Parent Post 1: Shouldn't the post about the slapping be "allegedly slapped"?  I'm not saying something didn't happen, but what ever happened to "presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law"?  When you read a posting such as this one, it gives the impression that this person has already been found guilty or admitted to the offence, and if so, why would they need to go to court?  The person posting should be more careful in his/her wording.
 

Parent Post 2: The abuse and mistreatment of special needs children will continue and be covered up as long as people like Danny Barnes and Shelley Denton are elected to the school board.  I know for a fact that the school district was found out of compliance on some issues by the state department of education and special training was required.  Yet it seems this was brushed under the table too. Until we get rid of the good ole’ boy system at DC, that’s all we will ever have.  A bunch of good ole boys.
 

Our Reply: We agree with both posts.  Let’s wait till the outcome to judge guilt or innocence and let’s create the change necessary to do what is right for the district.

Parent Post:

Those of you who are interested in the Jessica Renaker case (cm-07-1728)the teacher who slapped the special needs child, she will be going before a jury on Mon., March 24th.  If you would like to let the D.A., David Prater know that you want to see justice for this special needs child, feel free to e-mail him at dprater@oklahomacounty.org.
 

Parent Post

All Deer Creek Elementary parents need to wake up and realize what is going on within the school system. Families who have built custom homes in the area and are now trying to sell them in order to get out of this school district because their children’s needs are not being met! When quality leadership and backing are not being provided by the principal, this tells me that she doesn't care. Therefore, some of the teachers start to not care as well, and the children are the ones who have to pay the price.  

Parent Post

I would like to comment on the story about the teacher who slapped the special needs child.  First of all, as a professional that was just not the right thing to do.  She is supposed to be trained in what to do in stressful and frustrating situations.  We hold our kids accountable for wrong doings shouldn't this teacher and principal be held accountable as well.  But what I want to focus on mainly is the family. 

I know they are good Christian people who try to raise their children in a godly way.  They not only have one special needs child but two.  They deserve so much better than they are getting from the Deer Creek School System.  I know that one needs to be loyal to your school or place of business, but when it calls for the compromise of your principles and convictions, well it's time to look for employment else where.  God will honor your faithfulness to Him. 

The mother of the child who was slapped is by far one of the best coaches/teachers a parent could hope for their child to have.  She is not only driven and highly motivated she is so passionate about what she does.  She so loves kids!  Her husband is as wonderful as she. I wish nothing but the best for them.  I know that "All things work for good to those who love the Lord."  I don't know what God is doing in their lives through this trial but rest assured they will be blessed and something good is on the way!  Sad it just had to happen through the life of such an innocent little boy!  They are truly awesome people!  My prayers are with them.  God is faithful!

June14, 2007

Follow Up
In the Monday June 11, 2007 edition of The Oklahoman Your Views section, there was an Editorial titled
“Deer Creek Board Should Investigate”.  The authors of the editorial stated some interesting facts.

• The school continued the individual's employment even after their investigation.
   
• The individual was going to continuing teaching over the summer.
   
• The investigation by the sheriffs department was started by the parents of the child hit.
   
• The individual involved was not let go until after the sheriff’s investigation started.

It seems that the Superintendent and Principal had no problem retaining the teacher who slapped a special needs child.  Had the parents of the slapped child not reported the incident to the police, the entire thing would have been covered up by the school system -- again. 

The question is did the school board participate in the cover up as well?  It is hard to tell as there was no mention of it that we could find in the posted board agendas.

As difficult as this situation is, it is good to see that the child's parents did not allow this incident to be covered up.

As a side note, the rumor flying around is that the child who was slapped may be the child of a special needs teacher in another Deer Creek School.  The rumor also suggests that the parent is leaving the school district. If that is true, then the school district may have sacraficed a good teacher for a possible child-abusing teacher.

Do As I Say and Not As I Do
A Deer Creek Elementary Teacher is being charged by the District Attorney for hitting a special needs student in the face. While this entire situation is disturbing, how the school administrators handle it is beyond disturbing. 

School Administrators, because of how they handled the entire situation, were finally caught in one of their own lies. Parents have mentioned that while they may not like the school administration's lies, it is just a nuisance so there is not need to do anything. It is no longer just a nuisance but it is a fact that is affecting the welfare of our children.

What Did They Do?
School administrators basically said that the teacher was gone and the family was satisfied with how Deer Creek had handled the situation. Below is the exact excerpt from the paper:

"A statement from the school district states that the school principal investigated the situation and appropriate actions were taken. The statement goes on to say the situation was resolved to the parent's satisfaction and that district officials will cooperate with law enforcement. "

This is in direct contradiction to what the Sheriff's department had to say:

"According to the sheriff's department affidavit, the parents contacted the department saying they weren't satisfied with the school's investigation and told deputies they thought there were other instances of abuse."

What is the Double Standard?
Time and time again we have had posts to the DCS Post talking about how school administrators are not held responsible while they go after parents and children, sometimes with cause and many times without.

Case in point: Debbie Straughn, the same principal involved in this abuse case, was investigated for coercing the PTO into using the services of her future daughter-in-law. Superintended Becky Wilkenson issued basically the same statement mentioned above.

Superintendent Wilkinson's initial response was to say the facts were wrong and mentioned that the individual in question no longer works at the t-shirt company.

After being corrected, Superintendent Wilkinson then said that everybody involved felt that things were fine and there was nothing done inappropriately.

Where Does the School Board Stand?
There are parallels here as well. They chose to ignore it.

In regards to the Debbie Straughn / PTO incident, the board did not investigate or publicly address it. Their response was "we don't investigate anonymous claims." This was ironic since they had investigated this one and only made the statement after the facts posted on the DCS Post were found to be correct.

Regarding the Teacher slapping the child, neither Child Abuse at Deer Creek Elementary nor the Teacher's dismissal was ever addressed publicly. We searched the Agenda items for all meetings since the April 6, 2007 incident. There was nothing. Surely these were serious enough issues that they would feel the need to address them even if it were to talk about background checks and how to improve them.

The previous board president made the statement that they would not do anything unless you brought him a ‘smoking gun’. The District Attorney filing charges against the Teacher is without a doubt a 'smoking gun' and a hard one to ignore at that. Would lying about the facts surrounding a special needs child being hit count as another?

What is Deer Creek Schools Stand on Children in Special Education?
Principal Michelle Anderson in different situations when sitting with lawyers and parents discussing inappropriate handling of a special needs child has been reported to have yelled at the parents in defense of herself.

While many of the faculty and staff have a deep commitment to all students, it doesn't look like all administrators share that passion.

Why Does Deer Creek Turn Their Backs?
Our number one guess would be API Scores. Bad behavior, falling grades, and police reports lower both API scores and ultimately the school funding.

Conclusion
There is a wealth of talented and compassionate teachers and staff at Deer Creek. Unfortunately, we have to wonder about a few of the principals, the Superintendent and several of the school board members. Where are their priorities?

The next time you face a situation at the school and you feel that it is better to let it pass as no one was really hurt, stop for a second. Is it really harmless or is it simply a symptom of a greater ill? Will letting it pass truly not hurt your child or the next one that comes after them? Several administrators and school board members are betting you won't. Ultimately your children will pay the price, so take action. You'd be surprised at how many others will agree with you.

School administrators were finally caught lying. It makes you wonder what else have we been lied to about?