I went to the Coahoma school board meeting tonight, here is a copy of the letter I read.
Coahoma ISD School Board Members, 9/24/2013
I’m sure you have noticed the loss of several students and many staff; I am here to tell you why my husband and I have made the very difficult decision to take our son out of his neighborhood school, and transfer him to another district
As a volunteer in Coahoma elementary, I noticed a drastic change in the atmosphere, it has become what I would expect to find at an institution, not an elementary school with smiles and joy. It appears as though the students and staff are under a lot of stress, which is not an environment that encourages learning.
Last winter I observed Mr. Brown yell loudly at 2 groups of students, I started hearing him when I was in the office, and he was outside the restroom that is past the pre-K room. He was yelling “there is no talking in my halls”. I walked in that direction and saw him standing with his feet just inches from these students who were sitting on the floor with their back against the wall. When I called Ms. Jacobs, she cut my conversation short and told me to call Mr. Reddock, who said “that didn’t sound like something Mr. Brown would do.” When Mr. Brown was in the cafeteria, you could hear a pin drop. The kids were afraid to make a sound. Again, not a climate of an elementary school
Afternoon pick up, no child should ever be forced to sit on a curb, on the tail pipe side of the vehicles to breathe exhaust fumes while waiting to be picked up. This is a health hazard.
Last year, our son was tested for dyslexia here at my request. The results were that he had a couple of borderline scores, so he would receive no help. In his new school, they quickly identified that there was a problem, and they asked me for permission to test him for dyslexia. He is dyslexic. He has been in their dyslexia program since week two of the school year. I am so thankful that he is finally receiving the help he needs. It also makes me very upset that he was not thoroughly tested and properly served here at Coahoma. I am here because not every parent will fight for their child’s education, and I don’t want to see this happen to others.
Even though we have moved our child we are still being affected by Coahoma. His school has requested the 504 and dyslexia testing results from Coahoma on at least three separate occasions. I believe this is now week 5. On Monday, I called the elementary office and spoke to Sheryl. I let her know that I would be coming in to pick up our son’s 504 and dyslexia testing information, and asked her to have it ready, along with anything I needed to fill out to get them. She said she had been busy and would send them to the school when she had time. I let her know that I was picking them up, so she said “By law, I had to give her 2 days.” I am waiting the 2 days, but don’t see why I should, it’s been over a month that these records should have been sent. I understand that the school is understaffed, and has lost many wonderful people who truly cared about the students.
Please find out why so many good teachers and staff are leaving, and fix it. We need to keep those who truly care, and weed out the rest to have a quality school again. It is an embarrassment to the Coahoma community that the board is allowing this to go on. When I leave this room I could be considered just an upset parent, a troublemaker, or someone who just doesn’t know what’s really going on but you can not say I don’t care! I would hope that one of you sitting in this room would step up and do the job we have elected you to do!
Kimberly Mosino
Superintendent Pauline J Rhodes
