[nagdu] Teacher's allergy disrupts plans for autistic girl, service dog - The Athens Messenger: News

[minh ha]

I agree with Julie. Something smells super fishy. ... Didn't the
article say that the teacher wasn't even there on the first day and
that somebody else told the family that she was allergic to dogs?

Minh

On 8/26/13, Julie J. <julielj at neb.rr.com> wrote:
> The thing I'm confused about is how the teacher didn't know the girl was
> going to be accompanied by her service dog.  I'm convinced there had to be
> IEP meetings.  I'm pretty sure the classroom teacher attends these.  I'm
> also pretty sure that the topic of the dog would have come up.  Couldn't the
>
> teacher have mentioned the allergy so arrangements could have been worked
> out in advance?  Waiting until the first day of school to figure this out
> seems like a plan for failure.
>
> Or maybe that was the plan all along?
>
> Julie
>
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Marsha Drenth
> Sent: Monday, August 26, 2013 11:28 AM
> To: NAGDU Mailing List,the National Association of Guide Dog Users
> Subject: Re: [nagdu] Teacher's allergy disrupts plans for autistic
> girl,service dog - The Athens Messenger: News
>
> I'd like for one of the legal minds to comment on this. Whose rights have to
>
> be  observed here? personally my opinion is that the teacher, needs then to
>
> move schools, not eh child. Again that is my opinion. I am curious...
>
> Marsha drenth
> Sent with my IPhone
>
> On Aug 25, 2013, at 8:54 AM, "Ginger Kutsch" <GingerKutsch at yahoo.com>
> wrote:
>
>> Teacher's allergy disrupts plans for autistic girl, service dog - The
>> Athens
>> Messenger: News
>>
>> Athens Messenger
>>
>> Source:
>>
>> http://www.athensohiotoday.com/news/teacher-s-allergy-disrupts-plans-for-aut
>> istic-girl-service-dog/article_5b4859e2-a4b1-568a-adb8-acc649e08556.html
>>
>>
>>
>> Shyanna Gretz, 6, of The Plains, is seen with her new service dog Spring
>> last month. After attending her first day of school at Morrison-Gordon
>> Elementary
>>
>> on Monday, the school informed Shyanna's family that their autistic
>> daughter
>> and service dog would have to transfer schools as Morrison's K-3 special
>> education
>>
>> teacher is severely allergic to dog dander.
>>
>>
>>
>> By Sara Brumfield Messenger staff journalist
>>
>> As Shyanna Gretz, an autistic 6-year-old from The Plains, and her new
>> service dog Spring attended their first day of first grade at
>> Morrison-Gordon Elementary
>>
>> on Monday, her family was hoping for a smooth transition into Athens City
>> Schools. But a special education teacher's severe allergy to dog dander
>> has
>> caused
>>
>> a hiccup in the family's schooling plan.
>>
>>
>>
>> The Messenger has written several stories about the Gretz family and
>> their
>> journey to get a service dog for Shyanna, who has had a history of
>> extreme
>> mood
>>
>> fluctuations and wandering off. After two years of fundraising and
>> waiting,
>> the family welcomed a 1-year-old black Labrador retriever, Spring, into
>> their
>>
>> lives last month.
>>
>>
>>
>> Since Spring's arrival, Shyanna's mother Charla told The Messenger that
>> her
>> daughter's moods have been more in line with her peers and that family
>> outings
>>
>> that were once impossible are now achievable.
>>
>>
>>
>> Shyanna attended kindergarten at Beacon School on West Union Street last
>> year. Beacon, operated by the Athens County Board of Developmental
>> Disabilities,
>>
>> is a school designed to serve students with special needs in all five of
>> the
>> county's public school districts.
>>
>>
>>
>> According to Charla, it was determined that Shyanna should be integrated
>> into the Athens City School District this year and the family made plans
>> for
>> Shyanna
>>
>> to attend Morrison-Gordon Elementary, which is located next to Beacon
>> School.
>>
>>
>>
>> However, at the end of the day on Monday, Charla (who plans to attend
>> school
>> with Shyanna on a daily basis) was told that her daughter would have to
>> transfer
>>
>> to a different elementary school because the K-3 Individualized Education
>> Plan teacher at Morrison is severely allergic to dog dander.
>>
>>
>>
>> Athens City Schools Supt. Carl Martin told The Messenger on Friday that
>> only
>> two of the district's four elementary schools have programs for autistic
>> students
>>
>> - Morrison-Gordon and East Elementary. He said that Morrison has two
>> teachers for the program - one who serves grades K-3 and another serving
>> grades 4-6
>>
>> - and East has one teacher. The district's middle and high schools also
>> have
>> such programs.
>>
>>
>>
>> He said it's not uncommon for special needs students to begin their
>> education at Beacon School and then move into the public school system.
>>
>>
>>
>> "We have a fair amount of autistic kids in the district," Martin said.
>>
>>
>>
>> While switching elementary schools may seem like a simple enough
>> solution,
>> Charla said her daughter doesn't cope well with change or riding the
>> school
>>
>> bus. She told The Messenger that the bus ride to East Elementary would be
>> longer and that the change in surroundings could be a setback for
>> Shyanna.
>>
>>
>>
>> Martin emphasized that East Elementary is only five miles from the
>> Gretz's
>> home in The Plains and the bus ride wouldn't be much different than it is
>>
>> to
>>
>> Morrison-Gordon.
>>
>>
>>
>> According to Martin, he was unaware that the Morrison-Gordon K-3 special
>> education teacher was allergic to dogs until Monday afternoon. Charla
>> said
>> the
>>
>> teacher was out sick on Monday, but the school told her that Shyanna and
>> Spring could not return to Morrison because of the teacher's allergy.
>>
>>
>>
>> When asked if returning to Beacon would be an option for Shyanna, Martin
>> said that would have to be worked out between the family and Beacon
>> School.
>> He
>>
>> said that it's not uncommon for students to return to Beacon after
>> they've
>> tried public schools.
>>
>>
>>
>> The Gretz' youngest child, Conner, attends pre-school at Beacon. Charla
>> said
>> her son has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and
>> oppositional
>>
>> defiant disorder (ODD).
>>
>>
>>
>> Charla said she will meet with members of the Athens City School District
>>
>> on
>> Sept. 3 regarding their options for Shyanna's schooling. Martin said the
>> district
>>
>> had hoped to meet with the family sooner, but the family's schedule
>> didn't
>> allow for that.
>>
>>
>>
>> "The dog is not the issue," Martin said. "The issue is where can I serve
>> this child in a program that works for everyone. East is a wonderful
>> school
>> in
>>
>> a wonderful building."
>>
>> sbrumfield at athensmessenger.com
>>
>> ; Twitter @SaraBmessenger.
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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