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Girl's fear of school costs district thousands
The Morning Call ^ | 5/18/08 | Andrew C. Martel

Posted on 05/18/2008 12:31:17 PM PDT by Dawnsblood

Rebecca Maykish is 17 and dreads school so much that she stopped going regularly.

In fourth grade.

Those days off have come at a price to her school district and the Palmerton taxpayers who support it. Since 2004, the Palmerton Area School Board has authorized payments of more than $45,000 to help Rebecca make up for her missed school days. Rebecca's mother, Barbara, has used the money for at-home tutoring and education software purchases. She has also spent it on modeling classes for Rebecca, subscriptions to teen magazines, and travel to New York and Toronto with a summer camp.

All of the expenses were approved by the district.

Until December, Rebecca's education was paid through a compensatory education fund, which is supported through local property taxes and controlled by the school board. Compensatory education funds are distributed to students whose school districts have failed to give them an appropriate education, as required by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act.

(Excerpt) Read more at mcall.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: education; school; specialed; taxmoney
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To: DaveLoneRanger; 2Jedismom; aberaussie; Aggie Mama; agrace; Antoninus; arbooz; bboop; bill1952; ...

ANOTHER REASON TO HOMESCHOOL

This ping list is for the “other” articles of interest to homeschoolers about education and public school. This can occasionally be a fairly high volume list. The main Homeschool Ping List handles the homeschool-specific articles. I hold both the Homeschool Ping List and the Another Reason to Homeschool Ping list. Please freepmail me to let me know if you would like to be added to or removed from either list, or both.
41 posted on 05/18/2008 2:37:38 PM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: metmom; Tired of Taxes; wintertime; ExTexasRedhead

I am happy that this girl was able to get out of going to that prison with textbooks. It’s sad to think of all the kinds who have gone through what she no doubt has but were forced to drag themselves into school day after day, week after week, and year after year.

The American public needs to stop using those places.


42 posted on 05/18/2008 2:43:10 PM PDT by Clintonfatigued (Karl Marx supported free trade. Does that make him a free market conservative?)
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Comment #43 Removed by Moderator

To: Morgana; tbw2
Notice how ever that the child will go to a summer camp but not school. That should tell you something.

Notice that the mother won't homeschool the child because she doesn't feel capable enough, but she spent the money that was supposed to be for tutoring on everything but...

That might tell you something, too.

44 posted on 05/18/2008 2:49:28 PM PDT by Amelia
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To: Morgana
This chick is in California, last week 600 students got into a mass fight at school. You all wonder why she has a phobia about going to school.

No she isn't, she's in Pennsylvania, although for part of last year she went to a private boarding school in California. She was scared there, too.

45 posted on 05/18/2008 2:52:20 PM PDT by Amelia
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To: Dawnsblood
More proof that property taxes are way too high.
46 posted on 05/18/2008 2:55:12 PM PDT by Vision ("If God so clothes the grass of the field...will He not much more clothe you...?" -Matthew 6:30)
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To: Morgana

Good point!

Perhaps the girl isn’t mentally ill at all. Could be she is entirely rational.

By the way, the article states that the mother has been brought into court on truancy charges many times, fined $11,000, and now has her house for sale in an effort to pay school truancy fines.

Remember! Behind **every** government school teacher and principal stand armed policemen, courts, and foster care workers fully prepared to make a parent’s life a living legal hell! ( Real bullets in those guns on the hip!)


47 posted on 05/18/2008 2:55:33 PM PDT by wintertime (Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.)
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To: metmom
Nobody ever paid me to homeschool my kids and financed trips for us.

From the article, it appears that what you need to do is (1) find pyschologists and psychiatrists to say your children can't go to school because it's too stressful for them, then (2) hire a lawyer to argue that the school needs to pay for alternative education because your child can't go to regular school, and (3) fight all the way up to the state board of education when the district tells you you're full of beans.

48 posted on 05/18/2008 2:56:00 PM PDT by Amelia
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To: Morgana
When I read the article, it seemed to me that the location was in Pennsylvania, in the Allentown area. Hopefully, media scrutiny will stop this nonsense. The mother must be on some type of welfare, she was described as unemployed, and the father's in Peru.

I smell a setup for a lifetime disability check here.

49 posted on 05/18/2008 3:05:16 PM PDT by hunter112 (The 'straight talk express' gets the straight finger express from me.)
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Comment #50 Removed by Moderator

Comment #51 Removed by Moderator

To: wintertime

“Behind **every** government ... and foster care workers fully prepared to make a parent’s life a living legal hell!”

You have no idea what the Hell you’re talking about.


52 posted on 05/18/2008 3:42:09 PM PDT by CodeToad
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To: Jemian
So the district is paying the parents to HOME SCHOOL their daughter.

Nope, the mother says in the article that she doesn't homeschool her "Barbara Maykish has opted not to homeschool her, saying she worried that she would not be able to help Rebecca with her math and writing problems." Right before this sentence the readers find out that the girl has very limited writing skills and can only do 4 function math

The school district is paying the mother to babysit her. At the end of the article the article says... "Because her daughter has gone the past year without any formal education, Barbara Maykish said she thinks she might need another compensatory education fund."

Nice

53 posted on 05/18/2008 4:00:28 PM PDT by SoftballMominVA
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To: SoftballMominVA; Amelia

Nice job of pointing out the child’s very obvious shortcomings in writing and math.

It seems to me that many of these sort of children have very little skills in the way of writing and math.

I would bet she is polite as can be! Greets people in a very proper tone and the whole nine yards!


54 posted on 05/18/2008 4:31:50 PM PDT by shag377 (Illegitimis nil carborundum sunt!)
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To: wintertime

This lady was wrong in what she did. She got herself into this mess and I don’t feel sorry for her one bit.


55 posted on 05/18/2008 4:32:54 PM PDT by metmom (Welfare was never meant to be a career choice.)
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To: retrokitten

Naw, she’s butt ugly. No one is going to let that doggie model.
Yes, that’s unkind, but did you get the last sentence? Mommy wants another $45000!


56 posted on 05/18/2008 4:33:15 PM PDT by Sparky7450 (The deadline for complaints was yesterday.)
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To: CodeToad
We were the pioneers of homeschooling in our county. The truant officer was at our house twice, the CPS once.

I personally, know the threat.

Behind every government school teacher and principal stand armed police, social workers, and courts that are fully ready and prepared to make and government school resister's life ( parent or taxpayer) a living legal hell!

(Real bullets in those guns on the hip!)

Government school workers are NOT Pollyanna or Mother Teresa look-alikes! They are more like the movie “Gremlin”. They look sooooo cute and fuzzy, but there are really nasty legal teeth hiding under that so sickly sweet smile.

57 posted on 05/18/2008 4:36:10 PM PDT by wintertime (Good ideas win! Why? Because people are not stupid.)
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To: Amelia

Welfare. Why should I work when I can get the politicians to steal from the working public and then hand it over to me?


58 posted on 05/18/2008 4:44:36 PM PDT by sport
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To: shag377
She says in the article she spends three hours a day "learning." Learning what? By her own admission and her mother's, she can't write, she can't do math - she can read and sites as a favorite book 'The Zen of Zombies' So what does she exactly do all day? Not to mention how incredibly sequestered she has allowed her to become. The poor child has ONE friend in her neighborhood. I get that she is afraid of school, but did that prevent her from joining local teams, clubs, groups?

The mother is neglecting her and milking the system. She has allowed her daughter to fall so far behind, it will require herculean effort to catch up.

But, you are right, she is probably just as polite as they come

59 posted on 05/18/2008 4:47:01 PM PDT by SoftballMominVA
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To: shag377
It seems to me that many of these sort of children have very little skills in the way of writing and math. I would bet she is polite as can be! Greets people in a very proper tone and the whole nine yards!

Being illiterate and innumerate engenders politeness? Not based on the sample around here.

60 posted on 05/18/2008 5:29:56 PM PDT by jabchae
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