Petition to Remove Make You Day Program from the Stratford Board of Education and All of its School

Petition
Of Citizens of Stratford
Against Make Your Day Program

We, the undersigned, want the newly adopted Make Your Day Program and all of its policies ceased.

We, the undersigned, comprised of students parents as well as forward looking citizens believe that this program in its design and implementation is potentially harmful, unsubstantiated in its own absence of validity, has been perpetuated through data that was compiled unscientifically and without using many of the good standards necessary when moving hypothesis into the realm of fact.

We, the undersigned have specific concerns such as but not limited to the implementation of a disciplinary program that is described as radical inside a school such as Second Hill Lane, a school with little needs for such a program.

We, the undersigned have concerns that this program, in the absence of a well intended and informative handout, appears to be a coercive behavioral modification program that, in addition to taking from the instructional time that the teachers have each day, forces children to be alienated and humiliated in front of their peers. We believe that a BMP of this large scope is unethical to blanket across all students.

We believe that this intense use of peer isolation (time-outs in class) and the ultimate breakdown in healthy socialization, is undoubtedly the result of such a discipline program that limits children from speaking or even joking with one another in the hallway, could push the already isolated child further away for establishing good social skills and could result in a sense of learned helplessness and increased chances of mood disorders such as depression.

We, the undersigned believe that the overuse of such methods like Step #1, will desensitize children from the event leaving them numb to any sort of consequence and thereby unable to learn from the situation.

We, the undersigned believe this program requires that students will be indoctrinated into a culture that demands blind obedience having to recite mantras before being returned to the learning group.

We, the undersigned also believe that the funding for the program and the newly implemented anti-violence program have effectively removed our democratic ability to be heard by appointed officials and that greater allegiance is being given to Lone Pine and other such philanthropic organizations who do not hold the same stakes in this matter as us.

We, the undersigned believe that financial contributions to any involved with the decision making of this program should be made clear under the Freedom of Information Act upon submission of this petition.

We, the undersigned would like all records: electronic emails, written, fax between members of the Stratford Board of Education and Lone Pine Organization in Greenwich CT.

Lastly, we the undersigned would like all data that has been collected from Second Hill Lane, including all incidents of steps given out by the teachers and other staff in the building, the reason for the steps and frequency of which they were given, which would be necessary to scientifically validate the accomplishments of this program thus far.