In the wake of a Concord teacher’s firing for restraining a special needs child, the district hosted a meeting Thursday for concerned parents, several of whom supported the teacher.
The parents asked impassioned questions of Superintendent Terri Forsten. For instance, if a child is prone to “bolting” from the school when given the chance, what’s the district’s policy to get the student back inside?
“There isn’t a district policy on what to do when a child bolts,” Forsten said, adding broadly that “a lot of schools” would call the police.
Karen Reid, the grandmother of an autistic elementary school student, pressed the superintendent about the case of students at Mill Brook School, where the meeting was held. She didn’t receive a direct answer.
“Terri,” Reid continued, “in every case that (my grandson) left this building, he left it with the teachers saying, ‘He’ll come back when he’s ready.’ He never did. His mother and I got called every time. And it wasn’t one time or two times or even three times.”
Reid said she’d prefer for the staff to do what’s necessary to keep her grandson in the building, even if it meets the district’s definition of “restraint,” which is supposed to be a last-ditch option.
Amanda Varney, a parent volunteer at Beaver Meadow School, said teachers and aides are crippled by their fear that they’ll be fired if they physically restrain or confine a student.
“They’re afraid to go hands-on because people have lost their jobs for doing the right thing,” Varney said.
Looming over the meeting was the case of Lori Fosdick, the former elementary autism teacher at Broken Ground School who was fired in February for breaking district guidelines on restraint. The teacher’s union is seeking arbitration for Fosdick, saying there wasn’t “just cause” for her termination.
About 20 parents attended the meeting to ask questions and hear a presentation from Forsten and Director of Student Services Bob Belmont.
Belmont explained that he seeks to train every teacher in the district the best practices to prevent crises. Last year, 231 teachers received between seven and 14 hours of training, he said.
Belmont offered to host a similar training for parents next month, and several indicated they’d attend.
Forsten recommended that parents speak with the specialists who work with their children to adopt individualized plans for how they should be handled during a crisis.
Jen Bertrand, a member of the New Hampshire Council on Developmental Disabilities and who helped to write some of the state standards under discussion, listened in and complimented the district’s approach.
“Physical restraint and seclusion is highly interruptive to the learner and to the learning environment,” she said. “I’m really pleased that your focus is on the positive and understanding your students individually, and it’s great to hear you want to work with your parents to develop a plan.”
But several parents said they were unsatisfied when the meeting ended, without a clear understanding of when a potentially helpful action crosses the line into restraint.
Breanna Smith, a mother who trusted Fosdick to do the right thing for her son, sought some clarity. Was it restraint for Fosdick to scoop up Tosh, her 11-year-old, and move him?
“Bob, I’m going to ask you not to answer that question,” Forsten said.
When Smith continued to press further, Forsten called the meeting to a close and said it would be “silly” to answer.
(Nick Reid can be reached at 369-3325, nreid@cmonitor.com or on Twitter at @NickBReid.)