Poway Unified School District
Poway loses
Donovan case;
court says it
should have
protected gay
students
Donovan case;
court says it
should have
protected gay
students
Poway's Special Ed Program
Dumping Ground For Kids?
Parents Say Program Deserves
Failing Grade
10 News San Diego
July 17, 2006
Westview High School is a relatively new
and shinning star in the Poway Unified
School District, which is known for its high
standards and excellent record of
educating kids.
"We've got fantastic kids here,
wonderfully dedicated teachers. It's a
system that I think works," associate
superintendent Dr. Kevin Skelly said.
This year, the California Department of
Education rated Westview High School
and 31 other schools in the district as
excellent.
It also gave the district's special
education program high grades.But some
parents told 10News that Poway's special
education program is a wasteland where
kids are dumped. They said it deserves a
failing grade, according to 10News.
Parents and students said the district
doesn't know what to do about kids who
are not mentally disabled, but who cannot
learn in a regular classroom setting.
Jason Stewart is one of those kids who
said they've been left in the dark to fend
for themselves.
"They didn't teach me anything. They
didn't help me out," he said.
A senior at Westview, Stewart should be
graduating this week with his friends, but
he won't be.
"I see my friends going to college, and I
can't even graduate from high school. It's
horrible," he said.
"Poway is finding in his 12th year (of
education) that my son has severe vision
processing deficits that they were
responsible for finding way back in the
first grade," Jason's mother, Lindsey
Stewart, said.
Jason wants to learn, but his mind has
trouble grasping what he sees. Instead,
his brain scrambles to process every
sound he hears, making it difficult to
focus in the classroom...
But over the past 11 years Stewart has
been shuffled around from regular
classes to special education classes. He
said it's made him even more confused
and depressed...
At Black Mountain Middle School Stewart
became suicidal.
"I would just give up sometimes and feel
like this is pointless," he said.
And while the state gave PUSD rave
reviews for special education, the
district has been suing students
whose parents don't want their
children in the special education
program.
Lindsey Stewart took the fight all the
way to the ninth circuit court of appeals.
"There's actually three major law firms
that are fighting me," she said.
PUSD is fighting her with a vengeance by
racking up more than $400,000 in legal
bills in the Stewart case.But the legal
battles don't end with Stewart.
Evalyn Smith's children and dozens of
other students have been sued or
threatened with lawsuits by the district,
according to 10News.
"It blows my mind how they could sue a
student to force them into a special
education class," Smith said.
Smith said the district has to stop lumping
all students together in a
"one-size-fits-all" special education
program.
A total of 25 kids with "learning
differences" are involved in lawsuits with
the district, 10News reported.
According to Skelly, that's not a lot. "To
have 25 unhappy parents out of 3,000 --
that we have not been able to resolve
with -- I think is very good," Skelly said.
Parents and students said more people
are afraid to come forward because the
district has a record of retaliation.
"In my opinion we are retaliated against,"
Smith said.
Retaliation like lawsuits, orders to gavel
down parents at school board meetings
to quiet them, and security personnel
following parents on campus.
District officials won't talk about any of the
cases, but said the problem stems from a
lack of funding, not a lack of caring.
"The federal government and the state
government do not give us enough
money to meet the needs of specialized
students," Skelly said.
Some parents said they are turning to
alternative private schools and getting
better results.
Dumping Ground For Kids?
Parents Say Program Deserves
Failing Grade
10 News San Diego
July 17, 2006
Westview High School is a relatively new
and shinning star in the Poway Unified
School District, which is known for its high
standards and excellent record of
educating kids.
"We've got fantastic kids here,
wonderfully dedicated teachers. It's a
system that I think works," associate
superintendent Dr. Kevin Skelly said.
This year, the California Department of
Education rated Westview High School
and 31 other schools in the district as
excellent.
It also gave the district's special
education program high grades.But some
parents told 10News that Poway's special
education program is a wasteland where
kids are dumped. They said it deserves a
failing grade, according to 10News.
Parents and students said the district
doesn't know what to do about kids who
are not mentally disabled, but who cannot
learn in a regular classroom setting.
Jason Stewart is one of those kids who
said they've been left in the dark to fend
for themselves.
"They didn't teach me anything. They
didn't help me out," he said.
A senior at Westview, Stewart should be
graduating this week with his friends, but
he won't be.
"I see my friends going to college, and I
can't even graduate from high school. It's
horrible," he said.
"Poway is finding in his 12th year (of
education) that my son has severe vision
processing deficits that they were
responsible for finding way back in the
first grade," Jason's mother, Lindsey
Stewart, said.
Jason wants to learn, but his mind has
trouble grasping what he sees. Instead,
his brain scrambles to process every
sound he hears, making it difficult to
focus in the classroom...
But over the past 11 years Stewart has
been shuffled around from regular
classes to special education classes. He
said it's made him even more confused
and depressed...
At Black Mountain Middle School Stewart
became suicidal.
"I would just give up sometimes and feel
like this is pointless," he said.
And while the state gave PUSD rave
reviews for special education, the
district has been suing students
whose parents don't want their
children in the special education
program.
Lindsey Stewart took the fight all the
way to the ninth circuit court of appeals.
"There's actually three major law firms
that are fighting me," she said.
PUSD is fighting her with a vengeance by
racking up more than $400,000 in legal
bills in the Stewart case.But the legal
battles don't end with Stewart.
Evalyn Smith's children and dozens of
other students have been sued or
threatened with lawsuits by the district,
according to 10News.
"It blows my mind how they could sue a
student to force them into a special
education class," Smith said.
Smith said the district has to stop lumping
all students together in a
"one-size-fits-all" special education
program.
A total of 25 kids with "learning
differences" are involved in lawsuits with
the district, 10News reported.
According to Skelly, that's not a lot. "To
have 25 unhappy parents out of 3,000 --
that we have not been able to resolve
with -- I think is very good," Skelly said.
Parents and students said more people
are afraid to come forward because the
district has a record of retaliation.
"In my opinion we are retaliated against,"
Smith said.
Retaliation like lawsuits, orders to gavel
down parents at school board meetings
to quiet them, and security personnel
following parents on campus.
District officials won't talk about any of the
cases, but said the problem stems from a
lack of funding, not a lack of caring.
"The federal government and the state
government do not give us enough
money to meet the needs of specialized
students," Skelly said.
Some parents said they are turning to
alternative private schools and getting
better results.
Hazing in PUSD
Poway settlement in locker-room rape
totals $675,000
San Diego Union-Tribune
August 4, 1998
by Anna Cearley
In March 1997, a 15-year-old
freshman baseball player was the
victim of a locker-room broomstick
rape at Bernardo High School by
three teammates. The three
were sentenced to a minimum of
thirty days in Juvenile Hall, weekend
work projects and a one year
suspension of driving privileges.
The victim sued the Poway Unified
School District, arguing officials knew
about the hazing "tradition", where
varsity team members would
intimidate freshman by threatening to
rape them and simulating rape. After
months of mediation, the claim
settled for $675,000.
Doe et al. v.PUSD. Confidential
Report for Attorneys.
No. 9833 (no formal complaint filed,
settlement September 1997).
History of High School Hazing:
http://www.hanknuwer.com/hs2
1997
Rancho Bernardo High School
(California, Poway School District)
Physical hazing and sexual assault
Junior varsity baseball player
After a rookie baseball player was
sodomized with an object in the locker
room, he settled for $675,000 with
the district, according to
the San Diego Union-Tribune which
went to uncommon lengths to get the
school district to reveal any details at
all. Court records showed that the
attack was part of
a six-year pattern of
assault in several sports
and was deeply
entrenched in school
athletics,
according to the newspaper.
Poway settlement in locker-room rape
totals $675,000
San Diego Union-Tribune
August 4, 1998
by Anna Cearley
In March 1997, a 15-year-old
freshman baseball player was the
victim of a locker-room broomstick
rape at Bernardo High School by
three teammates. The three
were sentenced to a minimum of
thirty days in Juvenile Hall, weekend
work projects and a one year
suspension of driving privileges.
The victim sued the Poway Unified
School District, arguing officials knew
about the hazing "tradition", where
varsity team members would
intimidate freshman by threatening to
rape them and simulating rape. After
months of mediation, the claim
settled for $675,000.
Doe et al. v.PUSD. Confidential
Report for Attorneys.
No. 9833 (no formal complaint filed,
settlement September 1997).
History of High School Hazing:
http://www.hanknuwer.com/hs2
1997
Rancho Bernardo High School
(California, Poway School District)
Physical hazing and sexual assault
Junior varsity baseball player
After a rookie baseball player was
sodomized with an object in the locker
room, he settled for $675,000 with
the district, according to
the San Diego Union-Tribune which
went to uncommon lengths to get the
school district to reveal any details at
all. Court records showed that the
attack was part of
a six-year pattern of
assault in several sports
and was deeply
entrenched in school
athletics,
according to the newspaper.
Violent teacher defended
by PUSD
LeBlanc v. PUSD
Web page re LeBlanc v.
PUSD is hacked (blog post)
by PUSD
LeBlanc v. PUSD
Web page re LeBlanc v.
PUSD is hacked (blog post)
San Diego
Education Report
Education Report