My email to the Roslindale Pathways Advisory Group

All:

I assume that you all have heard the news that the Haley will be converting to a K-8. 

 

I am sending this email for three  reasons. 

 

First is to let the whole committee know how much I have enjoyed getting to know you in the past year.  You have become my friends and I look forward to seeing you at the Irving next year where my daughter will be a 6th grader, and to fighting to good fight for Boston kids with you.  And if anyone wants to get together for a drink from time to time . . . well, let’s just say I could use some more of that in my life.

 

Second, I want to say how I feel about the Haley K-8 conversion.  There have been many times in the past year when I felt caught in the middle.  I came to RPAG meetings in good faith, hoping to offer what I could to the pathway.  But about halfway through the year I became aware that the Haley was making a tremendous push to convert to a K-8 and that it had a pretty good chance of success.

 When I first learned of those plans, my first reaction was not particularly positive.  Partly because of the pathway and partly for personal reasons.  As much as my kids and I love the Haley, my 5th grader has been a bit stir crazy and is really looking forward to the increased opportunities the Irving will offer her. 

As the Haley’s RPAG representative, I tried to play a limited role of increasing communication between the two sides.  That put me in a position to listen to what both sides had to say.   And I came out of that process convinced that the K-8 was the best thing. 

 The parents who pushed for the K-8 are parents of kids with IEPs, and they spoke on behalf of many other parents of kids with IEPs who were largely unaware that there was even a push being made for a K-8.  I have known some of those kids since they were toddlers.  I think of one child I know who came to the Haley in a mid-level grade and has been there for two years now.  The improvements she has made has been remarkable.  When asked about her favorite thing about the Haley she said, “I made friends.”  This was something new for her.

 I understand that the Irving could technically teach all Haley students, and I understand that there are some special-needs students that the Haley cannot accommodate and the Irving can.  I believe I am quoting Karen when I say that the kids with IEPs that the Haley helps the most are those who are capable of being in a regular classroom 80 percent of the time. (I assume she’s right about that -- I really don’t know the details.)

 What I have come to understand is that for those kids a full-inclusion school is absolutely the best educational opportunity for them, academically and socially.  I believe their IEP’s say that.  That means no AWC and no subseparate classrooms and no missing electives for extra help with academics.  Those kids, like all kids, have the right to learn in an environment that is best for them.  And for those kids who full inclusion is not right for -- diversity of schools is a strength of the BPS. 

 (I don’t want this to be an argument about semantics.  I know full inclusion does not mean every kid no matter what special needs they have can come to this school.  It means that the kids in the school are not separated out from one another based on their special needs.)

 

I would also note that in sitting at RPAG meetings it often struck me that the Haley was not a particularly good fit with the other elementary schools. The curriculum seems very different. 

 Third, I am writing to ask for civility in this debate.  The Haley parents who fought for the K-8 are members of your community and you will be crossing paths with them for a long time to come.  Also, they are lovely people, just like all of you.

 

All of them, like every parent, wants what is best for their kids.  That does not make them “entitled.”  It makes them caring parents. 

 

The conversion to a K-8 does not make the Haley like a charter school.  It is a public school with union teachers.  It will participate in the same lottery as all the other schools and every kid will have the same chance of getting in as they have at any other school.  Kids with IEP’s the Haley cannot accommodate will not be assigned there any more than they would be assigned to a different BPS school that can’t accommodate them. 

 
The video presented to the school committee was not a “fancy video.”  No offense to the people who made it -- it was lovely -- but it’s just a parent-made video. 

 It is not the goal of these parents to take away resources from other schools or from other kids or to “jump the line” on k-8 conversion.  They made a presentation to the administration that was compelling. 

 

The fact that resources are limited does not mean that we should hold everyone down -- and yes, that is how some of the comments come across.  It means that we should all fight for more resources so that every kid gets the education they need and deserve.  I am committed to doing that, and I know all of you are. 

 

Nina

Maia's poem

This is a poem Maia wrote for a poetry contest . The theme of the contest was "Hidden Nature."  The poem she submitted was illustrated, but I can't figure out how to get the illustrations onto this blog.

SMALL NATURE 

by

Maia Frost

 

Flowers can be big or small,

But if you look closely,

You will see it all.

 

With roots, stems, petals, and leaves

Even pollen, and seeds.

 

Look around.

 

They might be camouflaged,

But look.

You might see

Bees, butterflies,

and maybe dragonflies.

 

The stripes on bees are smaller than bees.

Butterflies’ eyes are big enough to see

You and me.

The dragonfly’s emotion

Can cause a commotion,

Even though it’s quite small.

 

The flower can be home to it all.

 

Morgan's poem

Morgan won first place in her age group at the West Roxbury Public Library poetry competition for this poem.  The theme of the poetry contest is "Hidden Nature."

Small Things

                                                                    by Morgana Frost

 

Small things,

Hidden away,

Behind the wall,

Next to the tree,

Waiting, waiting,

For someone

To discover their secrets.

 

Small things,

A snail with a spiral shell,

A flower with exactly twelve petals,

No more, no less.

A blackbird’s  feather,

A leaf the color of sunset,

Wanting, wanting,

To be found.

These secrets are shared.

 

 

Small things,

Things that are not cared for,

A mother wren’s old shell,

A fox’s blood on the soiled ground,

A blade of grass,

Waving, waving,

In the gentle breeze.

A small thing,

Waiting all it’s life,

For freedom.

Small things,

Yet there are others,

Such as who likes who,

Or what your friends say

Behind your back.

Needing, needing,

To be hidden.

These small secrets

Are not meant to be-

Or maybe do not want to be-

Shared.

 

But secrets,

Little things,

A cat with no tail,

A dog with a round bone,

Two identical flowers,

These small secrets,

Are meant to be shared.

They are waiting,

Now and forever,

For someone...

 

Is it you?

Little Mermaid rant

Here's an essay I wrote lo these many years ago.  Click on the text to be able to read it better.



What my 7 year old daughter says about insurance

I think it is good to have insurance in case of a hurricane or tornado, or someone robs your house.

My own private 9-11

Like most people, the events of September 11, 2001 had a profound impact on my life. But unlike most people, the events I'm speaking of were only peripherally related to planes being crashed into buildings.

My best friend, Jennifer, had been diagnosed in early September with an incurable form of cancer called multimyeloma. Her first operation -- I think it was to put pins in the hip that the cancer had already eaten away at -- was on September 10. I had snuck into the recovery room that night, claiming to be her sister (and wasn't I?). She loved survival stories, and I had brought her a copy of My Side of the Mountain.

On the morning of September 11 I went to work as usual at my law firm. I was eight months pregnant. A colleague came into tell me about the first plane crashing. I think I knew about the second plane before I went into to the conference room to start a deposition, but I don't think the twin towers had collapsed yet. Maybe they had.

The deposition was going fine. The plaintiff was slightly nutty, but nothing too out of the ordinary. Her claim was that some of her original artwork had been damaged when water leaked into her storage unit.

When we broke for lunch, the four of us -- the plaintiff, her attorney, the court reporter, and me -- left the conference room to find the lights in the office suite out and the place almost deserted. Everyone had left -- fled, maybe -- except for a handful of senior attorneys.

I called my husband and, knowing he was probably in his own world and had no idea what was going on, told him to stay off the subways. Then I went back to work. It seemed better than giving up. Plus, my baby was inside me and would be whether I was at home or at work; and, I had promised Jennifer I would visit her in the hospital after work. It wasn't after work yet.

Eventually the senior partner stopped by my office and said he was leaving along with everyone else "Okay," I said. "I'll turn off the lights." He gave me an odd look. "You should leave too," he said.

So I went to visit Jennifer a couple hours early. She was wan and clearly in pain, but she gave me her usual grin. "It looks like the world is coming to an end," she said, gesturing to the TV.

And even though Jennifer lived, most of the time quite well, for more than three more years, every time I think about the terrorist attacks I remember her saying that, and how with her death, the world did come to an end.

health insurance rant

I just came across this article in Slate about what happens under the Obama health insurance plan if you don't have health insurance. Like the current health insurance plan in Massachusetts, if you don't have health insurance you have to pay a tax penalty.

I don't know much about the Obama plan. I'm a progressive. Therefore I think health care reform is good. Although what I really want is socialized medicine, where we don't pay premiums, we pay taxes.

Nevertheless, I despise the most progressive health care law in America, under which I live: the Massachusetts health care plan.

My husband and I are both self-employed, so we have to pay for own health insurance. Nine years ago I had a Blue Cross plan through COBRA. It cost about $700 a month, as I recall. My COBRA ran out, so we signed up for our own Blue Cross plan, for about $100 more a month. There were approximately annual increases, until finally we were paying $1,400 a month for health insurance, which is significantly more than our mortgage and more than we can afford.

Now don't get me wrong, we're not poor. But we are broke, in debt, struggling. My husband idiotically get over his head with consumer debt--just because he's an idiot, no good reason like drug addiction or a gambling habit--and his entire income goes to his minimum monthly payments on his debt, with anything left over going to pay his income taxes on which he has fallen more and more behind. My income supports our family, and not particularly well. As in, I get anxiety attacks thinking about how I'm going to pay for day camp for my kids so I can work this summer, but I will pay for it, perhaps going in to debt a little to do so. We have have little retirement savings (we are in our mid and late forties) and have put away approximately $0 for our kids to go to college.

Now, somewhere along the line of this story Massachusetts passed health care reform,, making it illegal for us not to have health insurance. Not that I would ever consider going bare. I have two kids.

Last summer we signed up for a new health care plan that seemed to be perfect for us. It's basically a catastrophic loss plan. Our premium is about $300 a month, we pay out of pocket for almost everything, we have no prescription coverage, and the plan kicks in after we spend about $10,000 or so for care.

And why can we do this? Because Massachusetts original health care reform, under Governor and former presidential candidate Dukakis, who I know consider my hero, required that any health plan doing business in Massachusetts accept new members regardless of pre-existing conditions. That means that if we get into an accident or get a serious diagnosis, we can switch back to Blue Cross in 24 hours.

In December Massachusetts declared that our new plan was illegal.

Now, I want to explain that the Massachusetts plan helps us not one bit. It makes it illegal for us to not have an approved health insurance plan, but it doesn't provide any help for us. We're over-income for that.

I also personally know at least two people who have moved to Massachusetts so that they can take advantage of the free health-care plan for low income people, and not have to bother to get a job. One of these people is physically disabled. Although I think she could make a decent income with a little effort, I'm not about to argue with SSI.

The other person is a young woman with two years of college who just literally could not be bothered to get a job.

About fifteen years ago when I worked in human services, helping homeless families, people outside the industry would tell me that they were sure people moved to Massachusetts to take advantage of our "generous" welfare benefits. I would laugh at them. Nobody was moving to Massachusetts for the $448 a month they could get from welfare (the monthly benefit for a single mother with one child).

But people really do move here so I can pay for there freaking health insurance with my taxes, while I can't afford a decent plan for myself.

I do want to say that I understand why my current plan is not legal. After all, as an attorney I specialize in liability insurance issues. It's like joining a gym: everyone pays the same rate whether you end up going to the gym or not, so that the people who don't use the gym subsidize the people who do.

Serious illnesses are expensive. I have a close friend who lost a child to cancer after the child received treatments that cost the health insurer millions of dollars. The premiums of healthy people paid for that treatment. I certainly don't begrudge it. That is why the law says that I need to have expensive health insurance that hopefully my family and I will never need--until we do. But at this moment in time I just can't afford it, and frankly I feel like I paid my dues.

So that's my rant.