Position on Pre-k?

[TheCat]

Dr. Wilcox,
I would like to know your position on Pre-K ESE. Rumours have it that you dislike pre-k ese and plan on eliminating it from the county over the next year or 2 with a private organization or perhaps Early Intervention taking over until Kindergarten. "They" say you did this in Louisiana. I would like to know the truth.
Thank you for your reply.
cat

[Unregistered]

I am a big advocate for pre-k ... we were one of the first districts to jump to universal pre-k in LA ... I have asked the Title I team to bring a Title I expenditure plan that includes expanded pre-k ... tell the rumor mongers they really got it wrong this time ... ps ... my privatizing days are behind me ... Lord willing and if the creek doesn't rise ... Clayton

[Ruthanne Gash]

We had a wonderful early intervention pre-k program, using the High Scope curriculum. I believe it was funded through a grant. It was eliminated two years ago with budget cuts.

[Unregistered]

Yes, we did have a wonderful early intervention pre-k program that was cut 2 years ago. I know many parents that were very upset about it not continuing. Of course, the teachers were not very happy about it either! It will be a happy day when that program can come back! Positive thinking, it will be back!!

[occam]

Universal preK could go a long way toward getting help to those kids who need it before they completely disrupt the classroom of kindergarteners. Early placement frequently means shorter duration placements because we can catch the problems before kids fail. My son was a reverse mainstreamer in a class with handicapped kids. It was a great experience for him as an age appropriate language role model.

This year in kindergarten there was a child in his class who routinely beat up, bit, spit, and generally wreaked havoc among the rest of the children and any adult who had to restrain him before they finally got him emergency placement. But emergency placement took until December. Last year, one teacher had two of these darlings who had been in therapeutic preK's but placed in regular kindergarten. Our school lost several great kids because they couldn't take the abuse from those two kids. Exactly when do the victim's right kick in---when the parents start going to the media?????????

[Haber]

Exactly when do the victim's right kick in---when the parents start going to the media?????????

I am finding out that the victims have no rights as compared to the child doing the abusing. This is quite common in ESE and the FBA takes forever. In the meantime, staff and students are terrorized. Administration doesn't help--ours won't remove the kid; they are scared of him. They stand and look at my assistant and me try to keep him from hurting anyone. Isn't that their job? Sometimes I call for help and they just don't bother to come at all.