Eight-year-old Brayden Jones was suspended from Sunbury West School in Fredericton Junction on March 23, 2016 for behavioural issues.
Brayden’s mother, Melissa Jones, disagrees with the decision and says the Anglophone West School District and the government need to provide better support for children like Brayden, who suffer from disorders such as Opposition Defiant Disorder (ODD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and anxiety.
Following the suspension, Jones received a letter from the Anglophone West School District Director of Schools Rick Demmings saying the school could no longer support Brayden.
In an email Jones forwarded to Global News, Demmings wrote Brayden’s behaviour violated the Positive Learning and Working Environment policy, developed by the New Brunswick Department of Education.
This is an excerpt from the letter Jones said she received from the director of schools:
“The second request came from Sunbury West for your other son B; to be removed from school for the remainder of this school year. This, to me, is a more extreme request because of his age and believe me we don’t take this lightly but the school had reached the end on options to keep B focused and learning. His vocal and physical ? (sic) aggression could not be managed nor be tolerated. Again, Policy 703 provides that all who work and learn in a school need to do so in a safe, positive and orderly environment. Your son’s behaviour was making it difficult for that goal to be attained,” wrote Demmings.
No one from the school board was available for comment when requested by Global News Friday.
Jones says despite Brayden’s two educational assistants and bus attendant, there wasn’t enough support due to lack of proper training.
“EAs need to be able to support my children and support Brayden socially, emotionally and mentally, all at the same time. If you can only bring one of those to the table, then it’s not enough,” Jones said.
She says changes are necessary to ensure supports are in place for Brayden and other children across the province.
“I believe that there needs to be more funding for occupational therapy–there’s a two-year waiting list. He started in 2014 so they need more support there. They need more speech and language, they need to have more behavioural support for the school.”
Jones is also concerned about Brayden falling behind and wants him to be tutored while he’s at home.
Jones says the school board is offering Brayden three hours per week of tutoring, but Jones says the Inclusion Policy states that if a student is out of school for an extended period of time they get eight to 12 hours of tutoring.
“Three to me is not acceptable,” said Jones.
She says there is an alternative education centre in Oromocto, but because New Brunswick has an all-inclusive system, Brayden can’t attend the centre unless she pays for it out of her own pocket.
“I would have to pay for transportation, and it’s private school, so I would have to pay tuition,” Jones said. “I don’t have enough money because I’m stuck at home every day because he’s home…I have to be home with him every day.”
Brayden is currently set to stay home until next fall.
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