By DAN TOMASELLO
LYNNFIELD — Three concerned parents who have children with special needs expressed concerns about the state of the Student Services Department during an emotional School Committee meeting held in the Lynnfield Middle School auditorium on Dec. 12.
The Student Services Department oversees the district’s special education programs. During the meeting, a number of Student Services’ teachers and paraprofessionals discussed the department’s challenges that include staffing shortages, abrupt resignations and administrative changes that have placed more demands on educators and support staff.
Ford Avenue resident Teri Card said two of her three children require special education services. She said the Differentiated Learning Program (DLP) serves students who are “the most vulnerable children in our schools; a minority subset of the population whose needs are highest.”
“When advocating for our children, we are faced with dishonesty by administrators, if we are responded to at all,” said Card. “Though our requests are substantiated, data-driven and discussed with private professionals well before we share them, we are often labeled as ‘difficult’ and ‘unreasonable.’ ”
Card said Student Services Director Roberta Keane refused to meet with her to discuss her children’s needs.
“For the last three months, the director of Student Services refused annual IEP meetings for my children on at least three separate occasions,” said Card. “It took state intervention for the district to attend our legally required IEP meetings. Meanwhile, my children’s needs continue to go unmet. To me, this is unreasonable.”
Card said the parents of children with special needs have “dedicated countless hours researching, training and advocating to become our children’s behavioral and educational experts.”
“Yet, we are constantly discredited,” said Card. “A recent example is my Nov. 1 meeting with Superintendent Kristen Vogel and Human Resources Administrator Danielle Leonard. Mrs. Vogel asked me if I was an educator in an attempt to disparage me and devalue my concern, a concern regarding the lack of licensure for a district employee. Mrs. Vogel’s intention was not to refute the facts: It was an all-too-common attempt to gaslight me. I may not be an educator by choice, but I have become an educator by necessity.”
Card said one of her children is enrolled in Lynnfield Middle School’s DLP classroom. She said her child was forced to miss school for three weeks after a series of events occurred, and said they did not return to school until Dec. 5
“It took three weeks for the district to respond to my requests for a safety plan for my child to be safe from other children’s maladaptive behaviors,” said Card. “Three weeks and not once did I any receive schoolwork, a phone call asking how my child was doing or any other air of concern. It was quite the opposite actually. I found myself calling on a daily basis, begging for a response, pleading for a plan — rarely ever receiving a returned phone call. I showed up at school multiple times, only to be turned away because nobody was allowed to speak with me. Although my child’s absence turned out to be a blessing because, during that time, there was no teacher teaching those students and at least two administrators were acting as one-to-one support staff. The majority of staff who worked in that classroom had already quit, including the special education teacher. Staff positions remain unfilled while new vacancies continue to emerge. This negatively and disproportionately impacts our most vulnerable schoolchildren here, as shown by increased dysregulation and behaviors.”
Card said special education staff members “cannot advocate for our children” because “they’ve been warned that if they report issues or concerns, then there will be consequences.” She said this behavior has resulted in special education staff members leaving their jobs.
“Staff are leaving with minimal to no notice midyear,” said Card. “When an educator is directed not to recommend or to withhold services from these children, in direct conflict with the children’s needs, it compromises the staffs’ integrity and feels unethical because it is.”
Card also noted that another middle school special education teacher resigned on Dec. 11 and a LMS speech-language pathologist also announced her departure on Dec. 12.
“Why isn’t leadership fixing the existing resource, culture, autonomy and morale problems to retain the current staff?” Card asked. “We will continue to see educators run from this district until the problems in Student Services are resolved. The culture issue did not end with Mrs. Vogel’s medical leave. The problem lingers, particularly in the Student Services Department starting with Roberta Keane.”
School Committee Chair Rich Sjoberg apologized to Card for what happened to her and her family.
“I want to thank you for coming this evening,” said Sjoberg. “I am sorry that has been your experience and I am sorry that has been your experience the last three weeks.”
Murphy Way resident Amy Feinberg recalled that her daughter is enrolled in the middle school’s DLP program.
“All of the parents in the DLP program need to rise up and speak because our children are not getting what they deserve,” said Feinberg. “We entered thinking that we were all coming in for a united cause, fighting a collective battle as DLP parents. We have compared notes, and it has become increasingly and glaringly obvious that the education program is playing favorites. If you do not have legal representation, having been trained with navigating the system, have paid for advocates, have written numerous letters and are willing to put yourself in the line of fire, your children will not get what is rightfully for theirs.”
Feinberg said her daughter is “supposed to receive one hour a day from a licensed special education teacher and one more hour of a licensed DLP teacher in a small group.”
“When I meet with my team, I asked if she is even receiving the two hours that my child is supposed to receive,” said Feinberg. “They could not answer me. They did not have the proper notes and data to tell me. That is a little scary.”
Feinberg praised the Student Service Department’s paraprofessionals who have worked with her daughter.
“All of you have taught her so much, and we have been blessed with some of the most amazing ones,” said Feinberg. “However School Committee, understand that some of these amazing people have now left the district because of the way they are treated here. Neurotypical children have licensed teachers for a full six to six-and-a-half hours. However, our children are only receiving them for two hours if we are lucky. To me, that is not only unfair, it is outrageous.”
Feinberg accused Student Services officials of “manipulating” the wording written on students’ IEPs even though “they know the rules.”
“Families like us have to fight for basic education for what their child is actually entitled too,” said Feinberg. “The wording has been crafted with vague descriptions and the system has been trying to game us for too long. Why is it that when we write to special education administrators such as Roberta Keane, our emails never get responded to? We must fight for our families to receive this education. Sadly, many of us often leave our IEP meetings in tears, battling for a substandard education and hidden services for our children. It needs to stop now. We demand accessible education, not hidden, that is equitable for all children. We should not have to empty our pockets and our hearts to get the most basic of services.”
Feinberg said it is “clear” that the School Committee has “not been fully listening” to parents’ concerns. She requested that the school board hold a meeting where DLP parents can discuss their concerns.
“Superintendent Vogel’s offer to swap roles to a raffle winner was not just insulting, it showcased blatant disregard for staff and community concerns,” said Feinberg. “We are not here to be kept in the dark. We demand transparency and honesty, especially in the notes that come home, and timely communication. These teachers have been crying out for support, yet their pleas have fallen on deaf ears. They are burnt out, frustrated and leaving. They demand respect and should be heard. It’s our children who are suffering. DLP families are not going to be silenced. The time for change is now. We ask the School Committee to please value our children and give them the education that every single one of them deserve.”
Kathleen Fitzemeyer, a lifelong resident who works as a special education teacher in another district, said she is “pretty disappointed” with how Lynnfield Public Schools is “being run right now.”
“The alarming rate of which teachers, specialists, administration staff and paraprofessionals are leaving is cause for concern, especially within the special education department,” said Fitzemeyer. “My son’s preschool is currently facing challenges such as the absence of a full-time paraprofessional in an integrated classroom, which impacts children with varying abilities. Critical services such as speech pathology are in jeopardy, affecting children with communication disabilities. IEP meetings are being disrupted, creating uncertainty for families relying on consistent support. This is particularly troubling for children like my son, who is autistic, who rely on services and will greatly benefit from smaller classrooms which are now in jeopardy.”
Fitzemeyer strongly urged the School Committee to address the issues impacting the School Department in order to “repair the damage caused.”
“Our children deserve a thriving educational environment untainted by excuses and complacency,” said Fitzemeyer. “Let us recommit to the excellence that Lynnfield’s school system once was and show the teachers and staff the respect that they deserve.”
The meeting’s attendees gave all three women a thunderous round of applause.
Acting Superintendent Tom Geary informed the Villager that Keane has taken a medical leave of absence until Tuesday, Jan. 16. Leonard stepped down as the district’s human resources administrator on Friday, Dec. 15.
