Last Thursday when I was at the LSC meeting, my new BFF Melissa, an avid Watch reader and volunteer documentary producer for lynnhappens (she really only recorded the meeting so Seth could post it but everybody likes to be thought of as famous) talked to me during a break and asked if I would look into the Item's coverage of an incident that recently happened at the Washington Community School You can put the link below in your browser and take a look for yourself. That way some of my critics out there (and you are growing) can't accuse me of spreading rumours and fictionalizing. Sensationalizing maybe.
This story has multiple victims and in fact everyone involved loses. You notice I said loses without calling anyone a loser. One's problems shouldn't identify oneself. In the words of Deval Patrick (and later plagiarized by President Obama) "Words matter". Language comes with baggage. That is why that the fact LSC member Vinnie Spirito painted the origins of special needs students can be found in in a home-life of drug addiction and alcohol, is troubling.
Yeah that's a problem for some but it's not their problem, the child has no control over it. Using such a broad brush is irresponsible and counter-productive to resolving troubles in the classroom. Sure you can come up with all kind of sociological data and demographic trends but you know what? You can't put milk and sugar on statistics and have them for breakfast.
Vinnie has a wealth of experience as principal and several years on the LSC and using such a poor choice of words may be due to editing, words taken out of context, or maybe he just had a bad reaction to prescription drugs (that excuse worked for Charlie Sheen). Anyway, let's not be too harsh on him, after all he's a snappy dresser.
http://www.thedailyitemoflynn.com/articles/2010/12/10/news/news02.txt (copy and paste)
I believe that he was speaking about that particular student, and the increasing number of children that suffer the consequences of their mother's drug and alcohol abuse while pregnant. Vinnie would never generalize and paint all special education students as being products of drug and alcohol abusers.
ReplyDeleteI have no reason to doubt you Rick BUT me thinks he should have protested more about this this misinterpretation of his words. Cause in the article I got the impression of generalization, Patti (And I am not president of her fan club) was precise with her wording.
ReplyDeleteSo sad that we have SC members who say such 'careless things about children and their families" and then to have another SC member defend his actions says it ALL...you are ALL in this mess of lies together....none of the school committee members are in it for the children and families and NOT ALL of use use or abuse drugs and alcohol....SC members are in it for themselves....greed, power, status, money, insurance....perks!!! You are lucky you do not have to deal with a speical needs child every day like we do. Then you would understand where we are coming from. SHAME ON YOU ALL.....
ReplyDeleteWe the parents of "special needs" children pay for it in the end as well as our children!
We have more of us (speical needs parents in Lynn) then your School Committee members put together and we will be voting for "CHANGE" this time around...so bye bye....we have had enough of your comments about our children and showing up at meetings and saying nothing to "stick up" for our children. You ALL vote the way the Mayor and the Sup Latham want you to....
Keep making excuses, BUT, we know who is saying and doing what!
ReplyDeleteCHANGE IS COMING......SC members should be worried, because they have done nothing for our children, but judge us and call us (parents) "drug and alcohol addicts" and that is why our children have speical needs.....SHAME ON YOU ALL......
One Angry Special Needs Parent in Lynn
As a father of a special needs child I can vouch for the difficulty you speak. I would like to point out though that RICK is he only one not just in press release through the Item.
ReplyDeleteNot sure what you mean, but he (Rick) defended the "comments & actions of his SC member...so I disagree with you.....after all it is an Election Year and you are hearing from him now....figure it out for yourself! I already did figure it out and will spread the word!
ReplyDeleteHis exact quote was, “You get kids who come from alcohol-syndrome mothers and drug-addicted mothers. These poor kids don’t even have a chance. We deal with them every single day.” (Itemlive.com March 4, 2011) This seems pretty broad sweeping but I'll give him the benefit of doubt.
ReplyDeleteLets say he was speaking about that specific child - shame on him. To speak about that specific child's family life, publically, to a newspaper is unprofessional and a violation of that child's confidentiality. If I was that little boy's mother I would contact a liable attorney; that is if he was speaking about that specific child. But if he was speaking about all special needs children, well that's a different story. To used a broad stroke painting all of our special needs children as products of "alcohol-syndrome mothers and drug-addicted mothers" speaks volumes about his ignorance and the biases that special needs families face.
Mr. Spirito should resign. The parents of Lynn should demand it.
A315, you are right it is an election year and politicians try to get as much positive publicity as they can. THAT being said, I only wanted to point out the fact that Rick is the ONLY committee member attempting to communicate in our growing forum instead of through staged press releases masquerading as journalistic press - ie. the Item.
ReplyDeleteMelissa, you type better than me. It was definitely a poor choice of words. The fact the choice was made was troubling.
ReplyDeleteThank You Melissa!!! You get it! I wish Stanley would stop pushing his favorites on us and start looking at the cold hard facts....it is election time and they are all worried...as they should be! Most have been in for far to long with no results....more than 5 failing schools, teachers getting pink slips again, no resources, no computers, no support, no special education support at ALL....WE ARE SO SICK OF IT!!!!
ReplyDeleteSO, WITH THAT BEING SAID...STANLEY open your eyes and stop pushing...RICK, MARIA AND DONNA...WE have had enough....after all you attend all the SC meetings, because me and my family have been there to see you....you do a good job but you are getting "bullied" into thinking these people are going to help you and your child.....they only understand VOTES....Melissa is SOOOOOO right.....KUDOS to her!
ONE ANGRY SPECIAL EDUCATION PARENT
Anonymous, you obviously didn’t read the article or my response with comprehension, nor did you do any research on benefits received by SC members. You also failed to pay attention to votes taken by members of the SC, otherwise you would not have reached the conclusion that we all vote the way the Mayor and Supt. Latham want us to. Posts like yours more resemble some of the posts that you would find on the Item blog. I guess it is pretty easy to throw anything out there and attack others without doing your homework when you can do it anonymously.
ReplyDeleteIf you don’t think that there is a population of students in the system that are born to drug and alcohol addicted parents that suffer permanent disabilities, then you are uninformed. Again, this student suffers the effects of being born to a drug addicted mother and is in the care of another family member. It is a fact. That is what Mr. Spirito was referring to. This child’s name was not released. I think that we all agree that there are many types of learning disabilities and kids born with fetal alcohol / drug syndrome is a direct cause of some learning disabilities and behavior disorders. The worst part of it is that the parent’s action is the direct contributor to their child’s disability.
Don’t you at least Google someone’s name at least find out a little about someone before you just spout off about them? You say that I am on the SC for money, insurance, and fame. You obviously don’t know that I gave up a 60k per year teaching job, gave up my insurance and retirement benefits when I took office. School Committee members are paid a stipend of $800 per month, which I wasn’t even aware of when I took office, and there are no other benefits. I also believe that some of us give most of that money back to the community. You also have not paid attention to how I vote and that in my ONE year on the school committee, I have voted for teachers over administration to the point that I was reported to the Ethics Commission for standing up for teachers, because I am friends with teachers. BTW: I was cleared. I have responded to every parent that has contacted me, shown up at every event that I can make, donated money when asked. Gone into schools reading to kids, stood up numerous times for Ford School and their innovative programs, spent a day serving slush at one school’s field day and threw an sundae party for kids in a Toys for Tots program. When a parent asked me to check into the Parent Liaison vacancy, I did in minutes. I know that I have much to learn. On Melissa’s invitation, I am attending tomorrow night’s PAC meeting, which is something that I inquired about with the PAC chairman my first month in office. I participate on this site when I can, so that I can become more informed, give opinion and hopefully provide information when I have an answer. To say that I have only begun to post here because it is election time is also incorrect. I believe that Stan can attest to the fact that I have been posting here pretty much since the beginning. How can you say that I have been on the SC for too long? I took office 14 months ago. Should we go to 6 month terms? Then I guess we can pander for votes full time.
Have you ever contacted me for anything? Have you even met me? Most of this response is only speaking for me, but if you wish to contact me I would look forward to it. 781-599-7999 / rstarbard@comcast.net. Homework is not just for kids.
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ReplyDeleteI agree that Spirto's comments were inappropriate especially as a former principal, I would expect so much more - whether he referred to that one 6 yr old or all special needs children in general! Capano has a special needs child so she should be very sympathetic.
ReplyDeleteFine to say vote all the present councilors and School Committee members out, but look at the last election - be sure what you are voting IN is better than what is just new on the ballot. I hope everyone is studying the new and present candidates before making a decision and casting a vote. I do believe that next year Latham's 3 yr contract expires so the new group can appoint a replacement or continue with her.
I would have to agree with President Obama on this one "WORDS MATTER". It is however, disappointing & very sad that we have an ANON-SPECIAL NEEDS PARENT, who is so angry and frustrated with the current system. It is my feeling that one can only truly understand the needs,issues, concerns and time that come along with a special needs child if you have a child yourself or very close family member. It puts such a strain on the whole family. We need to do better to reach out these parents/families/children and try and work together as a team to make things better or as better as they can be for a child/family. I would also have to agree that we should never "generalize or speak to the public about anyone's child/children.....no matter what the situation is. This is wrong on so many levels...
ReplyDeleteJust my opinion.....I can only hope that we can reach out to this parent and try to make things right or work towards an agreement for a better plan for their child.
With regards to Mary's comment about take a good look at the New and Present SC members...I hope you all do! I look forward to changes ahead.....
Dolores DiFillipo
Candidate for Lynn School Committee
Again, I do not think that Mr. Spirito was broad brushing special needs students and families. I think that we all agree that there are many types of learning disabilities and kids born with fetal alcohol / drug syndrome is a direct cause of some learning disabilities and behavior disorders. Maybe the way that it came out was also not the way that he meant it as well.
ReplyDeleteAnon; Now I would like to address your personal attack on me and my character. I understand that you are angry but, don’t you at least Google someone’s name and at least find out a little about someone before you just spout off about them? You say that I am on the SC for money, insurance, and fame. You obviously don’t know that I gave up a 60k per year teaching job and gave up my insurance and retirement benefits when I took office. School Committee members are paid a stipend of $800 per month, which I wasn’t even aware of when I took office, and there are no other benefits. I also believe that some of us give most of that money back to the community. You also have not paid attention to how I vote and that in my ONE year on the school committee, I have voted for teachers over administration to the point that I was reported to the Ethics Commission for standing up for teachers, because I am friends with teachers. BTW: I was cleared. I have responded to every parent that has contacted me, shown up at every event that I can make, donated money when asked. Gone into schools reading to kids, stood up numerous times for Ford School and their innovative programs, spent a day serving slush at one school’s field day and threw an sundae party for kids in a Toys for Tots program. When a parent asked me to check into the Parent Liaison vacancy, I did in minutes. I know that I have much to learn. On Melissa’s invitation, I am attending tomorrow night’s PAC meeting, which is something that I inquired about with the PAC chairman my first month in office. I participate on this site when I can, so that I can become more informed, give opinion and hopefully provide information when I have an answer. To say that I have only begun to post here because it is election time is also incorrect. I believe that Stan can attest to the fact that I have been posting here pretty much since he began this blog. How can you say that I have been on the SC for too long? I took office 14 months ago. I am not a politician, have no political experience and I am not being pushed by any political groups. Have you ever contacted me for anything? Have you even met me? Most of this response is only speaking for me, but if you wish to contact me I would look forward to it. If there is anything that I could do to help, just ask. 781-599-7999 / rstarbard@comcast.net. Homework is not just for kids.
Well said Rick! We need more SC members just like you!
ReplyDeleteRick talks,(What walks?)
ReplyDeleteNice Job Rick...
ReplyDeleteLets all stay focused on what is truly important here...Our children and their Education.............
Dolores DiFillipo
Oh Mary,
ReplyDeleteI am beginning to think you might be in a parent group, not a principal? However, some administrator is updating you LOL...let's just say there is always 2 sides to a story; then the real story...LPS is like a gossip, popularity, and against what's right colony...LET'S NOT GET OFF TRACK - IT'S ABOUT THE CHILDREN AND CHILDREN WHO CANNOT SPEAK FOR THEMSELVES AT THIS AGE OR TIME...what I mean is no one should label a child, or assume a child is the way he/she is without knowing the parents...the right thing here is for EVERYONE TO COME TOGETHER FOR THE CHILDREN...alot of parents pay high taxes and are not on welfare...I am asking you to please focus on the laws!!! Some parents aren't lucky enough to have a high paying job, can't work because they get called to the school to pick their child up too much, made a mistake had their child young, studying in college to make a better life for their family - with all this said they have a harder job than anyone on this earth if their child has a disability...NO ONE IS PERFECT THAT'S WHY THERE ARE ERASERS ON PENCILS...IT'S HARD TO ERASE A CHILD AWAY...I RATHER SEE THEM LIVING WITH THEIR BIOLOGICAL PARENTS, GRANDPARENTS, AUNTS, UNCLES, AND PRAY THEY DON'T HAVE TO LIVE IN A STRANGE HOME...I am upset that some of the blogs say they are basically "LOSERS" who work off the welfare/Section 8 system...not true!!! Count your blessings because you don't have all the worries these parents have for their spec needs child and possible medical issues! As for Dr. L she makes mistakes and sometimes big one's...she needs to surround herself with staff that are not on a mission to ruin people, parents, co-workers, School Committee members, and children! The SC and Super are only as good as 'WHAT THEY ARE BEING TOLD AND HAVE TO ASSUME IT'S TRUTHFUL AND LEGAL'...YES I AGREE WITH YOU THAT THE SC HAS A FUNCTION AND IT'S TO MAKE THE SUPERINTENDENT ACCOUNTABLE AND NOT WHAT GOES ON!!! Rick, you mentioned that some principals are afraid of retaliation so as a SC MEMBER WHY AREN'T YOU STOPPING THIS!!!
LET'S JUST ALL WORK TOGETHER!
Stop the Nonsense