A St. Paul school leader who parents say created a hostile learning environment for special-education students has landed at a new elementary school.
Fatima Lawson left her job as principal of L’Etoile du Nord French Immersion in 2014 while the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights was looking into her school’s treatment of special-needs students.
Now, after two years leading St. Paul Public Schools’ alternative education department, she’s been installed as principal of J.J. Hill Montessori.
J.J. Hill parents had pointed questions for Lawson at a meet-and-greet at the school Monday night, and several plan to protest the appointment at Tuesday’s school board meeting.
Sheila Heil has four children at J.J. Hill, and the oldest recently got an Individualized Education Program (IEP) for multiple diagnoses.
“It really scares me that we will have a principal who might not be supportive of him getting those services,” she said in an interview.
A district employee who used to work at J.J. Hill said Lawson’s placement is especially discouraging because special-education parents had trouble with J.J. Hill’s last principal.
“There are many, many staff members who are terrified of this appointment, that it’s kicking us when we’re down,” said the employee, who declined to be identified because she fears retribution. “(Lawson’s) abusive behavior is very well documented and was still ignored, and it’s leaving us with very little hope.”
In introducing herself to parents Monday, Lawson acknowledged some have expressed concerns about her time at L’Etoile du Nord. She did not explicitly say she did anything wrong.
“There are at least two sides to every story,” she said. “Every experience for me is a learning experience.”
When parents challenged her directly about claims she failed to address bullying and that she personally bullied students and parents, Lawson pledged that’s “not going to happen.”
Lawson said requests for special-education services require a team assessment and that she would follow that protocol.
“I would never tell a parent, ‘No, we’re not going to do it,’” she said.
Two parents said they had also heard good things about Lawson from L’Etoile du Nord parents and teachers, like how she greets students by name and knows what’s going on in her building.
FRENCH IMMERSION TROUBLE
As L’Etoile du Nord principal for more than a decade, Lawson grew enrollment dramatically and oversaw strong test scores before announcing in May 2013 that she would leave the job after one more year.
Her decision came as the district was investigating a 400-page complaint that some 75 parents, staff and students filed earlier that school year. Complaints ranged from squabbles over PTO decisions to the mistreatment of special-needs students and their parents.
Parents said Larson blocked their requests for special-education plans for their children and failed to follow through on the accommodations those plans required. Several said Lawson discouraged students with disabilities from staying at the school.
Lawson told parents Monday that students’ special-education plans sometimes called for services that her school could not provide, so transfers were necessary.
Among elementary schools, L’Etoile du Nord still has the fewest special-education students in the district as a percentage of enrollment.
Separately, the Office for Civil Rights investigated a 2012 complaint that 11 families contributed to concerning special education.
In December 2014, the school district reached a resolution agreement on that complaint. It required training for school staff, parent and staff monitoring, updates to the district’s anti-discrimination and harassment policies, and more.
Cherste Eidman, who filed the civil rights complaint on behalf of her daughter, said she was disappointed when the school district allowed Lawson to resign instead of firing her.
“I felt no one was taking accountability, but I said to myself, ‘At least she is not in a position to hurt children anymore.’ It appears this has changed,” she said Monday.
J.J. Hill’s PTO has distanced itself from the present controversy.
“We recognize that there is this history, but we also recognize that people do have the opportunity to change, and we hope that that is the case,” PTO chair Donn O’Malley said.
A CONSEQUENCE OF BUDGET CUTS
School district leaders say Lawson had no competition for the J.J. Hill job because her current position as a principal on special assignment is being eliminated to help close a $15.1 million deficit in next year’s budget. As a tenured, licensed principal, state law guarantees her such a job if she wants it.
Chief executive officer Michelle Walker said Lawson’s supervisor, Andrew Collins, is familiar with her history and will support her in her new role.
“She’ll be held to the same expectations as any other principal,” Walker said.
Sally Rafowicz, who struggled to secure special-education services for her child at J.J. Hill a few years ago, hopes the school board will come up with some other solution before approving the budget Tuesday.
“If it’s true that we can’t fight it and we’re stuck with this very questionable person, then what does that say about the district?” she said.