Father of Autistic Boy Told Cherry Hill Schools: "I Put My Faith in You"
Stuart Chaifetz shares details of the email he wrote to Kelly Altenburg's supervisors before taking his case public to demand her dismissal.
Stuart Chaifetz gave the Cherry Hill school district every opportunity to do the right thing by his 10 year-old son, Akian. Things had gotten so bad in the special education classroom at Horace Mann Elementary School that Akian’s teacher, Kelly Altenburg, was sending home notes about the autistic boy’s physical aggression toward classroom staff. Chaifetz knew that something about these reports was odd. Akian had never struck anyone. Altenburg was certainly no stranger, having taught the boy the year prior. He wasn’t hitting any other children—only Altenburg and her support staff. “I started to see the scars forming, but he was fine when he was home,” Chaifetz said. “It was only when [Akian] went to school that he fell apart, and that is …
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azerena
10:32 pm on Sunday, May 6, 2012
Also included in the tape were the teachers, therapist, and social worker discussing what to say in a meeting with the dad and how to keep Stuart from confronting Kelly. I thought the idea behind tenure was that a teacher couldn't be fired for no reason. That recording provides plenty of reason why everyone in that classroom should be barred from any school classroom for the rest of their lives. … more ›