Posted on 05/25/2008 1:36:54 AM PDT by LibWhacker
PORT ST. LUCIE Melissa Barton said she is considering legal action after her son's kindergarten teacher led his classmates to vote him out of class.
After each classmate was allowed to say what they didn't like about Barton's 5-year-old son, Alex, his Morningside Elementary teacher Wendy Portillo said they were going to take a vote, Barton said.
By a 14 to 2 margin, the students voted Alex who is in the process of being diagnosed with autism out of the class.
Melissa Barton filed a complaint with Morningside's school resource officer, who investigated the matter, Port St. Lucie Department spokeswoman Michelle Steele said. But the state attorney's office concluded the matter did not meet the criteria for emotional child abuse, so no criminal charges will be filed, Steele said.
Port St. Lucie Police no longer are investigating, but police officials are documenting the complaint, she said.
Steele said the teacher confirmed the incident took place.
Portillo could not be reached for comment Friday.
Steele said the boy had been sent to the principal's office because of disciplinary issues. When he returned, Portillo made him go to the front of the room as a form of punishment, she said.
Barton said her son is in the process of being diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a type of high-functioning autism. Alex began the testing process in February at the suggestion of Morningside Principal Marcia Cully.
Children diagnosed with Asperger's often exhibit social isolation and eccentric behavior..
Alex has had disciplinary issues because of his disability, Barton said. After the family moved into the area and Alex and his sibling arrived at the school in January, Alex spent much of the time in the principal's office, she said.
He also had problems at his last school, but he did not have issues during his two years of preschool, Barton said.
School and district officials have met with Barton and her son to create an individual education plan to address his difficulties, she said. Portillo attended these meetings, Barton said.
Barton said after the vote, Portillo asked Alex how he felt.
"He said, 'I feel sad,' " Barton said.
Alex left the classroom and spent the rest of the day in the nurse's office, she said.
Barton said when she came to pick up her son at the school Wednesday, he was leaving the nurse's office.
"He was shaken up," she said.
Barton said the nurse told her to talk with Portillo, who told her what happened.
Alex hasn't been back to school since then, and Barton said he won't be returning. He starts screaming when she brings him with her to drop off his sibling at school.
Thursday night, his mother heard him saying "I'm not special" over and over.
Barton said Alex is reliving the incident.
The other students said he was "disgusting" and "annoying," Barton said.
"He was incredibly upset," Barton said. "The only friend he has ever made in his life was forced to do this."
St. Lucie School's spokeswoman Janice Karst said the district is investigating the incident, but could not make any further comment.
Vern Melvin, Department of Children and Families circuit administrator, confirmed the agency is investigating an allegation of abuse at Morningside but said he could not elaborate.
This whore of Satan, Wendy Portillo, belongs in a classroom with children about as much as Ted Bundy belonged in a woman’s dormitory.
Whatever evil befalls her, she deserves.
As a conservative Christian, I would ask you why she should be the "people's" burden, rather than the family that brought her forth, AT ANY TIME OF HER LIFE?
Then why is he in the classroom in the first place? That's the crux of the problem. You, and others like you, advocate putting these children in regular classrooms where they are open to this while at the same time stultifying the learning process for everyone else.
The selfishness of parents who demand their disruptive children be forced on other children abounds.
It's all about MY child!
It's all about MY child!
It's all about MY child!
And to heck with everyone else's.
And probably a fan of those so called reality shows were teams are allowed to vote members of an island.
Nice...you said it...I was merely restating what you said. I sure hope you have no contact with children.
Wrong! You did not. You completely screwed up what I said with your own emotional reaction. Try again.
Of course it's Bush's fault! /s
NCLB is just another chink in his armor. Along with mandatory psychological testing, I think he has slipped into the dark side. Big spending and more gum't are not in my definition of conservative.
I voted for him the first time, and held my nose the second. I love the Man, but I have rally been disappointed in many of the things that have been done, or not done.At least he gave us good judges, and has prosecuted the war (though I would like to use a few nukes!). He has honored our troops, but he has screwed the taxpayers (and don't give me the crap about Congress spending, he gave them the checks)...
McCain? Hahahahahahahahahaaaaaaa!
I remember when I was in school, I was disruptive as well, though I did not have a disability. When I was a group of students chose to ostracize me for being a jackass, I felt bad as well. I think though that it helped me realize that the world is not going to revolve around me, and that if I want to have better relations with people, I will need to learn to properly behave myself in social situations.
In retrospect, I am grateful for the learning experience, but with regard to this child having a disability, part of me feels bad for him.
Democracy...
Why we have a republic.
If the boy had problems, deal with the problems, but public humiliation when the kid has a disorder is just cruelty.
If the class cannot function with him in it, pull him out, but this is an obscenity.
Sums it up, just right! She was wrong!
No thanks...you and your type aren't worth the effort.
Until you have been in a teacher's shoes, trying to control a class full of undisciplined children who are raised by overly permissive parents, you will never understand how a teacher will sometimes search for innovative ways to bring a child to the understanding that some behavior is NOT socially acceptable by his peers. Sometimes the only thing that will make sense to a child is being accepted by peers.
Naturally, this would not hold true for an autistic child, but as I said before..... do we know the teacher had any idea that this child might be autistic. And lets be honest, the child has not yet been diagnosed, perhaps they will find that he is not autistic after all. As Rawhide so appropriately pointed out, "who knows?" So let's don't be so quick to judge this teacher!!
A root cause of these issues is the underlying notion that disabled people are normal.
They are not normal no mater how much much we pass laws and issue decelerations stating that they are.
It would appear the child is unfit to be in normal school.
To prevent repeated disruption, isolation seems necessary.
Bingo.
Maybe this will teach him to straighten up and stop being a little spaz.
If that's the case, then what's the big deal here?
I'll bet he cares now. The teacher did a great job of pointing out to everyone that actions have consequences.
"Berates disabled kid" The headline is intended to invoke outrage and make the kid a victim - Disabled is a person in a wheelchair, not a disruptive brat.
“...a teacher will sometimes search for innovative ways to bring a child to the understanding...”
Sorry, but wanton cruelty directed toward a five year-old isn't an “innovative” anything.
The teacher should be canned, barred from teaching everywhere and for all time, and given a job more suitable to her talents, gifts, and apparent educational attainment levels.
Like cleaning toilets in a flophouse.
sitetest
Sorry, it was not so much "the liberals in education" as the parents of these children - the parents did not want their children to be stigmatized with a label and segregated from the rest of the school population, but they also wanted their children to receive the services required to compensate for their disability.
This left one teacher to deal with the special needs of one student (which could even include catherization for incontinent students) while trying to teach a full class of "normal" students. On its face, the idea is ridiculous, but is still practiced in some school systems.
Actually, it's being pushed on more and more school systems, in part because of parents and in part because of No Child Left Behind.
If special education students need to pass the same standardized assessments as regular education students, it is thought that perhaps they'd better be learning the same things in the same environment.
So you have a problem that these children are put into a regular classroom and problems occur. You think it perfectly acceptable then, because of that issue, the teacher's frustrations should be taken out directly on those children to prove that point? Do you also kick crutches and walkers out from under people.
Yeah. Are you on crutches besides the mental ones?
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