Letters to the Board from Parent Gina Alcock re: Special Needs Students

Bandon School District,

      With the announcement of discontinuing our relationship with ESD for Life skills I have some concerns! First off I would like to express how absolutely unprofessional and disrespectful it was in how all this has transpired! ESD was a subject discussed at the last board meeting but I didn’t not hear a definitive decision at that time!  The staff of our district was completely blind sided by the post for Victoria's job without any explanation or advance notice. I have yet to receive a letter from the district about this change. My child is directly affected by this transition.
    Jordan has been with Ms. Vickie since we moved back to Bandon in 2018. Victoria and her staff have been absolutely amazing! I have had the pleasure of working with them as both a parent as well as for work. I have watched my child and so many more grow in leaps and bounds! These kids trust this staff! These kids love our ESD crew and I personally feel that removing ESD and the staff that these children have grown to trust, appreciate and love would be detrimental to these kids!
   These are some of my current  concerns and I may have more as I have more time to process all of this. Currently with ESD we have a Behavioral Specialist. If I am not mistaken this person has her BCBA masters and facilitates the behavioral plans for our kids. Is Bandon School District prepared to Hire a BCBA? It’s already so difficult to receive ABA services in Coos County since the Starfish Clinic is the only one providing these services in our area. We have been on the waiting list since they opened.
Is the District prepared to replace all of the equipment, supplies and curriculum when ESD removes all of the things they have in place now?
What about staffing? Bandon School District does not pay aides enough as is!  I feel that attempting to replace the more than adequate staff already in place will be near impossible. The massive amount of turnover and shortage of staff since Ms. Shcmerer’s arrival has hindered our district.
What about kids at Ocean Crest? You can’t base your decision on what’s in place this year because next year we could end up with 1-5 new Life Skills Students. With the community growing so much with all the new construction of Bandon Dunes there is no telling what will transpire with incoming students.
Transportation is already an issue! Not enough bus drivers! Sending students somewhere else for education affects our transportation as well! Not to mention the effects this could potentially have on some students who do not travel well.
I think as a district this decision needs to truly be reevaluated. Parents of our LifeSkills should have a say in this fight! Because that’s exactly what this feels like! I feel that I have to fight for my child as well as  the staff that has taught, structured, loved and helped him grow into the amazing young man he is today!
Thank you for hearing my concerns,
Gina Alcock

Letter to the Editor that was published in The World Newspaper.
With the announcement of discontinuing our relationship with ESD for Life skills I have some concerns! First off, I would like to express how absolutely unprofessional and disrespectful it was in how all this has transpired! ESD was a subject discussed at the last board meeting, but I did not hear a definitive decision at that time. The staff of our district was completely blindsided by the post for Victoria's job without any explanation or advance notice. I have yet to receive a letter from the district about this change. My child is directly affected by this transition.

Jordan has been with Ms. Vickie since we moved back to Bandon in 2018. Victoria and her staff have been absolutely amazing! I have had the pleasure of working with them as both a parent as well as for work. I have watched my child and so many more grow in leaps and bounds! These kids trust this staff! These kids love our ESD crew, and I personally feel that removing ESD and the staff that these children have grown to trust, appreciate and love would be detrimental to these kids! These are some of my current concerns and I may have more as I have more time to process all of this. Currently with ESD, we have a Behavioral Specialist. If I am not mistaken this person has her BCBA masters and facilitates the behavioral plans for our kids. Is Bandon School District prepared to hire a BCBA? It’s already so difficult to receive ABA services in Coos County since the Starfish Clinic is the only one providing these services in our area. We have been on the waiting list since they opened.

Is the district prepared to replace all of the equipment, supplies and curriculum when ESD removes all of the things they have in place now? What about staffing? Bandon School District does not pay aides enough as is. I feel that attempting to replace the more than adequate staff already in place will be near impossible. The massive amount of turnover and shortage of staff since Ms. Shcmerer’s arrival has hindered our district. What about kids at Ocean Crest? You can’t base your decision on what’s in place this year because next year we could end up with 1-5 new Life Skills Students. With the community growing so much with all the new construction of Bandon Dunes, there is no telling what will transpire with incoming students.

Transportation is already an issue! Not enough bus drivers! Sending students somewhere else for education affects our transportation as well! Not to mention the effects this could potentially have on some students who do not travel well.

I think as a district this decision needs to truly be reevaluated. Parents of our LifeSkills should have a say in this fight! Because that’s exactly what this feels like! I feel that I have to fight for my child as well as the staff that has taught, structured, loved and helped him grow into the amazing young man he is today! One Question, if this was your child how would you feel? What would you want for your child?

Gina Alcock

Bandon

My name is Gina Alcock and I was employed at Ocean Crest as the 3rd grade aide from I believe January of 2021 through the end of May of 2022. I loved my job, my kids and my coworkers. Two to three weeks after I started I had an evaluation and had things to improve. Of course I did, as I had only worked there for a very short time.
I had my evaluation again the following year and had improved significantly on everything with exception of 2 things. Mind you, everything was satisfactory except for one thing and that was my attendance. 
I’m a single mom of three boys that attend school in Bandon. Two of my kids at separate times were required to stay home for a week because someone in their cohort had tested positive for Covid. I myself had some medical issues that I had to address taking me out of work for a week and I am sure I also had a few days I had to take for my self being sick.
 I was not the last aide hired by far and I had improved everything from my evaluation to a satisfactory level except for my attendance.
I was told that it was our superintendent’s decision to not reinstate my contract. That I needed to go talk to her.
I felt that this was retaliation because I had information (that I did not keep my mouth shut about) about Shauna’s behaviour in public.
I went to the meeting with her.. Shauna was horrible in that meeting and I swore to myself I would never have a meeting with her again without representation. I contacted my union rep and they went to bat for me. Being a single Mom facing unemployment, I did with any person would do and started looking for another job. Meanwhile, was fighting for me to be able to stay at the school. This was a process and one they put fear into my livelihood and the future and my children. By the time they decided that they would renew my contract, I had already accepted a position somewhere else.
Then everything happened with the Life Skills program in 2023.
Almost 2 years later while sitting at the Arcade Tavern playing bingo with a friend. Shauna approached me while she was intoxicated in front of my friend and tried to apologise to me saying she never meant to hurt my kid or me.. I personally believe that this apology only happened because she was under investigation for what was going on with another family.
I have watched and questioned why we have lost so many good teachers. When I asked David Heisel, he said the turnover was normal.
We went from a superintendent that continuously checked in with all of his employees asking if he could help or what we needed. A superintendent that stood out every morning greeting kids. A superintendent that would engage with community members in public to ask their views of how they felt the district could be better.
I can tell you that her first year I can count on one hand how many times I saw her at Ocean Crest. Has anyone seen her out greeting kids when they get off the bus on a regular basis?  I was introduced to her when she started and until our meeting I had no other interactions with her until our meeting about my employment.
Thank you for taking the time to read this. I know Bandon can do much better. It starts with the leadership. Until we fix that, we can’t fix anything.

Sincerely,
Gina Waggoner Alcock