I hear from parents all the time about these appeals being denied about going to one middle school over another. There is a question of who they should go to to vent their problems.
Some say they should go to DAVE HEGAN, Acting Head of the PARENT INFORMATION CENTER. Since he also serves as HEAD OF TRANSPORTATION, he is uniquely qualified at sending people to the back of the bus.
Still others direct parents to UNCLE TOM IRRABINO who seems to have been annoited by the COMMERCIAL STREET CROWD to be in charge of parent put-downs.
I hear about these lines that seemed to be more geometrical than linear. I'm not smart like the GOOD DOCTOR.
I filed an appeal to send my daughter to Pickering instead of Marshall and filled a page with reasons that I wanted her to go to Pickering. When I called a couple weeks later, I was told that my appeal had been denied. When I asked why, I was told that my reasons were not "compelling enough." I was also told that it said on my appeal form that if I had a problem with it, I needed to talk to Tom Iarrobino. I have to say I think it is something of a leap to put these decisions in the hands of the secretary of the school committee. It certainly doesn't sound like it should be part of his job description at all. NOW I am hearing that people that never applied for appeals at all have been added to the waiting list for Pickering. It is all very mystifying to me. The city seems to thrive on "who you know" above all else.
ReplyDeleteAll I wanted was an equal shot for my kids, honestly, without having someone pull strings for me or trying something underhanded. I'm not giving up and not going away...
Sue Walker
Its sad Sue to hear how your situation was handled, but I can easily imagine many before you in similar circumstances being given short shrift. It seems that what is sorely needed in the LPS is a student advocate position independent of administration to handle grie-vances by students and parents. In lieu of this, I wonder how many times private counsel have been employed to get a fair hearing (suing LPS), especially in school assignments. Its seems far too easy for the insiders (the 1%) to dispense with us common folk who play by the rules. I'm sure they get a laugh out of it. Keep fighting and good luck.
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