Can’t put my kids in school

[gillbott]

Call the biggest, most read local paper and ask for the journalist who handles Human Interest Stories. Discuss the problem with him/her...Perhaps s/he would like to shed some light on this (fill in the blank) travesty.

You and similarly wronged district parents could also go speak at open session during district board meetings. Three minutes are given in CA. 12 font double spaced is about three minutes because is much easier to write and read what you want them to hear. They'll just nod and take fake notes, but if three or five parents stood in line and addressed, they hear the same thing for 15 minutes, and might think they need to address it.

Board meeting agendas and minutes are online. Towards the end of a meeting, anyone in the public can also request that an item be placed on next meeting agenda. Again, the board probably won't do it, but they now have a group of similarly minded parents motivated to take this on and they'll have some closed sessions and change it pretty quickly. No response via board? Then go to the news.

 

[HRZ]

My guess is the missing second page n the districts waiver policy is supposed to be the Federal guidelines for free or reduced lunch ...these are updated annually by school year and are posted in federal register among many places.

A parent whose income exceeds these limits might have a more limited legal beef about enrollment fees than somebody with a true low income .....and right now we don't know where OP stands .

I do know that income verification for lunch is just about an outright prohibition about even checking ...but the IL form used for fee waivers seems to wisely include a statement about false answers and the penalities involved....in my state, pa, unless that warning is on the form then enforcement of false statement penalities is moot...and the administrative idiots in my district do not put the state required warning statement on basic enrollment docuements ..

 

[HRZ]

I agree in general one needs to get students enrolled and attending ....but here is one flip side to failure to verify income or residency or status as to being expelled elsewhere and not qualified for enrollment and a couple of visa status and vacinnation issues ...

IF some administrator rushes to enroll a student wo proper verification of eligibility in that district and later it is discovered that student was not entitled to be enrolled in that school it can be a daunting exercise in due process to get him or her out and enrolled in the correct school or situation and extra daunting to collect tuition
Of course special rose colored glasses are issued for the recruitment of promising athletes in HS .

 

[gillbott]

The goal is to get the student registered and in school without having to pay a registration fee first, a registration fee that should be waived for those who cannot afford to pay.

I was just trying to quell a "my school supplies list is super expensive too" secondary discussion. That is very different than charging registration fees in order to waive them. Which is wrong in more ways than I can even understand. Crazy how schools work, even free ones.

 

[quincy]

I think the detour from the main question had been brief and most posts stayed on topic.

 

[laurakaye]

The goal is to get the student registered and in school without having to pay a registration fee first, a registration fee that should be waived for those who cannot afford to pay.

Teachers pay for a lot of this out of pocket in CA. Teachers get about $250. a year to supply their classrooms. Expensive items like whiteboard markers, when supplied to kids for free, are mistreated, stolen or lost. Clorox wipes are for wiping desks and shared class supplies, same wih tissues, because a lot of kids come to school sick, and a middle or high school teacher teaches about 120 kids a day, and may need a sick day or two. Teachers shouldn't have to provide things out of pocket though, they work a lot of weekend hours, no pay.

It's important that things like fancy backpacks and super amazing binders not be chosen, back packs can be used until worn out, stuff like that. Copy paper is a pain to supply, but districts with 10 or more schools run out of their paper stipend, and a lot of copying happens.

My daughter is an early childhood teacher at a private school. Each parent pays at least $100 per semester for "supplies." But even with the "supplies fee," teachers are not given a supply budget, but are expected to have unlimited art displayed in the room, so my daughter goes to the dollar store and buys googly eyes and pipe cleaners and markers and a ton of other art supplies. She has 20 kids, so $2000 per semester (or even half of that) would be like a WINDFALL to her. Then other teachers come in and "borrow" things from her. I taught HS years ago and I always kept pencils and paper in my desk at all times because I never wanted a kid to be able to say he/she couldn't do their homework because they didn't have a pencil or paper. And when you become a teacher, no one hands you so much as a red grading pen. If you wanted tissue in your room, you bought your own. The same was not true of administrators. Not much has changed. I was amazed when I got out into the business world. "You mean I can order the kind of pens I LIKE?"

 

[stealth2]

Teachers pay for a lot of this out of pocket in CA. Teachers get about $250. a year to supply their classrooms. Expensive items like whiteboard markers, when supplied to kids for free, are mistreated, stolen or lost. Clorox wipes are for wiping desks and shared class supplies, same wih tissues, because a lot of kids come to school sick, and a middle or high school teacher teaches about 120 kids a day, and may need a sick day or two. Teachers shouldn't have to provide things out of pocket though, they work a lot of weekend hours, no pay.

It's important that things like fancy backpacks and super amazing binders not be chosen, back packs can be used until worn out, stuff like that. Copy paper is a pain to supply, but districts with 10 or more schools run out of their paper stipend, and a lot of copying happens.

Which is why there are parents like LDi, myself and others who pony up for extra supplies. You're preaching to the choir, gillyweed.

 

[stealth2]

My daughter is an early childhood teacher at a private school. Each parent pays at least $100 per semester for "supplies." But even with the "supplies fee," teachers are not given a supply budget, but are expected to have unlimited art displayed in the room, so my daughter goes to the dollar store and buys googly eyes and pipe cleaners and markers and a ton of other art supplies. She has 20 kids, so $2000 per semester (or even half of that) would be like a WINDFALL to her. Then other teachers come in and "borrow" things from her. I taught HS years ago and I always kept pencils and paper in my desk at all times because I never wanted a kid to be able to say he/she couldn't do their homework because they didn't have a pencil or paper. And when you become a teacher, no one hands you so much as a red grading pen. If you wanted tissue in your room, you bought your own. The same was not true of administrators. Not much has changed. I was amazed when I got out into the business world. "You mean I can order the kind of pens I LIKE?"

I hear ya! I was always a tad stunned by the list of required supplies (a micro-recorder!), but tried to make sure my kids went in with extra pens/pencils/crayons, a few boxes of tissues, some hand sanitizer. I figured that, while I couldn't really afford it? There were likely others even less able to.

 

[Just Blue]

My daughter is an early childhood teacher at a private school. Each parent pays at least $100 per semester for "supplies." But even with the "supplies fee," teachers are not given a supply budget, but are expected to have unlimited art displayed in the room, so my daughter goes to the dollar store and buys googly eyes and pipe cleaners and markers and a ton of other art supplies. She has 20 kids, so $2000 per semester (or even half of that) would be like a WINDFALL to her. Then other teachers come in and "borrow" things from her. I taught HS years ago and I always kept pencils and paper in my desk at all times because I never wanted a kid to be able to say he/she couldn't do their homework because they didn't have a pencil or paper. And when you become a teacher, no one hands you so much as a red grading pen. If you wanted tissue in your room, you bought your own. The same was not true of administrators. Not much has changed. I was amazed when I got out into the business world. "You mean I can order the kind of pens I LIKE?"

The most important job in the world is educating our children. It disgusts me that Teachers, who are so grossly underpaid, are having to pay for the basics in their classroom. I think I have a solution to that problem...but it's radical and would really detract from OP's thread.

 

[laurakaye]

The most important job in the world is educating our children. It disgusts me that Teachers, who are so grossly underpaid, are having to pay for the basics in their classroom. I think I have a solution to that problem...but it's radical and would really detract from OP's thread.

All that being said, just yesterday, out of the blue, I got an instant message from a student I taught in the mid-80s.

"Hugs my favorite teacher. I miss you!"

I have not seen him since the 80s, but we're friends on Facebook. School was hard for him but what he told me he remembered is that I encouraged him to write. All of his words were not always spelled correctly, and his punctuation wasn't perfect, but he could truly express himself well. He's served our country and has a good life. And he still writes. He had it in him ... he just needed someone to tell him to do it!

 

[stealth2]

The most important job in the world is educating our children. It disgusts me that Teachers, who are so grossly underpaid, are having to pay for the basics in their classroom. I think I have a solution to that problem...but it's radical and would really detract from OP's thread.

LOL On one of my FB boards, someone was looking to donate art supplies to a teacher (construction paper, pencils, crayons and so on. The ONE teacher to respond? Basically told her she has all that stuff - what "specialty" stuff could she donate. Gobsmacked was I. Accept it, say thank you, distribute to coworkers as appropriate.

 

[gillbott]

Which is why there are parents like LDi, myself and others who pony up for extra supplies. You're preaching to the choir, gillyweed.

My daughters went to a great charter school. The third grade teacher decided to send home a wish list the week before winter break- something like "I do love all the Best Teacher Ever coffee mugs, and orchids, but here's a list of all the things our entire class would benefit from." This was how they were able to get ceramicist clay, other art supplies, new books, and and things like that. We'd meet outside of school, estimate the costs overall and divide by number of kids. The teacher was in tears the first time we did it. By the next break, EVERY teacher had a new collection of goodies to use through spring semester!! This would work at a regular elementary school too.

 

[gillbott]

My daughters went to a great charter school. The third grade teacher decided to send home a wish list the week before winter break- something like "I do love all the Best Teacher Ever coffee mugs, and orchids, but here's a list of all the things our entire class would benefit from." This was how they were able to get ceramicist clay, other art supplies, new books, and and things like that. We'd meet outside of school, estimate the costs overall and divide by number of kids. The teacher was in tears the first time we did it. By the next break, EVERY teacher had a new collection of goodies to use through spring semester!! This would work at a regular elementary school too.

Lol and I am preaching to the choir; and unintentionally got this discussion started - OP was trying to understand how a school wouldn't waiver the registration fee without her first paying it...That's just plain wrong. It's sad that district boards so often put the kids needs so far down the list, by making rules like this.

 

[quincy]

Yes. This thread went off track. It was a serious topic.

I hope "I'm concerned" will return with an update.

 

[not2cleverRed]

Yes. This thread went off track. It was a serious topic.

I hope "I'm concerned" will return with an update.

OP does have some postings on a school's FB page. Last post was 4 days ago, and echos what she said here.

I am just flabbergasted by this annual registration fee. It seems to me, from an administrative POV, that it would make more sense to just register the kids, collect the fee or application for a waiver, assign the classes, and then once the dust settles look and see who among those who applied for waivers qualifies - and if someone does not qualify, *then* pursue them for the balance.

It is annoying to read the posts of those opining about whether OP resides in the district - there is no reason to assume that she does not. But this is a district that requires annual proof of residency, and allows only the parent who has the utilities/housing in their name to register the children. So, in the case of OP, if the utilities and mortgage are in her husband's name, she still can't register them, even if she brings in a copy of her marriage license.

It is annoying to read the posts commenting about fancy backpacks. (Costco donated backpacks for every child at my kid's old elementary school. And I saw plenty of them get active use.) I agree that some low income homes make financial choices that look odd to those who are more financially secure. But it is still in society's best interest that they be allowed to register for school.