To the editor:
I wish to send a heartfelt thank you to our school principals who have bravely acknowledged parents’ concerns regarding the disruption caused by students with special needs in classrooms.
It is June and principals receive requests for next year’s placements from parents. Families ask that their child not be assigned to a class with little Johnny or Jane who has a special needs designation. These concerned parents have made in clear to our principals that students with special needs do not belong in regular classrooms, as they diminish the quality of education for their classmates.
I am proud of our principals as they model social justice, equality and integrity when they go back to these same concerned parents to assert that their school is an inclusive school. That in their inclusive school, all students have a right to have their social, emotional and cognitive needs met.
I wish to thank our principals who struggle daily to stamp out bullying, stigmatism and social shunning by ‘parents.’
Donna Moore, Kelowna
