NORWICH – The atmosphere was a touch lighter Tuesday night, as concerned mothers again addressed the Norwich school board.
During the portion of the meeting designed for public comment, the floor is open to attendees to address the board. Typically the public comment period receives no direct response from school board members. However, Tuesday’s public comments led to further discussion and a question-and-answer exchange between the board and parents.
Danielle Peterson and Penny Towner, both mothers of children with dyslexia, stood once again before the board to discuss their children’s needs and the district’s special education programs.
Peterson told the board she was standing before them to ask for help and to raise awareness for not only her daughter, but for other children who have no one to speak for them. Peterson said she feels her daughter is not receiving the proper materials and instruction to help her learn. She said that what was originally offered to her child by the district in September is not being followed through now. Peterson says she is not happy with the Committee on Special Education’s (CSE) progress and has placed calls to them, but has not received a response.
Peterson asked the superintendent to arrange for a new CSE meeting within the next two weeks. She also requested that her daughter’s services with the special reading teacher for out-of-the-classroom instruction for reading be 60 minutes per day, five days per week, for the remainder of the school year – to make up for all of the time that she feels has been missed. She said she can not prove all of the information completely accurate, except for the fact that her daughter has shown little to no progress in almost a year. Peterson said she would send in a book to get signed so she can log in times to check for accuracy.
Penny Towner spoke in response to a letter she received March 7 from Superintendent Gerard O’Sullivan following her last appearance in front of the board.
She voiced her ongoing concerns to the board about the special education program, saying the system in place should be addressed.
“The school can no longer provide a one-size-fits all program and accept that it will not work for all children,” said Towner.
Following the parents’ comments, board members gave feedback, and a discussion took place. Kathleen Coates said she has always felt that parents, teachers and the administration are in partnership with one another. She said she is familiar with helping children with a learning disability and wanted – in writing – what the parents and the schools have done together to jointly address the issues at hand.
Robert Patterson explained to the mothers that the information would be reviewed again by O’Sullivan and again discussed among the board. After a decision is made, parents will be notified about what the next step will be. Additional questions were asked of the parents and of the administration. Following the meeting, both Peterson and Towner say they felt having time to discuss matters more thoroughly with the board was productive, and they hope to continue to have feedback from the board in the near future.