Sunday, September 4, 2016

The Killeen Independent School District

The Killeen Independent School District is a predatory, profit based entity that is a danger to children and needs to be reviewed by the state of Texas. Oh, my bad, good Sunday morning, and happy 4th y'all. I was looking for a diplomatic way to write about this, but they weren't very diplomatic with me so I'm gonna return the favor. We’ll see how they like my mutton.

My ex has a heart condition. Periodically she has to return to Texas for an update at Austin Heart, and did so again this summer. Now, without a long, boring recitation of our family history, suffice to say we have concluded a five year saga to secure my five grandchildren, Puck, Just-a-Bobby, Skinny Head, Nick the Lawyer, and New Baby. As you know, my ex’s deceased husband, Joe, adopted them and bequeathed all his military benefits to them, including a six thousand square foot home on the shores of the Great Salt Lake. This process was expedited by a very wonderful worker with the CPS. Nichole, who was brought to tears when I told her Joe’s plan, and the possibility that he wouldn't make it because the clock set by Agent Orange was ticking, and it looked like the “Ol’ Sarge” wasn't going to take his last hill. Well, with the her help, and an iPhone Joe DID appear in court, from his death bed, and the children are set up for life!

My grandchildren had a rough ride early on, with Puck, a type one diabetic, falling into coma, and all the others enduring abuse of one form or another, but they're strong, and they got ATTITUDE! In foster care they formed the “gang of five” and survived! The serenity of Salt Lake, and the influence of the LDS culture went a long way. They clung to each other when they entered public school. Enter the Killeen Public School system.

Remember the day when teachers taught reading, writing, and “rithmatic?” Well, that's not the KISD! Why heck no! They are social engineers, psychologists, advisors to the governor’s council, you name it. Now, bear in mind that Killeen is a camp town with a huge military presence. This in itself is not a bad thing. The town has everything you'd want in the way of food, entertainment, and access to Dallas, Austin and San Antonio. The problem is that a large percentage of the teachers are NOT from Texas, know nothing about the culture, and will most likely not spend the rest of their lives in Killeen.

Our issues began at Bellaire Elementary. Soon after the kids entered school we were deluged with CPS cases. Bobby slipped and fell in the school yard, CPS case. Puck cut her bangs too short, CPS case. Her blood dipped, CPS case, AND EMS, police, and maaaaaany meetings concerned with the “state” of the children. Now, ask yourself, what could be driving all this? Well, I'll make it simple, and just tell you. It seems that several teachers had divided up the children and called the CPS repeatedly, trying to use it as a tool to engineer a foster adopt situation. This is not speculation, people, they were bold enough to state this publicly, interjecting that my ex, and Joe were “too old, and frail!” We went to home schooling.

Now, we didn't just trot over to Walmart for a Big Chief tablet (do they even make those any more?) Heck no! We got up off of thousands (I'm not kidding) of dollars, and got materials and school plans from an accredited CHRISTIAN entity. Every day was school, with the weekends reserved for field trips to the Alamo, the Capitol, and any place else in Texas that could be integrated into the process. Joe bought the house in Utah, and began to make his journey from Austin to Salt Lake City as he slowly went down. Oh, yeah, my ex had a heart attack just for good measure and had to take a day off. After Joe died we found ourselves in Texas settling his estate. We thought (foolish) that we could enroll the kids in school to give us free time as we did this. Well, the attacks began immediately, this time assisted by a neighbor who was a volunteer at Bellaire, and guess what? She already had several foster children, complete with a check, of course, would just LOVE to have a little girl to round out the family. This was the same lady who call SWAT when the twins had a stick fight in the back yard. Yep, another CPS case! BACK to home schooling, and BACK to Utah.

Utah people are unique. In the town that the children lived in, the people there were descended from families that pushed wheel barrows over the Rockies to settle the area that the Prophet, Brigham Young referred to as “the place!” They KNOW kids! There was a big difference between a Killeen teacher who couldn't find Killeen on the map a year ago, and a big, strapping Mormon missionary doing his duty to the church down at the “Boys and Girls Club.” It's as different as this: If a child shows up for school up there, and are a little tattered, elderly people volunteer time combing hair, changing socks, and getting a hot breakfast into them. Bellaire? You got it! ANOTHER CPS case!

Now, I'm not attacking the CPS in this article. They are bound by law to investigate all reports, but they weren't born yesterday, and they weren't born in the dark, and as time went by they began to understand that the area around that particular school was a glowing red dot of cases. It appeared that the Turtle Bend subdivision had the worse parents in the state. So many reports were filed that eventually the principle decided to change jobs, but that's none of my business. Have another portion of mutton.

While in Utah we went back to home schooling, but not for a bad reason. Home schooling was just easier than ferrying five children to school every day, and it had the support of the local school, who even had people drop by to assist now and then. As time went by my Ex had to return to Texas this summer for her checkup. Before she left she enrolled the kids in public school in Utah. There were several reasons for this. The kids took a vote, and wanted to socialize. New Baby wasn't old enough to go, but got to eat breakfast with his brothers and sister at school, and that made him feel like he was in “school.” Bear in mind he was being home schooled none the less, and could read, write, and cruise Facebook. He was. FIVE!

So, my Ex came down for the tune up. The doctors wanted to do a stent. School started in Killeen during that time, with Utah about a week later. We had a grease fire in our main house in Killeen, and had relocated to another one of our homes there. With recovering from surgery, and rebuilding the burned house, we put the kids into Clifton Park, the school that serviced that part of Killeen. This school was situated less than a mile down Jasper Road from Bellaire. We were STILL home schooling, with intentions of returning to the Salt Lake within a week. The children were enrolled up there, and there was full communication with Utah. Within ONE day we had problems. Side comments from teachers declaring that they’d love to have Puck because she was so cute, and obviously my Ex couldn't handle five children. What happened to reading, writing, and “rithmatic?”

We were right on schedule. My Ex went to withdraw then babies for the trip home one Friday. After the children were gathered the delays began. Everything from having to find backpacks right up to trying to remove them to separate rooms. My Ex finally just took the kids to the car and left! The journey back to Bountiful is just another field trip for the kids. Yep, home schooling even then! Bear in mind the kids were completely checked out of KISD at this time. Well, she's on the way home and you guessed it . . . here came the CPS! We had a very short conversation on my lawn, and they left. Now, part of what Clifton Park was claiming was that the kids were “poorly educated” and had to be put back one or two years due to home schooling and that the Utah schools were not up to standard.  They were even going to put New Baby back, and it was his first week of public school, outside the complimentary breakfasts in Utah, figure that one out! Interesting note; upon return home he was found to be “talented and gifted” as is Puck. Also, Nick the Lawyer, one of the twins, has been nicknamed that for a REASON! The Killeen school declared that the twins could not read, but that didn't stop them from having them SIGN the school rules which several things. First, and foremost, the twins COULD sign their names, implying they could read SOMETHING. That means they could read, so the school lied. Or, they couldn't read and the principle forged the document, which means SHE lied! I

Presently, the children are in school. They are also home schooling at the same time. Guess that makes up for the “sub-standard” Utah schools, huh? Sub-standard. In a state where five year olds can read the Bible! Teacher PLEASE! My question to the parents of Killeen. Let's just say I'm only half right in all I've said here. Do you really want to trust your precious children to this system? When you see your child go through those doors, do you really know what's going on on the other side, with teachers, and staff grooming your child for foster adopt  rather than concerning themselves with education?  Do you really KNOW the teachers? I mean REALLY know them. My involvement with this issue  seems to be centered on two schools, less than a mile apart, and staff that flows between them. It may trickle out to other schools, but I have not had direct interaction with them. I am NOT speculating, these are things that I've seen, and have been advised by people inside the system. My solution? Get involved! Go to the  PTA. Question teachers. Challenge staff. If I stay in the area I intend to become involved, and bring the full weight of my connections, both state and national to bear on this issue and these people. Hey! They came to ME! Just playing by the rules they set. This weekend I attended a rally in Austin,  and was surprised to find a number of well placed people who were very involved in this problem. I learned about Common Core, the financial incentives behind Star tests. I learned about the addiction of public schools to federal money, which, by the way was not a small part in the saga above. One teacher returned from a meeting while my ex as in the office and said there weren't enough special Ed kids, and they had to come up with more. Well, wouldn't you know there were five federal grants sitting right there in the office. Time to call the CPS!  In conclusion: Be apathetic about the election. Be apathetic about secession, but for God’s sake don't be apathetic about the safety and welfare of your children! They're out there, folks, and they're open for business . . . YOUR business, YOUR kids, YOUR life!

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