What I did today. Unfortunately.

I am writing to all three of you essentially to keep the teachers in the loop, perhaps to give me more information since my daughter is in their care, but for the most part this is directed towards the administrator. I have also cc'd the board member since I feel the board should know what is
happening in their school.

My daughter Fiona was very upset after school today. She was crying in the car on the way home. This is not typical behavior for her, as she loved attending school until this school year. This is the story as she reported it to me.

6th-8th was in science with Miss May. She left the room for several minutes, leaving all the students alone and instructing them to read a certain passage. Very few did. At one point boys were drawing on the white board and another called them out, saying they should be quiet so that those who want to do the work could. She and the others who were following directions, including Fiona, were berated by the others.

The two girls told Miss May when she returned that most of the class had not followed directions and had been up drawing on the board. Miss May's answer was that they would all read the passage
together.

On the way out the ringleader nd other kids made fun of Fiona and the other girls for telling the teacher. He was behind Fiona in line and mumbled "snitchy snitchy snitch" to her in a sing song voice.

Fiona was very upset by this. She said today was "The worst day of school since I found out Laura was moving last year".

I am very upset by the fact that the class was left with no supervision for so long, and that the class is assigned to Miss May and she finds herself alone with the entire group. As a middle school teacher myself, I know better than to leave middle school students with time on their hands for any period of time.  Whole classes of students should not be left alone during class while teachers seek out supplies that they should have had prepared before students arrived. If we have two teachers per classroom, I would expect that students would be monitored sufficiently. Miss May should have been allowed to find materials (she wasn't prepared with) by leaving the class in the care of Miss Elizabeth or Miss Ariel. Anyone who has ever been in a classroom could see what would happen next. I suppose I'm glad it wasn't something that damaged property or hurt a student.

I have seen a general slide downhill in the behavior of students this year. The incident on Tuesday with Fiona and the fourth grade boys, for instance, should not have been allowed to occur. I have seen a distinct lack of support from administration for teachers and I have seen no indication of a clear discipline policy being followed. A school as large as ours should have ways of handling student
behavior more efficiently.

In addition, I find it inappropriate that Fiona's, and Daisy's, classes attend art class on the second floor without an administrator or certified teacher present. At this time I do not want Daisy or Fiona to attend this sham of an art class until and unless such a certified person is in attendance as well. Both girls report behavior problems and lack of instruction at these class times. If my wishes are not carried out, I will be removing both girls from school during art class from now on.

I expect that both of these situations will be handled promptly.

Bridgett Kennedy