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Chetek schools are meeting needs:
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| By: David Peters, President, Chetek School District Board of Education |
August 05, 2009 |
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Editor's note: This is a response to Linda Laumann's letter to the editor published in the July 29 edition of The Alert.
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A letter to the editor last week described the concerns of a writer whose grandchild is a special education student in the Chetek School District at Roselawn Elementary. We cannot and will not go into specifics about this particular case due to legal constraints and a strong sense of propriety and responsibility to the student and the family.
However, let it be said at the outset, the issues as portrayed in the letter do not completely or correctly describe the situation. The district does not shy away from legitimate criticism, but we will not hesitate to dispute mistaken criticism either.
Open enrollment and the solemn intent to be the best rural school district in Wisconsin gave rise to a quality-driven approach to managing the district. This commitment is evidenced by a balanced scorecard so all interested parties can judge performance for themselves and a quality program that requires, among other things, that all complaints be documented and followed up by administration to the satisfaction of those involved if at all possible.
Given the opportunity, the district treats complaints, particularly those involving student wellbeing, with the utmost gravity and deference. There is a formal method of dealing with these situations and, coincidentally, the district's official conflict resolution model is described in the Back to School issue of The Alert.
The special education process in the Chetek district has produced significant accomplishments. The director is sought out by other districts throughout the state to share the methods developed here to improve outcomes in special education. So this is not a situation where the resources the district has are not capable of meeting the needs of students. It is also fair to state this is not a question of willingness. Both sides are clearly interested in meeting the student's requirements. The Board of Education does not tolerate the type of indifference described in the letter.
The issue then becomes a matter of expectations. How do the capabilities of the district, and special education generally, match the expectations of students and their families? Those capabilities and expectations can only be aligned through communication-meaningful exchange. The aforementioned constraints suggest a letter to the newspaper is not the most effective method of airing concerns of this type.
Unresolved or unaddressed problems diminish the school district and the students, staff and citizens which comprise it. Avoiding or failing to address complaints is against district policy and counter to best practices to which we are committed. We urge anyone with a concern or complaint about the school district to contact the administration or a member of the board. And let the system work for you-for all of us.
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©The Chetek Alert 2010
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