Problems at Gatewood (?)

[Bonnie]

It’s true that their hands are tied when it comes to behavioral students. These students have a Behavioral IEP, which means they really can’t do much re: discipline. It’s frustrating. My son has a few in his class too. I don’t understand why the learning disabled children are lumped in with the behavioral disorder children. My son does not go to Gatewood.

[sw]

Another Gatewood parent here. “Parentof2” has it correct – when Fairmount Park closed, Gatewood received an influx of BD kids – more so than anyone anticipated. Word is that Roxhill received kids in the K-3 grade bands where it is easier to address – Gatewood received kids in the 4-5 grade band where kids are set in their ways and is more challenging.

The principal has continually asked the distict for support, but none has been forthcoming. The staff really did get blindsided with this as there were more BD kids assigned to the school than anticipated. A majority of them are 5th graders, so will move on from the school after this year. Come Fall, there should be a more realistic expectation set and hopefully additional support from the district based on projected need.

I have a child in the 4-5 grade band, and she has not reported much in the way of problems. Gatewood has always been an “inclusion” school – meaning that BD and special needs kids have been in mainstream classrooms. Historically, it has been manageable and even educational for all students. The influx of Fairmount kids simply tipped over the apple cart this year and there has only been so much that the school administration can do.

The families that have left the school have been a fairly vocal minority – perhaps justifiably so. Every kid and family has a different relationship with the staff and school in general. There are just as many families (like mine) that has had and continues to have nothing but positive experiences. If anyone has any concerns or reservations, please feel free to contact the principal, Rhonda Claytor. She will be more than happy to speak with you and give you the straight scoop – no sugar coating.

As usual, this is only one parent’s opinion – your mileage may vary. In the end, we all are simply trying to do what’s best for our kids.

[Elizabeth]

I am a child psychologist and West Seattle parent. There are students with special education needs (e.g., behavior disorders, learning disabilities) at every school, public or private.

My professional experience with Gatewood is that they have a dedicated staff and principal. However, they follow an educational model that works great for many students and not so great for some. I have noticed that although they have small class sizes, Gatewood also does team teaching, during which classes are combined. So during those times you have 40 kids instead of 20; this makes managing challenging behavior as well as responding to student individual needs more difficult.

They do use an inclusion model for special ed. which means that regular ed. teachers deliver special education services to students throughout the the school day. If a school uses a more traditional model, however, this does not mean that most students are pulled into a special education class separate from other students as a matter of course. Often it means that a student is in a regular education class and pulled out for 45 minutes to go to a resource room a few times a week. Some children receive more services or spend all or most of the day in a special education classroom but this is not the norm.

I’ve found that one of the best things you can do is ask the principal about whether their are specific policies or programs used to support student social emotional development or to deal with bullying, which happens at every school. If the principal cannot give you a detailed answer or just tells you something like, “we don’t have those problems here,” or “we have a zero tolerance policy” (without details to back it up), that would be cause for concern because even if there is not a big problem now, the school needs to have a plan in place to keep it that way. Otherwise school culture can change very quickly.

Also, please keep in mind that students in special ed are disproportionately bullied and this includes the kids with behavior problems, even those who engage in bullying themselves.

I hope this helps and good luck with your search.

[WSratsinacage]

When I first saw this subject, I thought it was about the problems Gatewood had with a former staff member. I’m not mud slinging. I have info from a primary source. Can anyone confirm?

[Parentof2]

Thought this might have been a new thread. Read the last post and I’m curious as to which staff member they meant and how long ago? There was an issue a few years ago and that’s when the new principal was hired.

[WSratsinacage]

Yup that’s what I meant .. I heard about some outrageous behavior that went on for too many years .. glad they have a new principal, not sure what took so long.

[Author]

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