Be here everyday but you can't eat.
As most of you all know, Mark has passed his graduation test and will graduate on May 30th.
In order to march with his class in cap and gown, Mark has to go to school every single day, where he does absolutely nothing all day long.
There is no classwork for him to do, nothing educational at all, he's not allowed to help out in the office, run papers, print copies or anything, so he either sleeps at his desk or plays games on the computer all day long to pass the time.
Today he goes to lunch, gets his tray, goes all the way through the line getting his food, and goes to punch in his pin number to "pay" for his lunch, and the cafeteria lady tells him his pin number is no longer working, that his lunch has been canceled.
So he goes to the teacher and asks what's going on.
The teacher tells him that all of the students who took the test and will graduate, have had their lunches revoked, they will not be allowed to get any lunch for the rest of the year unless they pay cash for it.
The teens get free hot lunch because I am a disabled parent receiving SSDI, so they are allowed to have lunch every single day, it won't cost them anything because I don't have the money to afford lunch every day.
Mark's teacher then dismissed him at 11:30am because of the no lunch thing, along with several other students who also had their lunch pins turned off and were told that if they wanted to eat, they had to pay cash.
Mark came home, told me what was going on, and I called the school wanting to speak to the principal, Linda Nook.
I was told that she was unavailable, so I spoke to her secretary about the issue, and asked how they could just shut off the lunches for all of these students, explained that Mark receives free lunch, he cannot afford to pay, I cannot afford to pay, I am disabled receiving SSDI, the free hot lunch program is something we depend on, AND if the school is going to insist that Mark be there every single day for the rest of the year, the last day of school for students is May 29th, then he needs to have his lunch every day.
She said she would look into it and call me back.
About 45 minutes later, the secretary calls me back and tells me not to worry, Mark's lunch pin has been re-instated, he can eat lunch everyday, and then she hung up.
I am glad his pin was turned back on, but I still want to know what right the school has to just shut off the pins of students for the last month of school.
The only students they did this to are the ones who took the exit option and the early graduation test, about 50+ kids.
I'm pretty sure, that legally, they cannot deny any student lunch, that they cannot just shut off the pins of these students, especially if they receive free hot lunch.
When Sebastian came home, he told me that Mark's teacher had gotten yelled at by the principal, Linda Nook, because a parent called to complain about the pins being shut off, and to "Tell Mrs. Cooper, that her son's pin has been turned back on", and the teacher was very upset about the principal yelling at him about it.
See, the majority of other students they did this to, have decided, and with their parents permission, to just leave school at 11:30am every day because their lunches have been revoked.
But, if they leave school early every day, it doesn't count as a full day's attendance, and those students will not receive their diplomas, and not be allowed to march and graduate, they will be given a GED.
It is my opinion, since learning this information, that the school shut off the lunches of these students and are allowing them to go home early everyday, so that they will not be able to march with their class.
The principal, Linda Nook, does not want them to march with their class because they did the early exit option, they are not considered regular and "good" students, so she doesn't want them at the very public graduation at Robarts Arena.
She yelled at the early exit option teacher because Mark wants to be there everyday, wants to graduate.
Mark busted his ass to be able to graduate with his class, he took all of those tests, studied like crazy, worked super hard, he will not be denied the right to march with his class no matter what kind of stunts this principal tries to pull to make him just leave.
His lunch pin is working again, he will be there every single day, he WILL march with his class.
I will make sure of it.
Comments
That is so horrible. As long as Mark is still considered a student at that school, they MUST provide him with the free hot lunch that he is qualified for under the law. What a steaming pile of crap this whole thing is.
Glad you gave them shit and got his PIN working again.
I got free lunches at school, too, under the same program. My father was disabled and could not work, same reason why your sons qualify for it now. The free lunch program does help many families in need, no one has the right to abuse people in this way.
Posted by: Christine | April 23, 2009 8:35 PM
That's just CRAP! No, they can't just stop giving him free lunch because they've been paid for it already! That principal needs to get an ass adjustment! She's put you guys through hell and back for no reason of your own, yet thinks shit like this is totally acceptable? Friggin bullshit!
Posted by: Holly | April 23, 2009 8:37 PM
Not only is that a load of crap on the school's part, but it's also extremely illegal. If a student is required to be in school, the district is responsible for providing for them as they would if they were going to classes like every other student is. It should be taken to the Board of Education, or higher if there is anyone higher.
I'm not sure if other states have a setup like New York, but we have our individual districts that are under another umbrella, those umbrella districts report to the state.
Posted by: Margaret Kerr | April 23, 2009 9:16 PM
I know that they can't just stop giving any student who receive free hot lunch, their lunch, it's already been paid for by the government hot lunch program, and it's like against the law to refuse lunch to students anyway.
I think.
But this is her way of getting rid of the "riff-raff", the high-risk students who were failing, who almost dropped out, so she doesn't have to have them at graduation.
She's also totally doing away with the early exit option class next year because she said to the exit option teacher, and I quote, "If a student fails, that's their problem. We should not be giving them second chances. So if they fail out or drop out, that's it, they're done."
Obviously, making sure that every student gets an education isn't a priority to her.
I know that high-risk students require more work, they obviously have problems, either at home and fall behind like Mark did, or they just simply require more attention from teachers.
The way the no child left behind act works with these kinds of students, is that they are usually the ones who don't do so well on the FCAT, the Florida state standardized testing, and so they bring the school's average down, which makes the school get less federal funding, and their ranking also goes down.
Linda Nook wants Riverview High School to be the best of the best, and these students bring down her school's average and make her get less money.
So she's taking away the exit option program, and if these students fail, too freaking bad for them, tough luck kid, now get out.
But what she did here, canceling out these student's lunch PINS so they can't get their lunches, allowing them to go home early, makes sure that these kids will not fulfill their attendance requirements, and they will not get their diplomas that they worked so hard for, and they won't be able to attend the public graduation, was downright sneaky and shitty.
No student is going to be able to make it for the last 30+ days of school, 6 and a half hours every day, without a meal in the middle of the day, so they will just go home at lunch time every day, which makes sure that they won't be at graduation.
The graduation that she loves to speak at every year, her "prize" for being such a great principal. *rolls eyes*
She doesn't want these kids there, so this was her way of getting rid of them, getting rid of the riff-raff.
Posted by: Kat | April 23, 2009 9:16 PM
I so would still call the stupid bitch again tomorrow and demand that she speaks to you or you will be contacting the news to have them look into this. Other parents are not going to be aware that their children who chose the early exit option that come home at 11:30 will jeopardize their right to attend their graduation. This needs to get out there.
Posted by: Mindy | April 23, 2009 10:50 PM
I know that it needs to get out there, other parents need to know too, but I am worried about Mark actually getting to graduate.
Did you know that Linda Nook decides if each and every student, not just the exit option kids, but every student, will graduate or not?
Jim, the teacher of the exit option class that is being removed next year because Linda Nook thinks that if a kid fails out, too bad, they don't deserve a second chance, said that she totally decides the fate of every student.
She signs her name on their diplomas, but if she's in a bad mood that day, or goes through their records and sees too many absences or whatever, or just doesn't like the kid, she won't sign her name on their diploma, and they won't graduate.
The exit option kids have to go to school every single day in order to get their diploma and march.
If they don't go every day, they don't get a diploma, they will get a GED, and they won't be able to march with their class.
Jim told Mark to not piss her off, that she already hates the exit option program, she doesn't think that failing students deserve this second chance, so if you piss her off, she just won't sign her name to his diploma.
Mark is totally afraid that she will get mad at him because of me, and not sign her name to his diploma.
So what do I do?
I don't know what to do.
Posted by: Kat | April 23, 2009 11:43 PM
I know you will be SO glad to be done with this school once Sebastian graduates. I would be!
Posted by: Devilish Southern Belle | April 24, 2009 1:34 AM
You may not want to wait until after Mark graduates, but call the Free/Reduced Lunch program and put in a complaint. This is against the law. And who is the principal to be the one to decide if they graduate? If they graduate by any means, they graduate!
What a shame that your son, who did something positive is being singled out instead of being praised for his tenacity.
Posted by: ConnieFoggles | April 24, 2009 2:17 AM
He's not being singled out, all of the students in the exit option program, a program that helps students at risk of failing out or dropping out, had their lunch PINs canceled today.
None of them are allowed to have lunch unless they pay cash for it, so some of them are going home at lunch time, but if they do, their attendance will be counted against them, and they will not graduate, they will not get a diploma, they will only get a GED.
But they earned their diplomas, they didn't take a GED test, they took a graduation test made for the exit option program.
They earned their diplomas, and she's trying to make them all get GEDs, she's trying to make them all have shitty attendance so they can't graduate and march with their class.
Great suggestion on calling the free hot lunch program. I think I'm going to do that instead of calling the school board.
Posted by: Kat | April 24, 2009 2:25 AM
Let us know with that phone call. I don't think the principal can hold up a diploma -- either you graduate or you don't. Let me do some research this weekend and I'll let you know what I find.
Posted by: Lisa | April 24, 2009 10:31 AM
I just don't want to fuck this up for him.
If the principal says that he doesn't have to go, but he really does, and she's only saying that so she can fuck it up and he won't graduate or get his diploma but end up with a GED, I SWEAR, I will fucking kill her!
Posted by: Kat | April 24, 2009 10:37 AM
I thought that the School Board had to approve the students for graduation, not the principal. She sounds like one power hungry biotch.
Posted by: kylie | April 24, 2009 12:42 PM
This whole thing is so fargin bogus it isn't funny. This so-called "principal" isn't the least bit interested in making sure kids get an education.
What she IS about is making sure the numbers work out for the school, it's budget and her personal glory (not to mention any bonuses, pay raises and / or promotions that might be involved.)
Contacting the feds that oversee the hot lunch program is a good idea, as is as many people as possible making lots of noise about this.
Y'see, what madam principal doesn't apparently know is that bloggers have a pretty loud voice these days and they can create some real heat for people if they so choose.
If everybody who reads this post were to not only comment on it but also stumble it, do a tweet or two about it, blog about it on their own blogs and mention it in as many other places as possible then we can turn the heat up on her to the point that she's GOT to play ball and do things right whether she wants to or no.
I've already stumbled this and I'm going to do more about it in several mediums over the next couple of days. Aside from being illegal, this crap is just plain wrong and needs to be stopped.
Besides, it's not just that one school, how many other schools have somebody pulling similar stunts?
Posted by: Selif | April 24, 2009 4:50 PM
Hey Kat, I sent this blog to Fox News by Stumble Upon.com. Told them that something needs to be done about this situation. Have the other students been given back their lunches, too? or is the 'principal' still stealing them?
Posted by: Two Ton Tilly | April 24, 2009 7:42 PM
I didn't mean that he alone was being singled out, but the group of students for early graduation. I care more about your son than the other students of course! I admire him for not dropping out. The school should too, especially the principal.
Posted by: ConnieFoggles | April 26, 2009 2:15 AM