09/06/2024
I'm copying an article from the Boston Globe, since I know not everyone can read it because it's behind a paywall. Please keep negative comments to yourself; we're all going through enough without it.
THE GREAT DIVIDE
‘All my friends are going to high school’: Braintree teen remains without school for second straight year
By Mandy McLaren Globe Staff,Updated September 4, 2024, 9:52 a.m.
BRAINTREE — Samantha Frechon’s raven-black hair is an inch longer, maybe two. The once-stout morning glory plant in her mother’s garden has shot up to the roof of their low-slung house. The unwieldy dahlias nearby now block the view from their west-facing picture window.
Signs of time passing, of a summer nearly at its end.
Yet there are no school supplies piled on the kitchen counter, no new outfits hung in the teen’s closet. There’s no class schedule or designated bus stop, no locker combination to remember nor backpack to stuff full. That’s because, for Samantha, 14, there is no “back to school.”
Caught in the middle of a battle between her mother and Braintree Public Schools over her education, Samantha, who didn’t attend even one full day of classes last year, is again facing the start of school with nowhere to go. The would-be ninth grader, who has autism and severe anxiety, is keenly aware of her position.
“All my friends are going to high school, and I don’t even know eighth-grade math,” a dejected Samantha said one recent morning. “Do you know how embarrassing that is?”
Samantha’s fate currently depends on the decisions of admissions directors at private special education schools in Greater Boston. Braintree, which has tentatively agreed to fund an out-of-district placement for Samantha, has sent referrals to several such schools in recent months. Yet, over the summer, one school after another denied Samantha entrance, each stating it cannot meet her needs, according to emails viewed by the Globe.
Anchor Academy: “We cannot offer the 1:1 support for the student.”
New England Academy: “Her current level of need exceeds the scope of the services we provide.”
Granite Academy: “We are not able to meet the level of support and schedule accommodations needed.”
Dearborn Academy: “We do not have the cohort of students to meet SF’s needs.”
Samantha’s mother, Alicja Frechon, feels at a loss.
“High school is the most fun time of your life, and she’s just sitting at home,” said Frechon, whose native language is Polish. “I want her to be in school. She want to be in school. She want to be in college. That’s her dream.”
Samantha Frechon played a game in her bedroom.
Samantha Frechon played a game in her bedroom.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
Braintree Public Schools Superintendent Jim Lee did not return a request for comment but previously told the Globe the district has “at all times acted consistent with its legal obligations and has made available many educational opportunities during the course of the 2023-2024 school year.” The district has offered Samantha tutoring to start the school year, according to emails shared by Frechon with the Globe.
For many months, Frechon has fought for Samantha to return to Fusion Academy in Hingham, where Samantha had spent part of her seventh-grade year. After several unsuccessful stints at other schools, Samantha had thrived both socially and academically at Fusion, which specializes in one-on-one instruction. Braintree had paid for Samantha to attend Fusion under a provision of federal special education law that requires public districts to cover the costs of private tuition when they cannot meet a student’s needs in-house.
Braintree, however, refused to place Samantha at Fusion again for her eighth-grade year, instead offering to provide her a daily tutor at the town library, where she would be away from any school environment. Such a move would mean she’d miss out on any extracurricular activities and interactions with peers. The district, through an attorney, has asserted that the placement at Fusion, which is not a state-approved special education school, was only meant to be temporary.
After an attorney representing the Frechons sought to compel the district to return Samantha to Fusion, a Norfolk Superior Court judge, in May, instead ruled the teen had to return to a regular public school. Samantha’s return to public school, which she hadn’t attended since she was 8, resulted in a severe anxiety attack and a trip to a hospital emergency room.
In the aftermath, Judge Catherine Ham ordered Braintree to send Samantha to a less-expensive private school that specializes in working with students with disabilities. That school, however, never accepted Samantha.
Meanwhile, Frechon has been pursuing a resolution through the Bureau for Special Education Appeals. That hearing, which began in May and has lasted seven days, is scheduled to continue this week.
Samantha Frechon, left, texted a friend who was in school as she sat on the couch in her living room near her mother, Alicja.
Samantha Frechon, left, texted a friend who was in school as she sat on the couch in her living room near her mother, Alicja.Jessica Rinaldi/Globe Staff
“I can’t understand why they don’t send her back to Fusion, where she did feel safe, where she did make progress,” Frechon said.
Frechon said she is open to other schools — as long as they can meet Samantha’s intensive needs. Frechon had especially high hopes for Braintree-based Granite Academy because of its close proximity to their home, she said. The school specializes in supporting students “who have emotional or social challenges that can interfere with academic progress,” according to its website.
“I think she would be good there, but you can’t force somebody to change their mind,” Frechon said.
Samantha, who spent the summer helping her mother care for dogs Frechon boards through an online service, increasingly struggles to picture her future. Often, she is fixated on her past, especially the bullying she endured at her old schools.
“I’m not very faithful in my education at this point,” she said. “Like, I genuinely think that there’s kind of not a lot of hope left.”
The Great Divide team explores educational inequality in Boston and statewide. Sign up to receive our newsletter, and send ideas and tips to [email protected].
Mandy McLaren can be reached at [email protected]. Follow her .
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