The parents of a special-needs child who was not allowed to
participate in kindergarten graduation ceremonies in June at
Jackson Elementary School described their emotions and presented a
plan of action to the School Board Monday night.
The parents of a special-needs child who was not allowed to participate in kindergarten graduation ceremonies in June at Jackson Elementary School described their emotions and presented a plan of action to the School Board Monday night.
John Dorrance, the father of the child, said he only found out about the kindergarten graduation because the parent of one of the other children in the class – not a special-needs child – asked if the family would be attending the graduation the next day.
“With further reflection, I realize that I saw none of the special education parents at the ceremonies,” he read from a letter written after the graduation. “They were not given invites. They don’t know what happened.”
Dorrance said his son and the other “six or so” special education students did not make graduation caps as the other kindergartners did. While the non-special education students sang songs, the special education students’ job was to hold signs that spelled kindergarten, “a living signpost for the others’ ceremony,” he said.
The other kindergartners, according to Dorrance, walked individually to the center of the stage where they were handed a make-believe diploma, but not the special education children.
Three of Jackson’s kindergarten teachers, Laurel Rupp, Sally Pollard and Amy Boushey, responded to the letter.
“This is not about disabilities,” they wrote. “This is about children who complete a year of kindergarten in one of our three kindergarten classes. The other children were not excluded on the basis of achievement or on the basis of their disability, but because they were not a part of the kindergarten program.”
Superintendent Carolyn McKennan said the board needs to consider the situation.
“We as a district do not have a policy for promotion or graduation ceremonies,” she said. “It has been up to the individual sites. This past spring, we had a ceremony that caused us to think we might need a policy … We want to make sure all of our families feel a part of the school community.”
School Board trustees were asked by Vera Todorov, the boy’s mother, to consider a board policy of inclusion for all school events.
“I was also outraged (at her son’s exclusion),” she said. “I took a practical approach. What we need is a decent way of treating all human beings, all the little ones.”
Her recommendations included forming a committee of parents and educators to create the policy and setting a deadline for creating the policy – her suggestion was October.
Trustees agreed that some type of policy was needed.
“I think we have two issues here,” Trustee Del Foster said. “One is promotion ceremonies, and I personally don’t believe in them, except for high school graduation … The second part is the inclusion part, and I think we’re not only talking about special-needs children here, but all children … I think we need a comprehensive policy.”
Trustee George Panos said he agreed but didn’t think the district should do away with promotions ceremonies.
“We should certainly make that (creating a policy) a priority,” he said. “Regarding the ceremonies, I think we should take a look at that. It’s possible that there could be (if there were no more ceremonies) a backlash to those that spoke out and to others.”
Trustees were in agreement that the discussion should continue and that Todorov’s recommendations should be taken into consideration, particularly the time element.
“Inclusion is such a powerful word,” Trustee Shellé Thomas said. “It’s what this district should be doing for all our students.”
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