844 Marie Ave
Machesney Park, IL 61115

Assistant principal Dawn harmed child now causing state involvement. School is not up to state requirements. Lawsuit is now taking place

8/10. I have attended this school for two years and my experience has been great! But I think that is mainly due to the fact that I try hard and participate in extracurricular activities.

A colleague of ours was fired during her initial 90-day probationary period of employment with Windsor Elementary as a paraprofessional, because the staff discovered she was autistic and they were uncomfortable with that. The hostility she received from coworkers for needing clarification and being a literal person was swift and unwavering, and her coworkers made daily demeaning comments about her. This is not a safe place for neurodivergent people to apply for employment, nor is it a safe place for neurodivergent children to spend several hours a day. The paraprofessionals have been seen mistreating the neurodivergent students, often. The administrators were not interested in hearing about this; my colleague was told that she was being overly-concerned and harsh when she reported an incident of witnessing a child be pressed into a desk so hard that they screamed in pain, and witnessing a child being degraded for not sitting still in their seat. Developmentally appropriate behaviors, such as scripting and stimming, are apparently considered worthy of punishment at Windsor Elementary- and employees have been seen speaking through gritted teeth and using low, hostile voices at vulnerable children. Crying due to being overwhelmed or feeling shame is seemingly also not permissible for these Windsor pupils, and a crying child will be met with punitive action until they are quiet. Protective sensory items, like noise-reducing headphones or an oral fixation fidget, have been seen being aggressively removed off of the heads of children, as punitive action. Those kids were seen crying themselves to the point of being too tired to cry anymore, then they were read a “social story”, and only then were they permitted to get up. This process could take an entire hour, and could be repeated several times a day. Ableism was prevalent in the structure of this program. There is also a gym teacher there who has been seen using public humiliation and shouting as a means of controlling the classroom. This man routinely approached my colleague to gossip about the adjustment levels and behaviors of children that he was charged with protecting and educating. The children were in clear earshot of his disdainful remarks about them.

My experience at school was and is horrible. There are fights almost everyday and also bullying and harassment dedicated to others. Many kids have bullied me at the school and the school never did anything! Also their punishments are horrible. If kids do minor things like watch a fight or talk back to a teacher they get a referral and or suspended, usually both and are completely harsh about punishments. This school should be ashamed for not supporting nor helping others too! This school is the reason why most students here have depression! No one feels safe talking about anything or being comfortable near staff.(I took a pull from some students about the depression and safety thing)