economist suntribune education saturday nov 16 2002 mom keeps up fight for other students from page 1 behind his peers they put him a class with handi capped children autistic children they stuck him there and just left him there ms papas said the summer before he entered grade 7 she was shocked to leam he couldnt read at all despite past assurances from school staffhe was doing fine he could nt read he couldnt write he didnt know the days of the week she said everything he had learned from christ the king he had forgotten he was acting like an autistic boy because he was in there with them it was a night mare having a boy who didnt know what day it was he didnt know how to count or add and subtract halfway through the school year she pulled demetre out of special education and homeschooled him tutoring him in the back of the familys furniture store to bring him up to a grade 7 level in about three months today demetre now 14 attends reg ular classes at whitchurch highlands public school and his mother says hes never been happier he feels normal he feels happy and he feels like hes part of a classroom and hes not what he calls a loser she said now shes determined to ensure no other child has to go through the same thing through her pediatrician she learned of a suit being launched by the ontario coalition for education reform a group of teachers and parents concerned about the state of education together with toronto lawyer donald brown dr mark handleyderry prepared a legal brief earlier this year stating his groups concerns about how the ministry and school boards identify and deal with special needs children the parents of these children with identified disabilities frequently experi ence frustration advocating for their children in the educational system their position statement says much of the frustration revolves around the funding of special education programs but this focus often distracts attention away from the procedures and processes for assessing and program ming these children the group says placement commit tees who assess children often consist of the same administrators responsible for the distribution of funding and therefore cannot be objective in their opinions about the pupil currently his group is seeking fund ing to bring the case to court and its also taking its complaint to the ontario human rights commission either way it goes it will be a long process for ms papas and the roughly 30 other parents already involved in the suit but she says shes determined to see this through its not for us its for the other kids she said i put my full trust in the school sys tem and the school system let me down if they dont fix something now whats going to happen to the rest of the kids la cherse up to off special occassion and evening wear 5051 hwy 7 east across from markville 905 4752028 warehouse sale hair care makeup fragrance treatment discontinued lines some limited quantities dates times sat nov 23 9 am 5 pm sun nov 24 9 am 3 pm location shiseido canada inc 60 leek crescent richmond hill ontario 16th ave x leek cr 7 hiell3o cash visa master card interac white rose super savings lifelike christmas home ant garden centres j36p selected styles ec in town our top quality selection of lifelike artificial trees are available in many sizes and styles including prelit for instant christmas beauty hs3 prelit christmas trees 75 cascade pine save bluegreeq reg 49999 9 cascade pine r bluegreen reg 69999 save mp ife mi 0i m iff 65 fancy feather pine green reg 34999 75 fancy feather pine green reg 49999 75 new england slim pine reg 39999 75 oregon fir green reg 49999 75 arctic blue spruce save save save save sir save 5jxijli sr9li 1 save save 150 75 monterey pine green reg 18999 save 46to 48tall w- 20400ff beautifully finished metal santas snowmen assortment ideal for indoors or outdoors add that festive touch to your home limited to stock on hand visit your local store for store hours unionville 4038 7 hwy east york 1400 oconnor dr port union 70 island rd oshawa 300tauntonrde peterborough 1550 lansdowne st w barrie 561 bayfield st n newmarket 16715 yonge st brampton 10084 hwy 10 erin mills 3115dundasstw etobicoke 1000 islington ave burlington 4265 fairview st hamilton mountain 1400 upper james st st catharines 459 welland ave brantford 175 lynden rd guelph 265 edinburgh rd n waterloo 200 weber st north sarnia 1500 london rd windsor 3155 howard ave london west 981 wonderland rd london east 2016 dundas st e kingston 1245 midland ave bells corners 150 robertson rd orleans 1605 orleans blvd sudbury 670 falconbridge rd