Jul 8, 2008 | 11:08 PM
Category:
News
I just wanted to talk about our deaf/hard of hearing students in the GBCHI(Galveston/Brazoria Coop for the Hearing Impaired). They start school in Sante Fe ISD then go to Clear Creek ISD finally they go to Alvin ISD. We are wanting them to change the way it is set up now(4 schools in 3 districts) to them staying in one district. The Coop has 10 different school districts in it...* in Galveston County and 2 in Brazoria County. It is better on the gas situation with the buses and the staff that has to travel daily to the 4 different schools. I am talking about the interpreters,counsolors,audiologists,speech theropists, teachers,etc. If they were all in one district the students would also have the continueity with the othe children in the schools. They would be able to go from grade to grade with their friends.Our kids right now are not allowed to have this option. We(the parents to these kids) have formed a group named P.A.S.S(Parent Advocacy for Succesfull Students with Hearing Impairments). We have been to the school boards meetings and talked to everyone that we can to get this changed and no one wants to change it.Even though they all agree it would be a better way of doing things. We have started an online petition and are looking for more parents to join in our group. There is about 120 children in the Coop.We would like to have close to that many families in our group. We do have get togethers every couple of months at different places.Our website is www.passhi.org. Please feel free to check out our site. The site to the online petition is http://thepetitionsite.com/petition/698076146 Please pass this addy along to everyone you know that would also be willing to support this wonderful cause. If anyone is an attorney or mediator that is willing to help we could use the help. We also have a bank account set up for donations if you are interested in helping in our legal fight to get this changed. We can use everyones support for this cause in one way or another. Our account info is .. Wells Fargo Acc. # 5993223816 make all donations in the name of P.A.S.S. also if you would like any further information please email me personally at herrc1975@hotmail.com ... Thank you in advance for your time and support.
Jun 9, 2008 | 7:44 PM
Category:
News
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/petition/698076146
this is the link to my online petition. if you feeling like we do and want to support us please sign this petition and pass the link on to everyone you can. we appreciate all the support for everyone. you can check out my other posts for more info on this subject.
May 14, 2008 | 11:23 PM
Category:
News
I am a concerned parent of a deaf/hard of hearing student in CCISD.The parents have formed a group named P.A.S.S. There are approx. 120 students in the GBCHI COOP. Currently they are attending 4 schools in 3 districts. They start out in Sante Fe, then go to 2 different schools in Clear Creek ISD, then they go out to Alvin for high school. We have been trying to get them into 1 school district but the school board members are refusing to change it. With our children being in 1 district it gives them contiunity on top of saving time and gas for the staff. They all travel daily to get from school to school just to provide services to our children. This does mean that at times our kids go without services because they can't get to that student in time for that day. There is a high school right next to where they are attending intermediate school but they are not allowed to attend that school under the COOP, yet there are children that live in Harris County that are being bussed all the way over there for school. This COOP does consist of 10 school districts. They are Alvin,Clear Creek, Friendswood,Hitchcock,Sante Fe,Dickinson,Galveston,La Margue,Texas City, and Pearland. Our children have a very difficult time adjusting when it comes to the transition to another school when they just lost all their friends then also to another district.We contacted TEA but they said they can't do anything because the TEA only covers the IEP's and they have no power over the GBCHI. We are only asking that our children get a fair and just education like all other children. We want them to be able to make friends and keep them. There are several reasons why we are requesting this change but the biggest reason is our children deserve the best education. The majority of the kids are in CCISD.... this is where we want our children to be at. Most of our children have other disabilites besides being deaf or hard of hearing. This COOP was formed over 30 years ago and not much has changed in those 30+ years as far as the way the COOP is ran. Our children and families have changed though. We have contacted the Office of Civil Rights and they state that there is no discrimination going on. With one population of students being treated differently then all the others and when no prent voice is in the desision making process and setting up the program to have students change ISD's 2 times (3 districts) to recieve services and to graduate is discrimination. The GBCHI Management Board is made up by only paid superintendants and the meetings are held during the day when it is impossible for most parents to attend them. They also don't have a community open forum for people to address the board but you must ask to be placed on the agenda. I was hoping you could help us out with this. We are only wanting our kids to stay in one school district in feeder schools for their schooling. We have thought of all angles on this and the way we have came up with it could work out wonderfully for the students, parents, districts, and the staffing. You can contact me at anytime by phone or email. Please for further information that is needed feel free to ask. I have a lot of more information about what all we have done.You can also check out our website at www.passhi.org. We have became a registered non-profit organization.If you have any helpful advice or information it would be very appreciated. If you or someone you know is an attorney or has knowledge of this type of educational laws please contact me. Thank you for your time.
Feb 3, 2008 | 11:49 PM
Category:
News
I would like to introduce myself, I am Cara Herr and I'm in a group formed by the parents to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing children in GBCHI ( Galveston - Brazoria Coop for the Hearing Impaired). Our group is called PASS( Parent Advocacy for Successful Students with Hearing Impairments) I would like for everyone to know what is going on with our children. I am a mother to a 13 year old deaf child. there is approx 100 deaf children in GBCHI.We are spread out over 10 school districts. They are Alvin, Clear Creek, Dickinson, Friendswood, LaMargue, Pearland, and Texas City.
These children start school in Sante Fe at R.J. Wollom then go to Hall Elem in League City. From there they go to Creekside Intermediate , which is the feeder school for Hall Elem., but for high school they go to Alvin High School. Most children dont move that much and are able to make long lasting friendships and to be able to be invloved in extracurricular programs. We are concerned about the school calender conflicts between the 3 different districts they attend along with the cost of all the eductaional needs.The costs for a special education for a student is high but districts are given federal/state funding to assist with the added costs to provide these additional services needed. Over 30 years ago GBCHI was developed due to the voices of the parents of children with hearing impairments however very little has changed in those years. The technology, philosophy, and resources in deaf education have drastically changed in those same years. Our Coop is long over due for this change to meet our needs of today. There was
a family whose son is going into 9th grade next year and already by the time they went through student orientation, they feel out of place because they were oriented separately from the rest of the student body because the school staff are afraid that the other students would tease or be mean to the students with a hearing impairment. Do you think that a student really wants to attend a school that already is sending a message that you are in for an uphill battle before you even begin?
Any educator would report that a student that is frequently moved to different schoool districts will create gaps in their education.This is for any student; regular,gifted and talented or special education. Our kids don't have a choice in any of their education as of right now. These kids really do struggle through school everytime there is a transition like that. Some parents are having to hire tutores to help our kids out in the teaching and handwriting differences between districts. With our kids in different districts that also means that the Interpreters, Audiologists, Speech Theropists, and couslors are also in three different distircts. With gas prices these days( at $3 + a gallon) that makes for a lot of funds going to gas for them to drive all over and the buses to run all over like that. These are people that have to deal with our kids on a regular basis from school to school and district to district. If they were all in one area it would be easily accessable to all schools everyday and cut down on travel time. It would also be easier for any staff that has to cover for someone due to illness or vacation time.
We have approached the 10 district superintendants about this issue but they say they dont think it needs to be changed even though they agree it would be a better way of doing things. Every meeting we have had with the districts has ended in no change. Having GBCHI students attending 3 different school districts is a form of discrimination for the students with hearing impairments. Isn't this their way of saying they only pick certain kids to attend their schools? How does that make them public schools? We only want the best for our children like any other parent out there. We want our high scoolers to attend Clear Springs HIgh School but they aren't allowed. After further investigating I found out that kids from Heritage Park in Harris County attend Clear Springs High School so i guess thats why they dont have room for our kids. Even though we only are needing 2 classrooms and the other children from Heritage Park have a school closer to them they could attend. Clear Springs High School is right next to Creekside Intermediate that they currently attend. It is the feeder school for them but they cant go there with their friends they have made the last 7 years (since 2nd grade). These are very important years in a childs life. We need the publics help in this matter. Please email me at herrc1975@hotmail.com for more details and information on how to help us out. We have a website you can look at also. It is www.passhi.org. We also have a petition if anyone is interested in signing it... just let me know.
