Hi, All! Well, it's *that* time of year again ...
We are once again having problems with our school, and after only just starting last year, we will not be re-enrolling. Previously, (K-2), we attended a loving parochial school where we had a couple of hiccups in 3 years, but otherwise nothing like what we have experienced in the year we have been at our current private, independent school. Last school year was so bad that I actually fell ill from the stress induced by the whole thing, but after several meetings with the leadership toward the end of the year they assured me that THEY wanted to change. True, a lot of the problems from last year centered on the particular teacher and her overuse (daily) of food in the classroom, and now we have a different teacher who is completely opposite, so that has certainly helped. However, it is the school's attitude toward allergies (basically, they do not take them seriously) that is the problem.
I am trying to solicit advice on reasonable accommodations for a peanut and sesame allergic 4th grader as I search for other schools. Right now, her school thinks it is OK to consume peanuts in her classroom without cleaning. They think it is OK for parents to bring in food treats ANYTIME and for ANY REASON, and refuse to send a letter home asking to refrain from such behavior. So far, in just the last couple of weeks, someone has brought in Halloween cupcakes (we don't even celebrate Halloween at our school, so it makes even less sense that this was allowed) and Christmas cookies (yep, November 17th), without any notice to the teacher, and these were passed out and consumed by everyone but my daughter. Finally, on Friday I had to pick my daughter up early from school because she could not safely participate in the "Thanksgiving Feast" they were having. It consisted of 10-12 parents bringing in HOMEMADE dishes, with the caveat to please make sure everything is peanut free (as if!). No mention of my daughter's sesame allergy, either, as the school does not think it is important to communicate this to the room mom, even though they assured me that they would handle all communications. I had offered a solution of making things safe by having people provide store bought items with proper allergen-free labels, but they did not want that. Did I mention that even after I had e-mailed the teacher and asked her to check the new class pet's food to make sure it was peanut free, I happened to be in the classroom the next day and found the food to contain WHOLE PEANUTS as the 3rd ingredient?
Obviously, this is no place for any food allergic child, but they don't see it. After the first cupcake incident a few weeks ago, I was told that a communication asking parents to refrain from sending nonessential treats would go home as early as the following week, which never did. When this cookie incident and the lunch went down this week, I actually met with the school and asked why the original communication never went out. She told me that she had drafted a letter, but that "leadership" had shot it down and said that they did not want "to go there." So, with that being said, we are certainly not going to remain here, but she made reference to my daughter's age (as if these requests were not appropriate due to it), so I wanted to see what you all thought. So, this post is part rant, part solicitation of advice, and I greatly appreciate any feedback!!
Thank you!!!