One of the main reasons we moved to Park City was the promise of an excellent education for our children. Our experiences in the district were not in sync with that promise.
Our daughter was diagnosed with mild dyslexia and her previous school had in place a series of accommodations to help her mainstream. So when we moved to Park City in June of 2006 we started reaching out to the school. We were surprised the teachers or administrators were unwilling to make any accommodations. We did not give up and kept asking but were not able to speak with the principal until halfway through into the school year. Even then, the school level administration was still not willing or able to make any accommodations. We found it a challenge to open the lines of communications with anybody. What a contrast from our previous school that actually helped us discover and overcome our child's dyslexia. At every level, we were pushed back. Eight months of work and nothing to show for our efforts.
Even then, our daughter remained at EHIMS and her first year in the blue group was a good one, but her second year we felt she was increasingly unchallenged. I had high hopes for Treasure when she entered, but it just got worse. She continued to get good grades, but she was increasingly bored and unchallenged at school. Several of her gifted friends left the district for more challenging environments and increasingly it became apparent to me that our daughter was not in an environment that was challenging enough. Then toward the end of her 8th-grade year, I attended the parent-teacher conferences and three of her teachers commented to us, that they were simply not able to challenge her. Three separate teachers, in three separate conversations. When we pushed for solutions, we were told that once she entered 10th grade the AP program would provide her an excellent environment, but with the existing structure, there was really nothing they could do. They were very good teachers, but I got the feeling that they did not have the resources or time to help our child.
As I see it, our local public school initially did not meet the requirements required under section 504 under the Civil Rights Act to provide accommodations to my child. Then later in her education, the district was unable to provide a challenging environment for my child.
This story is not unique as A growing number of parents simply give up and leave the district. A large group of parents are so frustrated that they started a new charter school in Park City. In many cases it is not because of some political ideology, it is because the PCSD is not living up to its promise of an excellent education for all children. This loss of engaged parents and high-performing students will begin to further erode the performance of our schools and start a cycle that will cause more parents to lose confidence in the local public school. I've seen this pattern before and even lived though it as both a parent and as a student. Once the cycle starts, it becomes increasingly hard to reverse.
As a longtime proponent of public education, I think it is time for all of us to roll up our sleeves and working to make our public schools better. It is time for administrators to stop pushing parents away and taking a defensive stance. It is time for politicians outside our community to stop playing politics with our children. It is time for people to stop sugar coating the performance of our schools and look hard enough to see that there is a problem.
Let's join together and start the work hard to make our school district is a place where people choose to send their children. We need to make it were no parent feels like they have to send their children away to get the best education for their child. My hope is that enough people will see what I see, and like me, choose to change course.
Our daughter was diagnosed with mild dyslexia and her previous school had in place a series of accommodations to help her mainstream. So when we moved to Park City in June of 2006 we started reaching out to the school. We were surprised the teachers or administrators were unwilling to make any accommodations. We did not give up and kept asking but were not able to speak with the principal until halfway through into the school year. Even then, the school level administration was still not willing or able to make any accommodations. We found it a challenge to open the lines of communications with anybody. What a contrast from our previous school that actually helped us discover and overcome our child's dyslexia. At every level, we were pushed back. Eight months of work and nothing to show for our efforts.
Even then, our daughter remained at EHIMS and her first year in the blue group was a good one, but her second year we felt she was increasingly unchallenged. I had high hopes for Treasure when she entered, but it just got worse. She continued to get good grades, but she was increasingly bored and unchallenged at school. Several of her gifted friends left the district for more challenging environments and increasingly it became apparent to me that our daughter was not in an environment that was challenging enough. Then toward the end of her 8th-grade year, I attended the parent-teacher conferences and three of her teachers commented to us, that they were simply not able to challenge her. Three separate teachers, in three separate conversations. When we pushed for solutions, we were told that once she entered 10th grade the AP program would provide her an excellent environment, but with the existing structure, there was really nothing they could do. They were very good teachers, but I got the feeling that they did not have the resources or time to help our child.
As I see it, our local public school initially did not meet the requirements required under section 504 under the Civil Rights Act to provide accommodations to my child. Then later in her education, the district was unable to provide a challenging environment for my child.
This story is not unique as A growing number of parents simply give up and leave the district. A large group of parents are so frustrated that they started a new charter school in Park City. In many cases it is not because of some political ideology, it is because the PCSD is not living up to its promise of an excellent education for all children. This loss of engaged parents and high-performing students will begin to further erode the performance of our schools and start a cycle that will cause more parents to lose confidence in the local public school. I've seen this pattern before and even lived though it as both a parent and as a student. Once the cycle starts, it becomes increasingly hard to reverse.
As a longtime proponent of public education, I think it is time for all of us to roll up our sleeves and working to make our public schools better. It is time for administrators to stop pushing parents away and taking a defensive stance. It is time for politicians outside our community to stop playing politics with our children. It is time for people to stop sugar coating the performance of our schools and look hard enough to see that there is a problem.
Let's join together and start the work hard to make our school district is a place where people choose to send their children. We need to make it were no parent feels like they have to send their children away to get the best education for their child. My hope is that enough people will see what I see, and like me, choose to change course.
