Ladies and Gentlemen of the Broward County School Board:
In 2003 my son, Sean-Austin Pierre, was a child whose spirit had been completely destroyed by the Miami-Dade County Public School System. He was a child who hated any and everything that school had to offer, like overcrowded classrooms and poor retention of teachers, which for him wasn’t much. Sean had a reading disability that made reading and comprehension one of the most impossible things for him. Even though I advocated on his behalf over and over with the school’s teachers and administrators since Sean was in kindergarten we both went unheard. I was often told “not to worry he will outgrow his shortcomings in school”. Even though his F and D grades backed up my position that he needed help, we went unheard. And then to add to the chaos in 3rd Grade at this public school his class had a hard time retaining teachers. By the time the FCATs came around Sean’s class had 4 teachers. Sean had a hard time adjusting to every teacher’s different teaching methods and quite honestly, he had given up on school by the time the third teacher arrived. Needless to say Sean failed the 3rd Grade FCATs. For the reading section he did not even register a number score, and for the math section the score was very low.
As a frustrated single working executive mother, I could not accept this anymore. I decided that we would move to Broward County and I would get my son into a charter school. We did move that year and luckily for me the Somerset Academy in Davie had spaces available for a 3rd Grader, which is what Sean was again. After pleading my case to Mrs. Dina Miller, the Assistant principal at Somerset Academy in Davie, she assured me that smaller class sizes and highly skilled teachers would work with Sean and help get him the assistance he needed.
About a month after Sean started school at Somerset Academy in Davie I had a conference with his teacher Ms. Miranda, Mrs. Dina Miller, the designated school psychologist and the school counselor, we mapped out strategies to add to the curriculum to help get Sean ready for the FCATs again. With all of us working together and with a few seminars I attended on teaching, studying and test preparation strategies that were offered by Somerset Academy in Davie and at the Chapel Trail campus, we were able to help Sean successfully pass the 3rd Grade FCATs. I remember the morning of the reading FCAT receiving a call from Mrs. Miller saying Sean was so nervous, he threw up. But he did pass the FCATs and it helped build back his confidence.
In fourth grade it again was a joined effort by his teacher Mrs. Jacobs, the staff at Somerset Academy in Davie including the new school psychologist Ms. Lumpkin and myself. We had Sean tested for any Learning Disabilities and we worked on a specific plan to get him up to speed for the FCATs again. Sean’s IEP testing showed what I had been saying for years, that Sean needed extra help and we got that help in time for him to take the 4th Grade FCATs and pass them all.
This year Sean is having a successful 5th Grade year, we have had some bumps but he will be graduating and leaving the Somerset Academy in Davie and his parting for me is bittersweet. There is an old Ashanti Tribe saying that says “it takes a whole village to raise a child”, and for me, the staff at Somerset Academy in Davie have been a big part of our village. I look to the teachers and staff like my extended family and for the past three and a half years they have welcomed us every day with open arms and a listening ear. I will especially miss Mrs. Jacobs and so will my sons. There has been a great advantage to having had Mrs. Jacobs for both his 4th and 5th Grade years; she is an excellent educator whose Montessori training brings so much more to the classroom for the students. Her warmth and smooth approach to teaching have helped Sean’s confidence as a student and as a young man. And we will miss Mrs. Miller. She’s been a strong advocate and Great Guardian. Seeing her welcome the kids into the school doors every morning makes me as a parent feel assured that within those walls my child will safe and protected. And for that, I thank them both from the bottom of my heart.
Political Activist Emma Goldman of the late 19th century was ahead of her time when she said “No one has yet fully realized the wealth of sympathy, kindness and generosity hidden in the soul of a child. The effort of every true education should be to unlock that treasure.” And Maria Montessori summed it up best when she said “Free the child’s potential, and you will transform him into the world”. The Somerset Academy in Davie has been the key for Sean; they have unlocked that treasured jewel within him that will afford him success in his future endeavors. It is my hope that the Somerset Academy-Chapel Trail campus will help continue the great foundation that the Somerset Academy in Davie has built within him.
I write this letter to show my deepest gratitude to the entire Somerset Academy in Davie staff. Thank you all for your hard work, it is greatly appreciated. If every school can achieve this, our children will have a better future.
Sincerely,
Leslie-Ann Pierre-Nelson
‘A proud Somerset Academy Davie Mom’