Schools
News and information from Patch and your neighbors about schools in your towns. Flag as Inappropriate
Posts awaiting your approval 0
Porter Gladstone III April 24, 2013 at 01:24 am
APPROVED: A proposal to allow seniors with 2.5 grade point average & parental permission to…Read More arrive late or leave early from school if their class schedule allows it
Think GPA could be higher. But this is a good thing.
Wonder what % of seniors currently have above a 2.5% and what the net effect will be with this carrot? And also wonder if putting the bar at 2.75 would have created an even greater incentive.
communityfirst April 23, 2013 at 08:25 pm
The kids in this town continue to amaze me. I have lived in many communities all over the country…Read More and I have never met such a large group of caring, respectful, intelligent and ambitious children in all of my days. They work hard at DHS and in the community doing all sorts of wonderful things and sometimes I don't think they are given enough credit. Yes, they do have a lot of support, but at the end of the day, those kids are the ones taking it to the next level. So, on behalf of my Darien family, thanks for making us proud!!!
David Harding April 23, 2013 at 04:48 pm
I read this story on the front page of the Stamford Advocate this morning and it's disappointing to…Read More read it here now on our supposedly 'local' Darien site and find it's a far more positive story in Stamford. The wording in your paragraph saying that while "Darien may have been No1 in the State....nationwide it's MUCH further down" is a very negative comment on a hugely positive story for Darien. I encourage everyone to read the story on the Stamford Advocate's site for the more positive press, which highlights that since there are 21000 schools in the study, the Top 1% of High Schools nationally are therefore the top 210 schools and Darien High School is essentially there. Well Done DHS!!
Chris Noe April 12, 2013 at 10:26 am
The Iraq war, No child left behind. The legacy of George "Dub-ya" Bush.
Porter Gladstone III April 12, 2013 at 04:39 am
Yes, Im anonymous. And the reason Im anonymous is because I dont want to be held accountable for my…Read More statements.
I get it.
But Im not looking sue and cause people to hire lawyers. When I do that--Irv from Newtown, you can call me hypocritical. If you call me a name, i couldnt care less about your anonymity.
Irv Weinstein April 12, 2013 at 02:15 am
No wonder why they are anonymous. - this coming from you "Peter" ?
Where did you receive…Read More your expertise on autistic children ?
Frieda April 3, 2013 at 04:15 pm
Kerry,
As a parent with a child on medication, your comments are, let me be frank, stupid and show…Read More your lack of knowledge on this issue. We struggled with the conclusion from our child's doctors, psychologist and private child study team that medication, along with proper therapy, was the appropriate route. We had our child in a myriad of therapies for years and once we introduced the appropriate medication, we saw that our child needed it in addition to those therapies. This method of treatment proved to be a success.
All parents that I know who have been in a similar situation have struggled with the medication reality as well.
Stop reading the Huffington Post to get your information.
A Darien Parent April 2, 2013 at 07:55 pm
Bah-
I'm sorry but it came out wrong. Not what I intended to say.
kathy April 8, 2013 at 03:59 pm
Darien Taxpayer,
Sounds like the vendetta is coming from those who do not want the process of…Read More determing the facts to proceed. Who says anyone is trying to blow up the Special Ed program? As a fellow taxpayer, logic suggests that it is necessary to investigate the claims raised to find the truth about our application of the law to all children. This type of allegation impacts all of our children directly or indirectly and that makes it worth it in my book to let the process do what it is supposed to do and assess the facts.
Porter Gladstone III April 9, 2013 at 06:10 pm
chris,
Could you explain what you mean by 'it's a reasonable policy." and then the parents…Read More need to demand for the OT to attend.
If it's reasonable to set a policy for the OT not to come, why do you think they felt like they needed to lie?
im baffled by the claim that people who dedicate their lives to helping disadvantaged children==who are not compensated by any cost savings and have no apparent reason to lie or impede children from obtaining the services they need--are freely spoken about in this forum as liars and lawbreakers. Im also wondering if some adminstrator got on this forum and called the parents liars --if that would be deemed acceptable?
Chris April 9, 2013 at 05:17 pm
DT - I'm not part of the group, but I'll give you an example of why people with severely disabled…Read More kids would band together.
The last couple of PPTs I attended, I was told the Occupational Therapist who worked with my child was unavailable to attend. Only when the infamous "memo' was discovered did I learn that this was now town policy. Unless the attendance of the OT was specifcally requested by a SPED administrator, the head of SPED told them not to go. Most likely this is because the town contracts out OT services and is charged on an hourly basis, so not having them attend saves the town money.
That's a reasonable policy, except not only did they never communicate it to parents, school administrators lied about why the OTs stopped coming to PPT meetings. If not for the FOIA request no one would know about it.
So parents who want the OT there have to demand that the meeting be stopped and rescheduled, wasting everyone's time, costing the town money and further turning was is supposed to be a collaborative process into an adversarial one.
Darien Taxpayer April 9, 2013 at 01:55 pm
There is also a "support group" of parents that meets to share ways get the most out of…Read More the school system. Haven't seen the numbers but it wouldn't shock me to learn that our legal costs spiraled after this group was started.
David Gurliacci (Editor) April 2, 2013 at 03:11 pm
That's true, and we can be a bit less sensitive about comments about public figures, but that…Read More comment he refers to really was too much (I deleted it, and I'm sorry it was up for so long). A lot of criticism, fair and unfair, can be heaped on public figures in these comment threads—and I don't mind them getting a bit of ribbing up to a point—but a comment full of insults has no place here. People need to resist that temptation.
David Gurliacci (Editor) April 2, 2013 at 03:02 pm
Porter Gladstone III -- I removed the comment. Sometimes in glancing over the comments threads, the…Read More offensiveness of a comment doesn't register. Patch readers are always invited to email me about comments that should be removed.
And I'm not deleting comments just because I disagree with them.
David Gurliacci (Editor) April 2, 2013 at 02:59 pm
A comment at this spot was removed for violating Patch's Terms of Use policy (a copy of which is…Read More linked to from the bottom of every Patch Web page). Normally, we tolerate some very sharp criticism of public officials, but simple name-calling and bile goes beyond the pale. Anyone commenting here is reminded not to post offensive comments about others (robust criticism is fine).
A Darien Parent April 2, 2013 at 02:36 pm
Tell me Kerry, why are there so many lawsuits? And in a larger percentage than Westport. New…Read More Canaan, or Greenwich? Why was this one filed?
The answers are there- you just need to be open minded.
A Darien Parent April 2, 2013 at 10:39 am
In this case, a lawsuit was the last option since the administration ignored multiple requests.…Read More Obviously, this is not what anyone wanted.
Schuyler Colfax April 5, 2013 at 03:32 pm
you might be right, but you present zero evidence for your case.
Schuyler Colfax April 5, 2013 at 03:30 pm
The entire reason this is an issue, Kerry, is because special education is a state law. If you don't…Read More want special education, I can respect that, but as long as it is a state law, as long as you believe in public education for all kids not just the healthy ones, or the athletes, or arts students, or music players, I don't see how you can expect parents to simply ignore the funding available under the law.
Porter Gladstone III March 28, 2013 at 08:04 pm
David,
You refer to Andrew Feinstein as attorney for the parents, then in a number of places refer…Read More to "Fieldstein" Is this the same person?
f the town were to lose federal funding for special education, the state would take over administering special education in Darien, Fieldstein said. That would minimize the town's cost of complying with the law.
So, if the State takes over Sped and the town spends less money as a result....are the parents going to be happy their kids are being watched over by the State? Is it a case of be careful what you wiish for?
If the end result is, the town spends less money and avoids the possibility of lawsuits,which I suspect are not uncommon in this area---why would the school district even bother fighting this? Or am I misreading?
diophantus April 2, 2013 at 03:01 am
Why dont you drive down the road in Darien, Porter, to Lindamood Bell where they teach droves and…Read More droves of learning disabled kids to read becuase the schools cant/wont do what is needed to teach them. Do you have any idea how painful it is for these smart, intelligent children to sit and not be able to sound out a word becuase of an invisible disability, like dyslexia. They give up afternoons for weeks on end and entire summers, for hours each day, just to learn to read. They are called "hidden disabilities" becuase from the outside these kids look normal, but they use more of their brain when they read and it makes it more difficult for them. They are stars of teams and performers on the stage, but they are every bit as disabled as someone in a wheelchair. They need your help, compassion and understanding, not ignorance.
diophantus April 2, 2013 at 02:44 am
Porter, if you had a child with special needs you would understand what a sensitive topic it is for…Read More those kids. None of the kids in special ed want to be there, and many try desparately to hide it from their peers. The parents are seeking anominity for the sake of their children, not out of cowardice. The brave parents that have decided to stand up to such aborrhent illegal activty deserve your praise. Get behind them. This is more than just a minor issue. This is a major federal law that was broken and it HURT CHILDREN. This is big big mistake on Darien's SPED director's part. BOE should place her on leave immediately!
Here's How the Old Library Looks as School District HQ
0 Recommend David Gurliacci (Editor)