Sent from the Internet
Greetings,
I am married to Tammy Mansfield. Her intial story is posted, of course. I want to share with
you where she is now and the impact she has made since joining NAPTA.
Benjamin Logan Schools and the Logan County ESC (Ohio) thought they were rid of her but have discovered she has become their worst nightmare.
Tammy helped form a parent's group, Parents For Better Education (PFBE), who share a common agenda---their children are all on IEP's and have been victims of administration abuse for years. Tammy now serves as an Advocate for several families. She never was quiet as a teacher
at IEP Team Meetings, a role that eventually led to her demise as a Multi-Handicapped Teacher. She now attends meetings with parents and the administration cannot attempt to muzzle her.
Tammy volunteers her time with these families and PFBE, writes IEP's, and attends meeting with parents to ensure the school and ESC complies with federal and state regs regarding IEP's. That in itself is nice and needed but there have been some tremendous accomplishments along the way.
Through their work and Tammy's counsel, parents attend Board Meetings and have presented formal complaints against the county's Special Ed Supervisor, Paula Zimmerman (see Tammy's story on your site). They called for an investigation, through ESC, which went nowhere, of course. However, the same accusations were made on the local level (Benjamin Logan Board) resulting in the school "requesting" ESC to remove Paula from any further IEP Meetings.
Tammy's initial attendance at IEP Meetings was met with open hostility by school officials. Her attendance was matched by the school when they brought in their attorney. But as Tammy
continued citing laws and the school's infractions of those laws, small changes began to take place in those meetings. The school's attorney began to agree with Tammy and PFBE as have some IEP Team members.
No, the school hasn't seen the light and are still crushing special ed student's access to a proper education. School Administrators are still fighting every step of the way toward compliance. And, yes, they are still threatening teachers and aides, holding their jobs over their heads to keep them quiet.
Here's the great news. Some teachers and aides have been encouraged by Tammy to go to the NAPTA site. Tammy is now receiving info from three people who fear for their jobs but are willing to help PFBE with 'inside' info. They are beginning to see they are not alone and are growing tired, angry, at the lack of service to the children under their care.
Tammy is contemplating Law School as a means to better serve parents. Her heart is still with her students and this is a logical move for her.
Thanks for your vision for NAPTA. One local newspaper reporter whose daughter has been on an
IEP for most of her school life, visits your site regularly. Now we are seeing a few teachers and school aids do the same. Their comments usually include "It's good to know we are not alone,
but sad to discover this abuse of teachers is so widespread."
We aren't holding our breath, waiting for the school to admit Tammy was right all along and that their dismissal of her was in error---fat chance! Our satisfaction comes from the changes being made, albeit minor changes, at Team Meetings. Parents are becoming empowered. NAPTA's role has been and will continue to be a source for that empowerment.
Thanks,
Tammy's husband......... Walt
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