Concerns over kindergarten behavior discussed in recent NCSB meeting

Shauna Forbes wants the Nassau County School Board to take action for students who are repeatedly disruptive in general education classes.

During the school board meeting at Hilliard Elementary School Thursday night, she voiced concern about a child’s behavior in her daughter’s kindergarten class at Wildlight Elementary School.

She volunteers once a week in her daughter’s classroom and has observed the boy’s behavior and heard stories from her daughter.

Forbes read from a letter telling how the boy has acted aggressively toward his teacher and classmates by “biting, kicking and spitting” on them. He has also thrown the teacher’s laptop and broke it.

For safety purposes, the teacher has had to temporarily transfer students to another teacher’s classroom.

On March 13, as Forbes arrived after school to collect her daughter, Forbes saw the boy “on his knees on the ground with two staff members holding him by his wrists. As a parent with no insight of this situation, this would have been very alarming to see as I was picking up my child at school. But knowing this student, I was heartbroken seeing this – and that no one is advocating to get him the help that he desperately needs.”

She said the boy has apologized to her several times after his outbursts, saying, “he hadn’t taken his medicine and can’t control his mind.”

Forbes described the boy as “very bright,” but he could end up hurting himself or other students. Although he cannot advocate for himself, she believes it isn’t too late to help him. He also behaved aggressively when she volunteered on the same day as a substitute was in the classroom.

After spring break, the boy was moved to a different class. Since then, the classroom environment has improved, according to Forbes.

“It is alarming that one student can cause so many disruptions and the teacher not receive any additional support to provide safety for her and the rest of her class,” she said. “My daughter’s teacher has gone above and beyond to ensure the safety of not only my daughter, but every other student in her classroom. She always provides words of encouragement to the students and makes sure that they feel comfortable.”

The teacher was not offered a teaching position at WES for the next school year, according to Forbes.

“I feel that this is an unjust, direct result of the circumstances surrounding this student,” the mom said. “Violence against teachers is not part of their job, whether that be physical violence, destruction of property or verbal harassment. Teachers are expected to just take the abuse. A teacher’s job is to teach. Being terrorized isn’t part of the teacher’s job description and teachers should not be shamed for not being able to handle student aggression. No one should feel unsafe at work or worry about the safety of themselves or their students. It is baffling to think that this teacher has requested additional support for 27 weeks, but has not been supported.”

She continued, “Where is the teacher support from the administration in these kinds of situations? And where is the obviously needed additional support for the student? And I also would like to know how the school board will plan to address this. And how do we go forward to ensure the safety and learning environment of not only my daughter, but every student at Wildlight Elementary School? While I didn’t get to choose my daughter’s kindergarten teacher this year, I would choose her a thousand times over, if I had the choice.”
Board Vice Chairwoman Gail Cook said, “Unfortunately, this is not the first story we’ve heard like this. Unfortunately, we are guided by statutes and court cases and lack of court support for, um, supporting teachers in this, you know? I heard of one teacher that was told when she took out a restraining order, ‘Your job is to teach. I’m not honoring this request.’”

Cook added, “I’m not exactly sure we have adequate behavior management plans, if we have parents that are not responsible enough to give their child the medication that they take. It just breaks everybody’s heart. Because he’s a bright a student and he can’t learn, because his body is not cooperating with him, so I wish that I could say we have an answer.”

Superintendent Kathy Burns asked Forbes if she had spoken with the school principal. Amber Nicholas-Bovinette leads WES.

“I tried towards the beginning of the year, and when I asked the front desk, I was told there’s nothing they could do about it, so that’s as far as it went,” Forbes said.

Burns replied, “I’m not quite sure which situation we’re talking about here. There are steps that have to be taken. You just cannot automatically remove a student from a classroom. There’s a process that we have to go through as Ms. Cook alluded to. There are laws and policies that have to be followed. But I need additional information so I don’t want to make any more comments here today.”

Burns said that Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction Misty Mathis will follow up with Forbes about her concerns.

The mom asked if it would be possible to review the district’s current policy plans and make those changes before the next school year.

“I think there’s more at play here than discipline,” Burns replied. “And I think we’re talking about students with special needs and there are different rules that apply.”
“I completely understand just based on the different things that you’ve said,” Forbes said. “I was thinking about the chair process and steps that have to be in place. But like Ms. Cook had said, we’re hearing so many of these stories more often and not all of them are the special needs students, so we need to look at everything.”

Burns said “and you’re right,” adding that she and the school board is concerned about students’ mental health following the pandemic, which “will long exceed the impacts of COVID itself.”

“But we also have to understand that at some point, we have to be willing to draw the line,” Board Member Curtis Gaus said before confirming that Forbes’ daughter attended a general education class.

“You know, part of recruiting and retaining teachers is making sure teachers feel like their supported. That is our job. So I do think it is, you know, we have to take a look at it as a district, to make sure we are drawing the line on what is acceptable in a general education class.”

Kathie Sciullo
Nassau County Record