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Parent urges district to follow restorative, trauma‑informed practices for neurodivergent students
Summary
A parent told the board that district training on restorative and trauma‑informed practices has not been matched by some school‑level disciplinary responses, citing examples where an autistic elementary student was disciplined without skill‑building interventions.
A parent said the Wethersfield district’s stated focus on restorative and trauma‑informed practices must be implemented consistently at school level.
Megan Golowski, who identified concerns about one autistic elementary student, said the district’s professional‑development summary shows training on restorative approaches and Ross Greene’s collaborative and proactive solutions model, but said a school administrator responded to incidents with punishment rather than skill‑building and that no corrective plan was put in place after a meeting she attended.
Why it matters: Golowski asked the board what authority it has to hold administrators accountable for implementing the training and asked for procedural changes so discipline aligns with the district’s stated professional development.
Golowski described several specific disciplinary actions she said the student experienced: assignment to detention for arguing with a teacher, repeated removal from reading groups with no replacement learning activity, being shown videos of his behavior, and loss of recess time for arguing about a coat. She said these responses appeared to prioritize punishment over teaching skills and that she had to push for a follow‑up meeting to discuss alternatives.
The parent recommended adopting collaborative problem‑solving techniques districtwide and referenced scholarly sources including Ross Greene’s model and Barry Prizant’s book Uniquely Human as frameworks for changing responses to behavior.
Ending: The board did not take immediate action at the meeting; the parent requested clearer accountability and implementation of inclusive practices across schools.
