ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, January 7, 1996 TAG: 9601090017
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
HE ONCE DREAMED of a career in aeronautics, but Nathan Amos now is struggling to keep up with his classmates.
When Nathan Amos enrolled in the sixth grade at Roanoke's Addison Middle School three years ago, he could not wait to begin the school's space technology program.
He looked forward to simulated flights in the mock space shuttle and mission control center in one of the city's high-profile magnet programs. He dreamed of being in the Young Astronauts Club, and of possibly pursuing a career in aeronautics.
Nathan had always been interested in science and math. His scores on standardized tests in these subjects have been consistently higher than his grade level.
He has a learning disability in English and writing, and he has been diagnosed with attention deficit disorder. But in elementary school, he did well in regular classes for all subjects except English.
Nathan had no discipline problems during the elementary grades, and he got along with classmates and teachers.
Now Nathan, 13, is an eighth-grader at Ruffner Middle School. His dream of an aerospace career has been shattered.
His parents, David and Lee Ann Amos, have filed a formal complaint against city schools, claiming their son has not progressed as he should have because of school officials' errors. His test scores in writing and English usage are more than three years below his grade level, and his parents want counseling and tutoring for Nathan to help him catch up in English.
"I liked aerospace. I thought I would like Addison, and I did, until things started happening," Nathan said.
Nathan transferred from Addison to Ruffner last year after he was made fun of and assaulted, said his father. His gym shoes were thrown into a commode. Some items were stolen from his locker. He no longer felt safe.
"We couldn't get teachers to return our calls. We spent weeks trying to get things corrected," his father said.
David said he complained to school officials, but no disciplinary action was taken against a student who shoved Nathan against a locker and bruised his face.
He blames school officials for Nathan's problems because, he said, they repeatedly placed him in the wrong classes, both at Addison and Ruffner. He said the schools failed to adhere to the Individualized Education Program for his son as a special education student.
Paul McKendrick, Addison's principal, said Nathan was not a discipline problem, although one teacher told his parents he had disrupted a class.
McKendrick said he could not discuss the case because of the confidentiality of student records.
Meanwhile, Nathan is depressed and has lost his enthusiasm for school, his father said.
"I'm disappointed to be unable to finish at Addison. Basically, it has been kind of hard on me in the past three years," Nathan said.
If they win the administrative case against the school system, the Amoses plan to seek unspecified damages in court for mental anguish and time lost from their jobs, as well as their son's emotional distress.
"This has affected our whole life. It has changed Nathan," said his father.
Robert Sieff, director of special services for city schools, declined to discuss the case or respond to the Amoses' allegations because he said it would violate the confidentiality of special education students.
"Nathan is not where he should be. He has made only three months' progress in writing and language usage skills in the past three years," his father said.
At the end of the seventh grade, Nathan scored at a 3.9 grade level in writing and written expression. He scored at a 10.6 grade level in science and 7.5 in math.
The parents said they have had nearly 60 meetings with school officials about their son during the past three years, trying to get them to address their concerns and follow his Individualized Education Program.
A program is developed for each special education student at a meeting of school officials, the child's teacher and the parents or guardians. It includes information on the child's level of educational performance, goals for the child, services to be provided, and the extent to which the child will be able to participate in regular education programs.
Nathan's plan called for him to be in an LD English class and a resource class where he could get special help in his studies. He was supposed to be in regular classes in other courses but was to be given extra time to complete assignments and tests.
For three consecutive years, Nathan was placed in a regular English class at the beginning of the school year rather than in LD English, the parents said.
Each year, they said, Nathan has been moved to an LD English class after they have complained to school officials. The wrong placement has caused psychological problems for him, his father said.
"I've got to know people in the class and I've become friends with them," Nathan said. "Then I've had to switch to a different class and leave my friends."
Some students called Nathan a dummy after he was moved to LD English classes, his father said. "He has gone through hell the past three years."
The parents said Nathan has not always been given additional time to complete assignments and tests as his program requires. And they said they have not received regular reports on his class performance and homework assignments as they were promised.
"No one will say who is responsible for these mistakes. All we've asked is that they follow his IEP and give him the help he is supposed to get," his father said. "We've spent hundreds of hours on this."
Citing potential litigation, Sieff declined to say whether the schools have made errors in the case.
David withdrew Nathan from Ruffner for several days this year after he discovered his son was being taught with a dozen other LD students in a utility room at the school.
After David complained to the fire marshal and school officials that the utility room was unsafe, the school moved the children to a regular classroom and Nathan returned to Ruffner.
David became so distrustful of the schools that at one point he sought permission for his son to tape conversations with teachers and principals, particularly those dealing with disciplinary issues.
"School officials were telling us one thing and Nathan was telling us something else," he said. "I wanted him to use the tape recorder so I would know what was really said."
Under an agreement with the schools, Nathan must ask permission to tape a conversation. If school officials refuse, his father said, Nathan can call home and seek advice on what he should do.
"It seems the schools should be held accountable. We are tired of the fighting," said Lee Ann Amos.
Lee Ann is worried because her daughter, Emily, who has also has a learning disability, must move from Westside Elementary School to Ruffner Middle next year when she enters the sixth grade.
"It keeps happening again and again. It frightens me next year when both of my children will change schools again," she said. Nathan will go to William Fleming High.
"For parents of special education students who don't know what is happening, their children can get lost in the system," she said. "These people are supposed to be the experts, but it can be scary."
LENGTH: Long : 138 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: CINDY PINKSTON/Staff Nathan Amos has a learningby CNBdisability in English. But he has done well on standardized math
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