| | Published September 11th, 2013
| Staff Shake Up at Burton Valley School Program
| | By Cathy Tyson | | |
There was concern among parents of the 40 students enrolled in Burton Valley Elementary's Early Intervention program prior to class starting this fall. Five staff members announced their resignations just months before as the 2012-13 school year ended. The program serves special needs students age 3 to 5.
Art Kapoor, president of the school board, noting they are not at liberty to discuss personnel matters, said, "On a positive note, we have a new team in place who participated in a retreat over the summer in preparation for the new year. This is only the first week of school, but by all reports, we are off to a great start. We are confident that we will continue to offer a high quality program for all of the students in our program."
In an effort to ease the transition for the new school year, there was a recent meet and greet event, where nervous parents were introduced to Sam Sheldon, the new Early Intervention Coordinator; in addition Fred Brill, superintendent, addressed the staffing situation. Sheldon is not new to this type of program; she's worked in the classroom and as an early intervention school psychologist in a nearby community.
Ashley Dunaway was one of many parents surprised at the staff exodus following the culmination of the last school year, which she describes as a "complete collapse" and "shocking." In Dunaway's opinion, parents of children who attended the program several years ago started noticing changes when a new director of student services, who oversees the Early Intervention program, joined the administration.
Many parents attended a Lafayette School Board meeting recently and voiced their concerns about the program and requested that the administration report-out lessons learned from the exit interviews.
"The Early Intervention program is fully staffed," said Brill. "I am confident that we will maintain a program of the highest quality. There are no philosophical changes in the way the program will be delivered."
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA