Hi,
I have been reading the posts here, and am overcome with relief that there are other parents out there, like you, to help. I don't know what to do next. Here is the situation:
My son started elementary school last year in a special dual-language program within our school district (he is learning to speak and write Spanish). I became involved in my son's classroom and wanted to get more involved at the school. The program is outstanding, and last year's school administration was supportive and helpful. In fact, the principal personally invited my husband and I to get involved with the school's Booster Club. At that point, the Booster Club consisted of 3 women raising money for a school of over 700 kids.
I became actively involved, and by the year's end, there were about a dozen parents actively involved. This is where the problem starts.
With the new academic year came a new principal, school counselor, school secretary, and program specialist for the Dual Language program. The same 3 ladies were still running the Booster Club.
The new principal is not fond of the program my son is in, and wants to totally redesign the Booster Club. When we challenged her demands to change just about everything the club is involved with, she ordered a financial audit of the club. She is very vocal, and talks more than the club president at our meetings. At our last meeting, she invited the auditor to sit in without informing any of the officers that he would be there. Kind of an ambush...
When I asked her a lot of questions about Title I funding and parent involvement, apparently I made her angry. A few parents had complained to me that they had been asked to leave the school grounds one morning because they were a "distraction". When I asked the principal about this, she said that she really didn't want the parents on the school grounds during the reading program, which seemed reasonable to me. It is a very intense program that requires one on one interaction between teacher and student. I took this information to the parents. Most were happy with the answer and understood.
2 weeks later, in our next Booster meeting, the principal stood up and said "I understand misunderstandings, but there have been lies passed around about me. I don't tolerate liars. If someone were to say, for instance, that I don't want parents on the school ground during the reading program, that would be a lie." She never said my name, but several of the parents that I had passed that information on to were in the room. My son was also in the room. Everyone knew that information came from me. A total ambush...
I was too stunned to even say anything. She gave me the information and then used a public forum to call me a liar. She asked me to come talk to her (through my 6 year old) yesterday. In front of the school counselor, and my husband, not only did she deny what she said, she denied even meeting with me!!!! After an hour of unfruitful discussion, I explained to her that I was unwilling to continue to talk to her until she gave me an apology. She said she didn't feel what she did was wrong.
By the way, on the way home in the car after the meeting where this occurred, my 6 year old said, "Mom, you told those parents that. Was my principal calling you a liar?"
The teachers present at the meeting knew the principal was restricting parents, and even came to me to say that they knew I was right. I don't expect them to stand up to their boss for me. She is running the school with tyranny disguised as concern, and has the teachers running scared.
Am I totally out of line because I want an apology? As a responsible parent trying to improve the school, should I just ignore what she did to save the Booster from destruction? And what kind of recourse do I have against her?
Any ideas?
