Parents urge action on classroom safety, automatic AP placement and communication
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Summary
Multiple parents and community representatives told the Clover Park board about safety concerns at Evergreen Elementary, automatic AP freshman placement, and inconsistent parent notifications; speakers asked for more behavioral supports, reconsideration of placement practices, and improved automatic communications.
During the public-comment segment of the Nov. 10 Clover Park School District board meeting, four speakers raised concerns about student safety, course placement, and district communication.
Michael Iglesias, a parent at Evergreen Elementary, told the board that students with significant behavioral challenges are sometimes placed into general-education classrooms without sufficient trained staff, creating safety risks and disrupting instruction. "While inclusion is important, this creates serious safety risk when behaviors become violent or destructive," he said, and urged the board to review resource allocations and add behavioral specialists, counselors and paraeducators.
Jen Yeatman, a district employee and parent, described her concerns about high-school freshmen being automatically placed into AP Human Geography. Yeatman said her daughter — a bright student coping with organization and mental-health challenges — is struggling academically and emotionally in a course she had no say in taking. She asked the district to reconsider automatic AP placement and to provide additional support for current freshmen.
Dana Kelleher praised the district’s consolidated resource pages but urged improved targeted communications. She suggested automatic triggers from IT to inform parents when a specific student device is used inappropriately and the creation of a parent panel or survey to refine messaging. Carol Jacobs, speaking for the Clover Park Foundation, described a revived foundation that awarded 10 small classroom grants ($135–$500) across nine schools from 59 applications and announced continued fundraising.
Board members thanked the speakers. The board did not take immediate action on the public comments during this meeting but discussed school visits and the broader role of district supports during subsequent reports.
