Roy Exum: A Mother Vs. HCDE

  • Monday, May 23, 2016
  • Roy Exum
Roy Exum
Roy Exum

At last week’s meeting of the Hamilton County School Board, there were a lot of Junior ROTC cadets that were presented in an awesome display of high school students who do it right. There was one in particular who caught my eye, a ramrod straight junior from Red Bank High who has made such a spectacular example of himself he will be among the top leaders of the Red Bank JROTC unit next year.

At the time, I had no idea I would soon meet him through an impassioned letter from his rightfully proud mom. She introduced herself via email as a college instructor and, by happenstance, I knew of her name through friends’ children who had taken her quite popular nursing classes.

“I know a few things about how the real world works,” she began. “I have worked in cancer care for almost three decades; I know a few things about understanding and compassion.  I am a mother to three children; I know a million things about children.  I am a Christian; I know how you are supposed to treat people.”

Because of sensitivities you will soon see, you will not read her name, nor those of her children. She wrote to me because she almost lost the JROTC hero who was lauded last Thursday. “All of our children attended one of highest-rated elementary and middle schools in the county…you know the one up on the big hill. 

The oldest one went to high school down the hill because high school wasn’t an option at the time. The middle daughter was in the second graduating class from the over-achieving high school, and the third child was purposefully removed from the A+ IB School and placed in the Title I school at the bottom of the hill.

“When (my son) was in sixth grade, after a series of unfortunate events, I sent a string of emails to teachers and the assistant principal asking for guidance.  My son was being harassed by a group of kids at school.  Although he had been with these children since pre-school, he now wasn’t ‘cool’ enough to be accepted into their middle school group. The harassment escalated to the point of daily bullying, in gym class, in the locker room, in the lunch room. 

“The subsequent emails and demands for help from administration were met with ‘We can’t be everywhere at all times” or “We can’t watch all of the students” or (my personal favorite) “(My son) never told us anything was going on,” the distraught mother continued.

“Due to his gifted status, I was able to secure an IEP meeting (that’s my state right) and he became somewhat protected by his ‘exceptional education’ teacher.  He limped through middle school.

“Fast forward to August last year, his first year of high school, but let me assure you that there was nothing fast about it—at times it was torturous.  (My son) came home one week into the new school year telling me this story about his English class that I almost couldn’t comprehend; this was really happening, in real time? 

During class discussions he was being shouted at, being called ideological slurs, and being berated for his religious and moral beliefs by other students.  The teacher’s solution? To isolate (my son) to a corner in the room, away from the name-callers. 

“In the name of educational discourse and open discussion, this behavior was encouraged by the teacher and continued over the course of several days.  He came home one day, early in week two and said ‘I can’t do it anymore.’ By that, he meant he could no longer endure the treatment that he had ‘toughed out’ for years at the big school on the hill.”

She asked the question before answering it, “Where does a parent turn when, over the course of three years the school administration, has done nothing to help?  The county administration?  Sure, why not….sounds like a logical next step. 

“Emails, unanswered.  Phone calls, unreturned.  I finally showed up in the (central) office Monday morning week #3 (the timing is crucial) and sat until someone agreed to see me.  I told (my son’s) story and told HCDE central office (officials) that I wanted him moved off the hill to Red Bank High School.  No, I was told emphatically; it was past the 10-day census count. 

“You’re kidding me….it wasn’t past the 10-day count when I began emailing and calling you.  Well, she says, we can’t just move a student; there will have to be hearings and arbitration.  It will have to go through the ‘bullying’ coordinator. 

“Again, you’re kidding me; just get him out of that situation! I say to her, I don’t want this to get ugly; I just want to protect him.  And then came (the reply, one) that I will never forget… ‘It’s going to have to get ugly.’  And, that is a direct quote (from a central office administrator.)”

* * *

INTERRUPTION: This letter is like many I have received regarding “the central office.” This is why we must insist on new leadership. This is why the August election, where as many as four sitting members of the school board are being challenged is critical. Like this mother wrote me in a following email “One must wonder if HCDE has any real idea of the student population which they are committed to serve?” Her initial letter continues but now it really gets good …

* * *

“I left HCDE central office and placed one phone call; it was to a man who had proven to be the most integral mentor in my oldest daughter’s life.  I called Lt. Colonel Hugh Enicks at Red Bank High School.  You see, Colonel (a world class marathoner) coached (my daughter) to several state championships and mentored her on her way to a four-year athletic/academic scholarship at the University of (redacted).  She had learned invaluable life lessons during their time together; we had remained dear friends. 

“I told Colonel that (her son) was just done and that HCDE was tying our hands.  I felt as though common sense had been thrown out the window and we had no voice in our own son’s well-being, let alone his education.  By noon, I had been in contact with Red Bank High School Principal Dr. Justin Robertson and the transfer had been approved through the big school.  I pulled (my son) from school the very next day; things moved quickly.

“She, the principal at the big school, asked me to meet with her when I went to retrieve (my son) from school.  I told her in our exit interview that they focused on the wrong things, they celebrated the wrong victories.  That running daughter, the highly recruited one, also graduated from high school with 28 college credits and a 31 on the ACT; she turned that into a nursing degree and is now in grad school on her way to being a nurse practitioner. 

“The middle daughter, the one who actually graduated from the award-winning school … Instead (of taking part on a senior trip) she had written a proposal to teach curriculum in a children’s home in Mexico, an orphanage in which our family and church have worked for over a decade.  She lived in a Mexican orphanage for three months during her senior year of high school; she now works with ESL populations. 

 And (her son), what about (him?)  “He is a decorated JROTC cadet who will be traveling to Dallas (this) week to compete in the national academic completion.  He is a member of the Raider team, the Rifle team, the Service team, and the Drill team.  Colonel is mentoring him to take command of the unit his senior year of high school.”

TELL ME ABOUT COLONEL: “Colonel has personally helped to secure several million dollars in scholarships (athletic, military, and academic) for students under his mentorship. For all the things that have happened previously in our story, we have since been blessed with supportive and positive people placed around our children. There are students who don't have home support or an advocate to serve as a voice. Please know that these kids fight quietly every day and there are guys like Colonel encouraging them to be their very best.”

She added, “That’s a lot for a student that HCDE didn’t have time for.

“So, all the while big-hill administration and HCDE are focusing on ‘weeds’ or cruisers or loudmouths or bullies, there are those students who, despite HCDE (and hear me very clearly on this point—it is despite HCDE) are becoming awesome, changing the world, growing strong. 

“No, we should never lose sight of the ‘under-heralded achievers’, nor should we lose sight of the teachers and principals in the schools that care enough about our children to guide them towards their greater achievements. 

* * *

Thank God for a strong and wise mother, Lt. Col. Enicks, who is as brilliant as he is compassionate; and a boy who never lost sight of the fact he could indeed excel with the right people in his corner.

But what of the students who have no mother with such resources and resolve, who have no access to JROTC, and who don’t have the confidence to try to excel? The Hamilton County Department of Education must to toppled from top to bottom. This should have never been allowed to happen.

royexum@aol.com

 

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