Wednesday - June 25, 2008

SO, THE KID HAS A ‘B’ AVERAGE BUT MOM GET RAKED OVER THE COALS. UNBELIEVABLE

First I must say I got this story originally from Kim du Toit at The Other Side of Kim.

http://www.theothersideofkim.com/

This really takes the cake if I may use an old and overworked expression.  And to happen in the USA?  The USA?

Uh huh, read all about it.  If you don’t lose your cool on this one you are indeed made of iron. Or stone. Or are just a very calm person.
My first instinct would have been to grab a gun.  But of course, in that case I might be writing from jail assuming I’d be allowed a computer.
But this story really burns me.  And all over freekin GYM?  GYM?

SCHOOL REPORTS MOM AS ‘ABUSER’
MISSED MEETING OVER SON’S ABSENCES
By ANGELA MONTEFINISE and JULIA DAHL

May 25, 2008—Bronx HS of Science senior Michel Dussack has a “B” average, an 1890 SAT score and an almost full college scholarship for the fall.

But Dussack’s mother was accused of “educational neglect” two weeks ago and was reported to the city’s child-services agency - because she missed a scheduled meeting to discuss her son possibly failing gym.

Karen Dussack, 40, is now under investigation by the Administration for Children’s Services, the city’s welfare agency that protects kids from neglect and abuse.

Two caseworkers from the ACS showed up at Dussack’s door in Bayside, Queens, on May 14. The ACS interviewed Karen and her husband, also named Michel, as well as their two children, Michel and his sister, Deborah, 11. They checked the home for smoke and carbon-monoxide detectors and examined the contents of the refrigerator.

The visit lasted two hours. Afterward, someone from the agency interviewed a representative from Deborah’s school, MS 158 in Queens, and the family pediatrician over the phone.

“It was humiliating,” Karen said.

The Department of Education has a policy of reporting parents whose children are absent 10 consecutive days or 20 days over four months.

The department would not disclose Michel’s attendance records. But in a conversation between Bronx Science officials, ACS representatives and the Dussacks recorded by the family and played for The Post, it was revealed he only had eight unexcused absences.

The nonconsecutive days were for family deaths and illnesses, and his mom said she knew about them.

Sources at the department told The Post that since the case of Nixzmary Brown, who was absent 46 times in one school year and killed in January 2006 by her abusive stepfather, school officials have been encouraged to enforce the absence policy strictly.

There were 8,712 educational-neglect cases reported to the state during the 2006-07 school year, with 36 percent substantiated. The previous year, 8,302 cases were reported, with 42 percent substantiated. Both those numbers are steep rises from the 5,542 cases reported for the 2004-05 school year, before the Nixzmary case. That year, 33 percent of cases were substantiated.

“The school has a responsibility of forcing a parent to attend to a child’s education,” said Bronx Science Principal Valerie Reidy. “I’m sorry this family’s lives were thrown into upheaval, but my job is to protect the children in my school.”

Reidy said the school was having trouble getting Karen Dussack to come to school to discuss Michel’s gym situation so the school guidance counselor reported the family as “the last resort.”

But Dussack said she only missed a scheduled meeting because her daughter hurt her foot playing softball and had to see a doctor. She admitted she didn’t reschedule, but told school officials she was dealing with Michel’s lack of participation in gym - often caused by his asthma.

During the recorded meeting, the ACS told school officials there was no educational neglect in Dussack’s case.

Kim Sweet, executive director of nonprofit group Advocates for Children, noted her group often gets calls from parents hit with false charges and said, “When schools are frustrated with a problem, they reach for educational neglect even though they know it’s not really the right option.”

Dussack, whom Michel called “a great mom,” said, “I more than understand the need to protect children, but there have to be safeguards.”

“Right now, parents have to look over their shoulders. They can get charged with neglect for anything, it seems. That’s an abuse of power.”

“What happened to me can’t happen to other people,” she said. “It’s just so wrong.”

The Department of Education’s Office of Special Investigations is reviewing the school’s actions.

Department spokeswoman Margie Feinberg told The Post mandated reporting helps pinpoint abuse faster.

angela.montefinise@nypost.com

http://tinyurl.com/6garwy

Posted by Drew458     on 06/25/2008 at 08:56 AM   
Filed Under: • Education • Stoopid-People •  
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