The Foreign Service Journal, June 2018

12 JUNE 2018 | THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL and the State Department has resources to assist. The REO—not just a source for our special needs community—can provide assistance to all Foreign Service families seeking expert guidance on a multitude of international school- related matters. For example, the REO can provide essential information during the bid- ding process to help pre-empt wrench- ing school experiences. The REO also works closely with directors at U.S. government-assisted schools and can intervene in difficult situations. And there are many other dedicated professionals and associations we can tap into for help. Among them are your school board representatives, embassy management counselor and the com- munity liaison office coordinator, as well as AFSA and FSFDA (email the FSFDA chair, Mark R. Evans, to join the group). As I reflect on my daughter’s unfor- tunate experience, it is clear to me that parents should be as transparent as possible from the outset with potential schools. A particularly pertinent question to ask upfront is whether the school has the capacity to accept special needs children, because this can be an indica- tor of a school’s willingness or ability to work with children who reside in grey areas outside of the “norm.” Other warning signs are staff who respond to attempts to explain a child’s specific needs with a curt: “I’ve been teaching for years, and I’ve dealt with all sorts of kids.” Essentially, the mes- sage is: “Don’t tell me how to do my job,” and it demonstrates an unhelpful and problematic degree of rigidity and close-mindedness. If you encounter this, or other warn- ing signs that give you pause, I encour- age you to trust your instincts and consider options to move your child to a more flexible, empathetic environment sooner rather than later. An early move reduces overall trauma to the child and can ensure that your tuition is refunded and reapplied to your second-option school. If, however, you decide to remain in your current school and you find yourself locking horns with a teacher or the administration, you will need outside support to equalize the power dynamic—the sooner the better. Although your embassy manage- ment counselor should be made aware of your difficulties from the beginning, it is the REO that has the expertise to intervene on your behalf and should be contacted immediately. An embassy psychiatrist can provide expert assistance if you are challenging school attempts to stigmatize or label your child. The CLO should be informed since that position is a resource for incoming families seeking informa- tion about life at post; members of the school board should be alerted to raise awareness and hold the school admin- istration or staff accountable; and you can always turn to associations such as AFSA and FSFDA for advice. If your “some needs” child has endured negative experiences at the hands of an international private school, I encourage you to speak out. You may encounter school-based retaliation or bureaucratic inertia rang- ing from apathy to resistance—includ- ing attempts to delegitimize you, reduce your credibility and paint you as a disgruntled outlier. Ultimately, however, it is the parents’ responsibility to assist our school board members, embassy representatives and State Department bureaus to hold schools accountable to basic standards so that all of our children can exercise their right to an education without prejudice. If your experience is not reported, it is not an issue; it will not be addressed; and it will not get corrected. And our misunderstood and vulnerable “some needs” children will continue to suffer in silence. n Ultimately, however, it is the parents’ responsibility to assist our school board members, embassy representatives and State Department bureaus to hold schools accountable to basic standards so that all of our children can exercise their right to an education without prejudice.