Parent wonders: Where is district’s support?

I have not received (as this is written) the “official” letter describing options for my son's education for the 2012-13 academic year or the form that I had to submit to the district by April 4.

I have called the district's Office of Learning and Leadership every day since March 15 when I heard other parents had received the letter. To date, I have not received a call back. The secretary at Polk Elementary also called and was told that a letter would be sent out to be received no later than March 26.

The only call I received from the district was via school messenger that “District personnel will be unavailable from March 26-30 because of spring break. They are moving into their new offices and phones and email will be down.”

We received a letter on March 15 about visit days and times for possible schools. Some schools offered only one or two options for visits. Because of spring break, I was unable to visit schools the week of March 26.

This is the support they have assured us we would receive and this is the plan that they have in place.

I am a parent of a worried Polk first-grader with no official letter, no official details of what our next steps should look like, and the inability to reach anyone working for the district, but I am supposed to be “assured” that they care about my student and our family and that they will support us through this difficult transition.

Consuelo Steel-Cherry

Cedar Rapids