[nobe-l] need advice
via nobe-l
nobe-l at nfbnet.org
Sat May 24 19:58:05 UTC 2014
Sarah,
That is a very interesting approach! Never thought about doing something
like that but is something to ponder. I do have the personality type...in
that, I am outspoken and can be somewhat bold at times, that would lend
itself to something like that. My concern with this administration though is
that they are ruthless and most likely would give me a written reprimand
for refusing to attend the required training because it would be considered
insubordination.
Thanks for sharing!
Nicole
In a message dated 5/24/2014 3:44:08 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
sarah at sarahaclark.com writes:
My husband once worked with someone who had an interesting approach to the
issue of not receiving materials in an accessible form at meetings. This
man
was a high level programmer with IBM. When a meeting would start and
materials were handed out and were not provided to him in a form that he
could read, he would simply stand up and say "its clear I am not needed
here" and excuse himself and walk out. Its something I would be very
tempted
to do.
Sarah
----- Original Message -----
From: "via nobe-l" <nobe-l at nfbnet.org>
To: <bookwormahb at earthlink.net>; <nobe-l at nfbnet.org>
Sent: Saturday, May 24, 2014 12:04 PM
Subject: Re: [nobe-l] need advice
> Ashley,
> They had two options.....
> 1) They could provide me the materials and presentation ahead of time
via
> email so that I could print them off and make them in accessible format
> (large print)
> OR
> 2) They could provide me the materials and presentation in large print
> format that day.
> They did neither.
> Interestingly enough, I had colleagues that were sitting next to me that
> were sharing things with me (since I could see it).....and we ended up
> getting called out for talking, as if we are 5 years old. At that
point,
> I
> wanted to really tell them what I thought....but I refrained.
>
> Ashley, it makes a world of difference as to who the administration is.
> My experiences have definitely shown me this.
>
> Good luck with future endeavors in education. It is very doable with
the
> right support.
>
> Nicole
>
>
>
>
> In a message dated 5/24/2014 11:02:03 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,
> bookwormahb at earthlink.net writes:
>
> Nicole,
> sounds tough.
> I'd file a complaint outside the school. If there is a helpful nfb rep
in
> your state, you might have them come to the meetings.
>
> Which accomodation did you need in the training that was not provided?
>
> I'm glad you made it over 10 years. I am considering special ed either
> teaching blind kids or learning disabled ones so am on this list.
>
> Its interesting to see one administration really makes a difference in
> the
> treatment we get.
> I'd love to see the day when everyone in schools respects staff
> reguardless
> of their abilities.
> Ashley
> -----Original Message-----
> From: via nobe-l
> Sent: Friday, May 23, 2014 10:59 PM
> To: nobe-l at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [nobe-l] need advice
>
>
> Hi,
> I am not one to put messages on the list very often and when I do, it
> is
> typically responding to someone else’s message.
> I am looking for some advice from others though…to get an idea of what
> others might do in my situation. I apologize for the length.
> Just some quick background information first. I am legally blind.
I
> am
> finishing my 12th year of teaching in an inner city public school
system
> as a special education teacher. I have taught in the same school
> district
> for my entire career. They hired me knowing that I was legally blind
> and
> might need a couple reasonable accommodations. For 10 years or so, the
> district’s administration was very helpful and very willing to provide
> any
> reasonable accommodations to me I requested. I certainly wasn’t pushy
> and
> only
> asked for things that were essential. They were always more than
> willing
> to comply with my requests and never questioned anything. Even during
> those 10 years, I had several different principals, 2 different
Special
> Education directors, and a couple different Superintendents that I
> worked
> under.
> For the most part, with the exception of one principal that caused
> problems for everyone, I had no issues with any administration and any
> requests I
> made. The one issue I did have with the principal, the
Superintendent
> at
> the time quickly corrected the issue.
> In the last couple years, we have acquired a new Superintendent, a new
> Special Education director, and new principals. The response I have
> received from the current administration has been very different.
> At the beginning of December of last year, I made a request for a
> reasonable accommodation to my principals. They ignored my request.
I
> again asked
> a couple more times, getting more specific and more direct each time…
> .while still being professional and respectful. I was still ignored.
> Then at
> the beginning of January, I contacted the Superintendent in an attempt
> to
> resolve the issue, which had worked the one other time I had had
issues
> with
> a principal. The Superintendent also ignored my attempt to contact
> him
> and never responded. After discussing it with our union’s attorney
(who
> also happens to practice disability law), it was decided that I would
> file
> an
> internal ADA complaint within the district. I filed the complaint and
> chose to have our union’s attorney act as my representation. The
> district
> contacted their attorney who then contacted my attorney. After some
> discussion and despite my anger, I agreed to mediate the issue without
> the
> district
> having to go through the investigation process first. Although I was
> angry because I felt that the district’s actions were totally out of
> line
>
> and
> unnecessary, I was not going into this with an attitude of “I’m out to
> get
> them”. I just wanted to continue to be treated in the same manner I
> had
> been for 10 years and be provided reasonable accommodations when I
> requested them, nothing more. We held a meeting where it was myself,
> my
>
> attorney,
> the district’s attorney, and administration. We came to a written and
> signed agreement between the district and myself as to the reasonable
> accommodations that I needed and the district was willing to provide.
> I
> thought
> with the signed agreement and my dismissal of the complaint, that we’d
> all
> be able to move on and I’d get what I needed. The agreement was
> supposed
> to be distributed to all administrators that I work with or under so
> that
> they were aware of the agreement and its contents. About 2 weeks
later,
> I
> was speaking to one of the administrators and I mentioned the
> agreement….and
> they seemed to be unaware of the agreement or its contents. This
> concerned
> me. I asked a couple other administrators and received the same
> response.
> So I called my attorney and told her my concerns. I said “How can I
> expect these people to follow an agreement that they don’t even seem
to
> be
> aware of? I mean, that doesn’t seem very fair to them.” She then
> contacted
> the district’s attorney and we ended up on a three-way conference call.
> I
> explained my concerns. She did have documentation that all the
> administration had been informed of it but stated that she would make
> contact again
> with the Superintendent’s office and tell them that they needed to check
> again with their administrators to ensure they were well aware of the
> agreement
> and expectations. Again, I wasn’t out to “get them”…I was simply
just
> trying to prevent another issue. This was like 2 months ago.
> So, now comes today. I was at a district level professional
development
> meeting in which I was to be provided a reasonable accommodation that
> would
> allow me gain the information I needed and fully participate in the
> professional development. Mind you, this professional development is
> information
> and training on our new state level teacher evaluation system….which in
> turn, directly correlates to my evaluation and ultimately, my job.
> So,
> yes,
> it is extremely important stuff. The accommodation I was to be provided
> today was on the signed agreement we made months ago. The two
> administrators who ran the professional development were both people who
> were provided
> the information….one of which was ironically, the Special Education
> director. Despite the agreement, I was not provided the
accommodation.
> I had to
> go through the training without it. Needless to say, I am angry and
> frustrated. I had 10 great years with no issues. I’ve tried very
> hard
> to
> work with the current administration and have tried to be understanding
> and
> forgiving. I’ve given them chances to make things right and do the
> right
> thing. They just don’t seem to care!!!
> So, my question is……..what avenue would you do next? Would you try
and
> mediate yet again, even though they are obviously refusing to follow the
> agreement that is already made? Would you file a complaint outside
the
> district? What direction would you take from here? What suggestions
> do
> you
> have?
> Any thoughts are appreciated!
> Thanks in advance,
> Nicole
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