A parent told me of an incident that had happened to her daughter on the elementary playground of the school my children were attending. What alerted her to the problem is a sudden unusual outburst and behavior by her daughter that happened at home. The problems included some molestation issues of younger children by older children (thankfully my daughter was not involved – thanks to her older brother looking out for her). When the director was informed, she told my friend that her daughter had learned the suddenly exhibited outburst and behavior at home. Both my friend and myself were shocked that the director would even insinuate such a thing.
Once I learned about what was going on with what was dubbed “the cool girls”, I immediately spoke to my son who was 12 and asked if he knew anything about the happenings on the elementary playground. It is a small school and between two buildings houses preschool through 8th grade. He informed me that he indeed had and immediately told his sister to stay away from the playhouse no matter what.
If my son and his friends in middle school knew what was going on, it showed it actually was happening even though the director refused to acknowledge it. My husband and I immediately decided it was time to get them out of that school as soon as possible. The problem with that lies in the fact that my daughter has learning difficulties and cannot go to school just anywhere. That is why we were at The Montessori School in Chattanooga to begin with. My daughter’s physcial therapist had highly recommended the school to us based on my daughter’s learning needs.
My son at the time of this recommendation was happy and thriving in 4th grade as an honor student at an altogether different school in which my daughter would not be adequately accommodated — Silverdale Baptist Academy. When I toured The Montessori School and spoke with the director she assured me that she could help my daughter. Once she learned I had another child, she then emphatically informed me that if I didn’t transfer my son to The Montessori School, that she would not take my daughter. I was very angry at the thought of being forced to move my son from his environment. We didn’t have a lot of options available to us and it seemed that the hands on learning would best suit my daughter at the time as this is the only Montessori school in this city.
After my husband and I discussed this unhappy turn of events, we then spoke to our son to see what his reaction might be. He was very mature to be a 10 year old and said, “I know my sister really needs this and cannot go to my school, so I will move to The Montessori School.” We talked with him at great length making sure he was really ok with the move. He was unhappy to leave his friends with whom he had been with since the beginning, but wanted to make sure his sister had what she needed too. With heavy hearts we spoke to my son’s principal who is an amazing Christian woman. She was shocked to learn of such barbaric practices for a director to pad one’s pocket so to speak instead of wanting what is best for a child. She told me that SBA would never insist on a family placing all their children at one school because one school does not necessarily fit all. She asked if I wanted her to call the director and speak with her. I told her no, that we had spoken to our son and he was ok with the move to help his sister (something that the director should never have even asked us to do). As they say, hindsight is 20/20.
Here it was February already which would make it most difficult to find another school that would be able to help my daughter with her learning differences. Also, my friend moved her children immediately into the public school in their area. Although her daughter does not have learning problems and was supposedly working and mastering things at a second grade level, once tested in the public school system, she was found to be very deficit in things that The Montessori School had said she had passed and mastered. This really alarmed me as my child had learning issues.
I was not able to really get anywhere with her teacher and even had brought in her physical therapist who specializes in children with learning differences. She sat in on a meeting at the beginning of the year to set some guidelines and make some suggestions on how to best help my daughter in the classroom. This was a big expense for me to have her at school for the meeting.
My daughter who was finishing up 2nd grade had been at a standstill on the learning curve this year. After having several meetings I was still frustrated with the current school. The pushed independent learning. That is great if you can learn on your own which she cannot. She needed modifications which were not being done according to what our therapist had suggested. This other issue of the molestation was the last straw…the thing that told me there HAD to be something better for my daughter and my son.
My son really wanted to go back to SBA where he had moved from. We scheduled testing. The testing showed he was very far behind from where he should be and we were told that it would be difficult for him to succeed there now. That was a big blow to us. We hadn’t realized how far my son had fallen behind. He was passing and making good grades at The Montessori School so there was no reason to believe he would be or could be behind. Afterall, according to the director, The Montessori School is far superior in academics to traditional private schools. HA! We certainly knew that was far from the truth. SBA asked us if we had any other schools we were applying to and we mentioned Hickory Valley Christian School. The principal said that they have no difficulty taking students from Hickory Valley. Well, that was definitely all I needed to hear to speed up the process of getting my kids out as fast as I could.
I ended up calling the principal at Hickory Valley Christian School that I had spoken with a couple of years earlier to see if they had openings for their school. She told me they did and that I could bring both in for testing. After the testing, I asked her if she could help my children. She said she knew they could. I felt so much relief!
Once they had gone through the testing process, I was told that Cameron had done well enough to go on into the 7th grade but did have some serious math deficits that would have to be worked on. As for my daughter who was finishing up 2nd grade, she did not fair nearly as well. She had tested as barely being on a 1st grade level. We decided to hold her back in 2nd grade and tutor her during the summer to bring her up as much as we could before the fall.
I am happy to say that after only two tutoring sessions my daughter finally “got” math! I mean she could add with no problems because of a program called Dots and Spots math. She was able to do subtraction after the 3rd session with a program called Punch Math which adds a bit of kinetics to the math and makes it easier to remember. I was simply amazed.
The reading tutor is trained in the LIPS (Linda Bell Mood) phonics program. After 2 sessions, my daughter was reading much better. She was actually stopping at the end of each sentence instead of going nonstop.
Since we are now into the 4th week of school, my daughter’s self esteem continues to climb as do her academics. In math, although still behind where she needs to be, she is now carrying and borrowing with no trouble at all. The reading has really taken off. Now she cannot wait to go to the library to bring new books home to read. She is taking AR tests on the computer and passing them. She loves to read. I know by the end of the year she will definitely be ready for 3rd grade. These teachers at Hickory Valley Christian really care about the students. If one method does not work for a child, they use another until they find what works. The environment is so loving and kind. The teachers hug and love on the kids and they kids reciprocate. It is such a nice change.
We have finally gotten to a point where my daughter is not crying at homework time. She can actually do her homework. She feels successful. She now knows she can learn and succeed.
Oh, and another great thing about HVCS, they have an occupational therapist on staff who teaches Neuronet to the students in grades K – 3 during physical education. What in the world is Neuronet you might ask? Click on the link above to learn all about it. Neuronet instruction is VERY expensive and can only be given by someone specially trained to use it. This is INCLUDED at HVCS!
My son? He is loving school. He is really working hard in math and has really impressed his teacher. He says he has learned more in 3 weeks at Hickory Valley Christian than in 2 years at The Montessori. I am so happy. The teachers cannot say enough nice things about my son’s work and his character.
My children have found many others who have come from The Montessori School. No wonder HVCS knew they could help my kids. They are used to picking up the pieces and putting them back together again as a whole successful academic picture.
The principal is the just the sweetest woman in the world. My kids love her as do all the children. They all make a beeline to her whenever they see her. I cannot say enough good things about the school my children are attending this year! We could not be happier. This is the school that will bring out all of their hidden potential to prepare them for high school.
I am here to say that HVCS is the best kept secret in Chattanooga! It is a goldmine of educational techniques and resources.
Always remember you are your child’s best advocate. If you feel something is not right, go with your instinct and investigate. Today it is imperative for us to take charge of our child’s educational needs. If you do not, no one else will.
I also heard that yet another molestation issue has occurred in that playhouse on the playground with two young boys this time. Oh, and by the way, that playhouse, where the molestation supposedly “never” took place, has been torn down all of a sudden. Interesting huh? Yeah, I thought so too.