Well… the most exciting news here is the first four words of the title of this blog post! I finally found a school for my youngest son Charlie! Charlie was lead poisoned in-utero (most likely as a result of my lead exposure in 2005 when my two middle sons were exposed) and has a “severe ADHD” diagnosis. We have found it nearly impossible to find him an appropriate educational environment that is also lead-safe or lead-free!
If you have not been following that *SAGA* please click HERE for some of the related posts. Not only is this new school lead-free (no lead paint hazards!) but I am super excited about the teaching / learning philosophy (student-led) and the supportive environment for considerations like gender non-conformity of students. [Our last Portland Public School teacher specifically expressed concern about communicating to her all-boy classroom and a need to “prepare them” for the fact that Charlie (who was just 8 years old at the time) likes My Little Ponies!]
It’s going to be tricky coming up with the tuition this year (about $8,000 a year), but as it is within our rights as parents of children with disabilities, we do intend to pursue legal action against the Portland Public School district for not yet providing a lead-free, free, safe and appropriate (FAPE) educational situation for Charlie (essentially resulting in Charlie missing more than an entire year of school – including last year and some of the year before!) Hopefully the district will (eventually) be required to pay the tuition for this new school and I will keep you up-to-date on that as it progresses.
If you are a parent of a child with disabilities and don’t know about FAPE, please start your inquiry here. By federal law every child in the United States is required to have access to FREE and APPROPRIATE EDUCATION.
That said… here is what the new school has asked us to buy for Charlie’s “Back To School” list. Each item is linked to one of my Amazon Affiliate links for the specific products I intend to buy.
Thank you for reading and for following. As always, please let me know if you have any questions.
Tamara Rubin
“Unexpected Lead Expert”
Mother of Lead Poisoned Children
Please note: I don’t have concerns for lead with any of these (linked) school supplies:
- 1 pack of pencils
- 2 packs of thick markers or 1 pack of colored pencils
- 2 reams of computer paper
- 2 canisters of disinfecting wipes
- Tape!!! Any kind, as much as you can.
- Hot glue sticks
- 1 box of band-aids
- Water bottle w/ student’s name
- Non-breakable cup
Leave a Reply