IN THE ASBURY PARK PRESS - OCEAN COUNTY EDITION 1/31/08 UPDATED! PLEASE READ THE ARTICLE AND BLOGS!!

[lmel...@optonline.net]

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080131/NEWS02/801310691/-1/NEWS10#gslPageReturn

"JacksonMills" is a %&^## coward. I am going to see if I cna call
this jerk out...read on

JACKSON -- Parents whose children require occupational therapy met with
school officials Wednesday night to discuss changes in their
children's care that caused half of the school district therapists to
resign in protest.

The meeting at Sylvia Rosenauer Elementary School, which more than 50
parents attended, was the second in a series of three. Some of the 338
students districtwide who need the therapy are receiving reduced
services, while others are not receiving care at all because five of
the 10 therapists have quit, some abruptly, since September.

"We want to let the parents know that we are not changing the
students' (individual education programs)," school board president
Marvin Krakower said earlier Wednesday. "Their children are still
going to get the therapy they need."

The therapy tactic, known as a transdisciplinary approach, changed
students' regimens from individual sessions to a mix of group and
individual sessions. Many of the therapists believed there was not
enough adequate training for the other faculty and staff, district
spokeswoman Allison Erwin said.

"The idea was to get as many members of our staff exposed to the
therapy as possible," Erwin said. "We still think it is a good idea,
but there were some flaws with the way we implemented the new
program."

The number of students receiving the reduced services is changing all
the time, officials said. The district recently hired a part-time
assistant, and a part-time therapist is set to start during the second
week of February. Another part-time therapist currently employed in
the district will soon start working full-time.

But the parents who attended Wednesday's meeting complained about a
lack of communication and the environment that caused five people to
resign within several months.

"This is a joke," said Lou Melograna, who was there advocating for his
daughter in the third grade. "Obviously, there is a problem. Every day
my daughter doesn't get what she needs is a day that slows her
development."

The director of special education, Jeanne Pollock, took full
responsibility for the changes and their aftermath.

In the group sessions, a student's general education teacher, the
teacher's assistant and the therapist would all work with the student
together.

"If a student needs help with sitting up straight in their chair, the
other staff would be exposed to the therapy and could help the student
outside of therapy," Erwin said.

The regimen for each student is different depending on need. The
therapists mainly work on students' fine motor skills, such as holding
a pencil or copying from a blackboard, which they would need to help
them learn, Erwin said.

The district still plans to go forward with a transdisciplinary
approach for students' therapy, but it wants to return its staff
levels to an acceptable level first.

For now, the district is committed to replacing as many of the
therapists as soon as possible, and it has reverted to the therapy
system that the parents, student and therapists are familiar with.

A third meeting is scheduled for tonight at the district's
administration building. Parents with children in middle or high
school are invited to attend.

In your voice
Read reactions to this story


LouMelograna wrote:

Hey JacksonMills, first of all did you ever hear of TieNet? No? Well
let me clarify it to you: Its the database that contains all of the
information on IEP for students and is accessible by all Special Ed.
personnel (which includes EVERYONE in the Special Ed Superintendents
group, dept., etc.) And to be perfectly clear with more facts , they
do NOT even need a login/password to access tTieNet from within their
own school's computer network. Perhaps you should quit spewing
bullsh*t and get your story straight. I see you hide your name behind
an alias. You sound like someone who would be a friend or family
member or Superintendent Pollock. Is there any chance you could be her
husband or another family member? Perhaps you can reveal yourself
instead of cowering behind a screen name. Yes, I am calling you out in
the public eye. You got the guts? I know I do.
2/3/2008 8:33:32 AM
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mom08527 wrote:

I somewhat agree with what "educated" wrote with the exception of
blaming Mrs. Carney. Mrs. Carney was out on maternity leave and
actually returned earlier than she originally planned. The program has
been working since she came to the district. The blame belongs to Dr.
Pollock and Dr. Lane who destroyed the program in Mrs. Carney's
absence. Why wasn't Dr. Lane standing up there with her collegues to
accept some of the blame at these meetings instead of sitting among
the parents looking bored and uninterested? There is no excuse for Dr.
Lane...she has been in Special Education in the past and KNOWS the
laws but has not aided in inforcing them this year...shame on her!
2/1/2008 12:23:52 PM
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educated wrote:

As a parent and an educator the whole Jackson School District under
the direction of Dr. P and her 2 Supervisors Ms. C and Dr. L is a
MESS!! My child's case manager has changed every year my child has
been in the Jackson School system. Last year was the first year I felt
any real progress was made and the case mgr. and team were fabulous.
So what happened?? The school Psychologist quit and the LDTC was
transfered, the then current Director resigned and the Social Worker
was not rehired!! So much for stability, progress and quality. The
Jackson School District needs to open up there eyes as to what is
Actually going on here. The present Director and her Supervisors have
hidden agendas, they are Bullys and are Not looking out for our
children. They must resign and leave education!.
2/1/2008 10:34:59 AM
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dbldutymom wrote:

I think JacksonMills08527 is the one that has the facts mixed up and
obviously dosen't have a special needs child or they would know that
all the records on every child is at the fingertips of any school
administrater ...... any time I have called to speak to ANYONE in
reguards to MY childs services they are able to pull up the file right
on thier desk computer . I think JacksonMills08527 needs to recheck
the information . I am 100% in support of the O/T's and wish things
could be different , and I do not BLAME the O/T's...... I blame the
Director for being ignorantly unknowledgeable about the laws of
special education.
2/1/2008 10:12:09 AM
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mom08527 wrote:

As a mother in the district with a son who receives OT, I disagree
with JacksonMills08527. My son is one of those students that they
wanted to put into group therapy. His IEP clearly states individual
therapy ONLY! I have a copy of the dictated schedule by the Special Ed
Admin that was given to OT's which has my son working with 3 other
students.Get your facts straight before you speak. As far as what the
district spokesperson said, OT is NOT only about sitting up straight
in a chair! My son receives OT for sensory issues which tends to go
hand in hand with Autism. When he entered the program, I couldn't get
shoes on his feet, he wouldn't sit next to anyone, he had limited fine
motor control and the list goes on! What has been done in the district
is a disgrace and they should be ashamed of themselves.
2/1/2008 9:37:58 AM
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petcar623 wrote:

JacksonMills comments: When the Director was a principal, the school
she was in had NO self-contained classes. If a student needed more
than resource or inclass support, she suggested out of district
placement or at Crawford. She did not want her numbers to be affected.
WELL, no matter WHERE that student is, their state test scores go back
to their home school. OBVIOUSLY she did not know that! How can a
district put someone in a special education position who has NO
special education background or experience. The parents of Jackson
brought this question about the OT's to the district in October. We
were being proactive but it was always swept under the table. Maybe
next time they will actually listen to us! We have had to fight for
the appropriate education for these students for the past 4-5 years.
When will the special education parents get a break?
2/1/2008 9:15:06 AM
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petcar623 wrote:

Bethgotr is right. They did not leave because of the TD approach, it
was because they were being told to do something that was ethically
and morally wrong. They could lose their licenses. They were given
schedules to follow for students across the district & knew that it
was wrong. Groups of 4-5 students. This was because they absorbed the
2 OT's that left in June and Sept. The director lied the other night
about the OT's seeing students on an individual basis when the IEP
said group. It was NOT happening. They contacted parents of students
being directly affected so they could advocate. The director thinks
that we will not even need OT's somewhere in the future! She doesn't
like the fact that students are pulled for therapy because it can
"bring down their numbers." It's always about the numbers for her, not
the students. Since things didn't improve, they wanted to leave on
their own terms and not fired like the first OT and most got other
jobs BEFORE leaving.
2/1/2008 8:54:14 AM
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petcar623 wrote:

The district must realize that according to N.J.A.C. 6A:14, and a
letter from the Director of the Office of Special Education Programs
for the state of NJ, districts must develop goals and objectives that
are based on each student's need for the services. It is not
permissible for students to be placed into programs where the
provisions of related services is directed by the program in which the
student is placed rather than by the IEP, nor is it permissble to have
the goals and objectives of related service determined outside of the
IEP process. In addition, students cannot be placed into settings that
provide only group counseling with no opportunity for more intensive
services on an individual basis when the IEP requires them. Contrary
to the Director of Speial Educations belief, she DID break the law by
mandating that students with 2 individual sessions would then recieve
2 group (in-class) and 1 individual. ILLEGAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LEARN THE
LAW!!!!!!!!
2/1/2008 7:56:22 AM
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bethgotr wrote:

I am one of the OTs that resigned due to the changes that were being
implemented by Dr. P. I have 20 yrs. of experience as an OT, 6 in
Jackson. I have worked in schools that successfully used the
transdisciplinary model. The watered down version that Dr. P wanted to
implement was a ruse to squeeze in as many OT sessions as possible in
a short time. Schedules were handed to OTs that grouped children
together from different grades without any regard for their individual
needs. When we voiced our concern and disgust at this we were told to
do what we were told. So instead we found jobs in school districts
where we are once again respected and our professional opinions are
valued. I am sorry that so many of your children that I really care
about and worked so hard with are not getting any OT right now, but
sometimes you have to stand up for what is right !
1/31/2008 9:11:30 PM
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shep07 wrote:

JacksonMills talks about the facts, yet she/he states, as I understand
several times, those aren't facts. Obviously she/he knows the Director/
is a friend of hers Question: What qualifications does this Director
have for Special Ed? Being principal of a school is not sufficient.
Dr. Pollock admits that she made a mistake, she should pay for her
mistake, stepping down is in order. The District lost the best OT, the
children are now paying the price. IT IS ABOUT THE CHILDREN! I would
like to know if the Director met with the OT regarding the
transdisciplinary approach. The OT are the ones with the experience
and expertise or where they being forced into doing something that
they knew was not in the best interest of the children. I thank and
admire the OT who stood up for what they believe in, they have done an
excellent job with the children. The system worked, it should have
been left alone.