those are not the deleted comments the PP was referring to...whomever you are. The deleted comments that were referenced have nothing to do with Dr. Lopez. Please move along...

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, now I see the connection between the comments at the (now deleted) end of the other Oyster thread (regarding the molesting Mr. Pena) and this one. The OP dislikes the new principal/admin. because of how they have handled special needs students. As an Oyster parent, I would really like to know more about all threes sides of the story--Oyster's admins., the special needs students/families and the truth.

Good point. It's clear someone has a vendetta against the school, and this may be a reason why. The OP seems to forget that the Pena abuse happened under the previous principal--same as the test violations-- and that 90% of the parents and teachers seem much happier with the new principal than with the old one.

Am I missing something? The sexual abuse that Mr. Pena is accused of committing and the administration allegedly trying to get rid of special eds students are two different topics. Both of them are sad and both of them need attention.

+1

You should have read some of the comments (now deleted) on the other Oyster thread. If you missed those comments, you will miss what the PP is referring to in his/her post. It's not a big deal, so please carry on.

My comments asking about Dr. Lopez were deleted.
I have nothing to do with the special education students there, but I was appalled at the power the perpetrator had been allowed.
Sorry to burst your little bubble.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, now I see the connection between the comments at the (now deleted) end of the other Oyster thread (regarding the molesting Mr. Pena) and this one. The OP dislikes the new principal/admin. because of how they have handled special needs students. As an Oyster parent, I would really like to know more about all threes sides of the story--Oyster's admins., the special needs students/families and the truth.

Good point. It's clear someone has a vendetta against the school, and this may be a reason why. The OP seems to forget that the Pena abuse happened under the previous principal--same as the test violations-- and that 90% of the parents and teachers seem much happier with the new principal than with the old one.

Am I missing something? The sexual abuse that Mr. Pena is accused of committing and the administration allegedly trying to get rid of special eds students are two different topics. Both of them are sad and both of them need attention.

+1

You should have read some of the comments (now deleted) on the other Oyster thread. If you missed those comments, you will miss what the PP is referring to in his/her post. It's not a big deal, so please carry on.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, now I see the connection between the comments at the (now deleted) end of the other Oyster thread (regarding the molesting Mr. Pena) and this one. The OP dislikes the new principal/admin. because of how they have handled special needs students. As an Oyster parent, I would really like to know more about all threes sides of the story--Oyster's admins., the special needs students/families and the truth.

Good point. It's clear someone has a vendetta against the school, and this may be a reason why. The OP seems to forget that the Pena abuse happened under the previous principal--same as the test violations-- and that 90% of the parents and teachers seem much happier with the new principal than with the old one.

Am I missing something? The sexual abuse that Mr. Pena is accused of committing and the administration allegedly trying to get rid of special eds students are two different topics. Both of them are sad and both of them need attention.

Both of them are problems enabled/ created by the previous principal, that the new one has to fix. And, in both cases, some poster is trying to spread misinformation here on DCUM, which is why the PP above (not me) said "Ok, now I see the connection..."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

On the last very few days I heard that the administration is trying to get rid of inclusion kids. Have anybody heard anything?

I seriously doubt it. Next year's budget preserves funding for the special ed teachers.

how do you know? Is the budget public?

The OA budget released by DCPS stated that OA gets less money for special Ed

http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/Files/downloads/ABOUT%20DCPS/Budget%20-%20Finance/FY16%20documents/Final%20School%20Allocations-FY16/DCPS-OYSTERADAMS-Allocation-FY16.pdf

How do you see there that OA gets less money for Special Ed? (what was the budget for previous year)


What I see is that the budget for the whole school does get a large cut, and also that the Special Ed budget is more than two times larger than ELL budget --surprising in a bilingual school aiming to enroll 50% Spanish-dominant kids.

Seems the principal is going to face a tough year.

See the notes (left corner) under "budge notes" it says " Your school's special education budget decreased"

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, now I see the connection between the comments at the (now deleted) end of the other Oyster thread (regarding the molesting Mr. Pena) and this one. The OP dislikes the new principal/admin. because of how they have handled special needs students. As an Oyster parent, I would really like to know more about all threes sides of the story--Oyster's admins., the special needs students/families and the truth.

Good point. It's clear someone has a vendetta against the school, and this may be a reason why. The OP seems to forget that the Pena abuse happened under the previous principal--same as the test violations-- and that 90% of the parents and teachers seem much happier with the new principal than with the old one.

Am I missing something? The sexual abuse that Mr. Pena is accused of committing and the administration allegedly trying to get rid of special eds students are two different topics. Both of them are sad and both of them need attention.

+1

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Ok, now I see the connection between the comments at the (now deleted) end of the other Oyster thread (regarding the molesting Mr. Pena) and this one. The OP dislikes the new principal/admin. because of how they have handled special needs students. As an Oyster parent, I would really like to know more about all threes sides of the story--Oyster's admins., the special needs students/families and the truth.

Good point. It's clear someone has a vendetta against the school, and this may be a reason why. The OP seems to forget that the Pena abuse happened under the previous principal--same as the test violations-- and that 90% of the parents and teachers seem much happier with the new principal than with the old one.

Am I missing something? The sexual abuse that Mr. Pena is accused of committing and the administration allegedly trying to get rid of special eds students are two different topics. Both of them are sad and both of them need attention.

Anonymous wrote:My view will be unpopular, but if you are special needs to the level of being non-verbal, maybe OA or any bilingual school is not for you...you may be better served in a dedicated special needs school with more therapists and specialists. And the public at large may be better served financially, vs keeping a large staff 20+ to serve 8 kids in one facility. (I don't mean non-verbal ala Stephen Hawkings)

one of the kids leaving the school is "non-verbal Stephen Hawkings"

This is likely fallout from the previous administration. Things were promised that simply can't be delivered safely or effectively in the Oyster campus. A very active parent group with support from teachers, admin, and the then head of DCPS Special Ed (whose kids go to Oyster) were promised a pilot program for dual-immersion inclusion with better training for teachers and creating a career path for SPED aides. For whatever reasons, none of it happened this year. Understandably, people have been upset and disappointed. The SPED community had been promised a lot of things over the years at Oyster.

I can't speak to the administration's motive or methods, but DCPS is opening a dedicated special needs school at River Terrace. Which is kind of odd because they closed the previous full-time SPED school Prospect Learning Center a couple of years ago.

DCPS is legally required to provide an appropriate education, but it is not to offer education at a particular school. It's possible DCPS wants to transfer high needs Oyster kids to River Terrace.

It's sad to hear that things have been disruptive for these families and for their classmates. Nothing is ever simple with DCPS and special needs.

Anyone with concerns they think are not being addressed may find it helpful to contact the independent Ombudsman for Education. They have free services and useful information.

http://sboe.dc.gov/page/what-expect-08

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

On the last very few days I heard that the administration is trying to get rid of inclusion kids. Have anybody heard anything?

I seriously doubt it. Next year's budget preserves funding for the special ed teachers.

how do you know? Is the budget public?

The OA budget released by DCPS stated that OA gets less money for special Ed

http://dcps.dc.gov/DCPS/Files/downloads/ABOUT%20DCPS/Budget%20-%20Finance/FY16%20documents/Final%20School%20Allocations-FY16/DCPS-OYSTERADAMS-Allocation-FY16.pdf

How do you see there that OA gets less money for Special Ed? (what was the budget for previous year)

What I see is that the budget for the whole school does get a large cut, and also that the Special Ed budget is more than two times larger than ELL budget --surprising in a bilingual school aiming to enroll 50% Spanish-dominant kids.

Seems the principal is going to face a tough year.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My view will be unpopular, but if you are special needs to the level of being non-verbal, maybe OA or any bilingual school is not for you...you may be better served in a dedicated special needs school with more therapists and specialists. And the public at large may be better served financially, vs keeping a large staff 20+ to serve 8 kids in one facility. (I don't mean non-verbal ala Stephen Hawkings)

Your view is not unpopular, it would be illegal to put into practice in 2015. All publicschools must meet the needs of students in the least restrictive setting (not segregated schools or classrooms) whenever possible under the law.

I'm a parent of 2 students who attended LAMB. One had serious language/based disabilities (articulation issues, not cognitive) and he was supported well there. LAMB has proven to me and others that inclusion can be done very well within an immersion setting. They hired bilingual support staff and specialists (OT, SLP, psychologists) and intervened early and often and included parents in every decision.

If these serious allegations have any merit the families need to be consulting lawyers or ask for a federal Dept of Ed investigation.

This is good news to hear about LAMB, but disappointing in regards to Oyster. I agree that it is easy to jump to conclusions without knowing what's going on at Oyster. I would withhold judgment without knowing all the facts. If I were one of those families i would look into a lawyer.

Anonymous wrote:Ok, now I see the connection between the comments at the (now deleted) end of the other Oyster thread (regarding the molesting Mr. Pena) and this one. The OP dislikes the new principal/admin. because of how they have handled special needs students. As an Oyster parent, I would really like to know more about all threes sides of the story--Oyster's admins., the special needs students/families and the truth.

Good point. It's clear someone has a vendetta against the school, and this may be a reason why. The OP seems to forget that the Pena abuse happened under the previous principal--same as the test violations-- and that 90% of the parents and teachers seem much happier with the new principal than with the old one.

It appears that something very peculiar is going on there.