Special Ed Students Locked Out of School Two Days Straight

It’s day two, and a group of special needs children in Belmopan are still locked out of the classroom. The Ministry of Education is completely silent. As we told you on Monday, a special education program at Garden City Primary was suddenly shut down, just days before the new school year. Parents were told to move their kids to Evergreen Primary, but when they showed up, Evergreen wasn’t ready. Now, these children are left without a place to learn, and parents are demanding answers. News Five’s Paul Lopez has the story.

 

Paul Lopez, Reporting

Special need students in Belmopan remain out of the classroom, two days into the new school year and the Ministry of Education is silent on the matter. The first day of the new school year for these students was anything but exciting. It was filled with anger and frustration among parents, after they learned that the school their children were abruptly transferred to, did not prepare to take them in.

 

Sherlet Neal, Grandmother of Student

“He was suppose to transition to Garden City this year and so we just learnt two days ago that program had been cancelled and they are to report to the United Evergreen where there will no be a classroom for them at the upper division.”

 

Garden City Primary School went ahead and cleared the classroom once used for special education. No clear explanation given, just simply that the program came to an end. When parents arrived at Evergreen Upper Division on Monday morning, Room 20 was locked. A classroom meant to symbolize hope and fresh beginnings has become a picture of irony. Instead of opening doors, it shut them, locking out the very children it was built for. Special needs students, left standing outside, denied equal access to the education they deserve.

 

Jerry Gladden, Special Needs Student

“They clean out the place and don’t want to open the door to let in the child to learn and they still don’t want to sweep the mess to let them go into class.”

With the little understanding he has of the situation, Jerry Gladden voiced his concerns over being locked out of the classroom. But how is it that Evergreen Primary School was not prepared to take them in? Why was no teacher available to welcome them on their first day? We sought comments from the Ministry of Education, but our requests went unanswered. One parent with a twelve-year-old child had this to say.

 

Voice of: Parent

“I can’t even believe what they are doing to these kids, because my son have been going back and forth to different schools. I have had him at Evergreen and he never got accepted, because the classroom was full and that was the reason and I finally found a class where my child was happy and the teacher was an amazing person and to have these kids just at home now and not knowing where they will go, this is really unfair to be honest.”

There was an apparent breakdown in communication, because while parents were instructed to take their children to Evergreen Primary School on the first day of classes, the school was unprepared. Parents were later informed that there were challenges faced with securing a teacher on time, while another special education teacher is reportedly on sick leave. But these parents are questioning whether the ministry is truly prioritizing special needs children. One parent says she noted vast improvements with her child at Garden City Primary School, only for program to end abruptly.

 

Voice of: Parent

“What is very upsetting is that he started here and we expected for this to continue and we were told about it only Thursday and it was not a phone call, a message sent that they were to start at Evergreen. We came for better clarification and called a contact they gave us at the ministry and they told us it was decision made by the school and the decision says it is not them, it is the ministry. So no one is taking the blame, no one wants to accept responsibility. And when go to the other school to see what is happening it is crazy, there is no classroom available. The classroom is not available and we are told that maybe in two weeks the class will be available. It is not a sure thing. Shouldn’t they be treated with equal rights as every other child?”

 

That teacher from Garden City Primary School that parents are commending for her work with their children has since been assigned to work a standard four class. We will continue to press for answers. Reporting for News Five, I am Paul Lopez