1708 Discovery Loop
Panama City, FL 32405

my son came to school and came home telling me a teacher had came to work sick, the next day he was sick and said the teacher was complaining of the same issues he was having with his body.

The school handled my child’s health concern very poorly. An office assistant posing as a nurse minimized her symptoms, communication was confusing, and pickup procedures were disorganized and dismissive. When I raised the issue with the principal, she was defensive and showed no empathy. This experience left me questioning both the school’s professionalism and concern for student safety.

My teenager recently transferred to a new school, and I addressed concerns about their severe anxiety. I obtained a doctor’s note to support a 504 plan request, which took over a month to get. The process was mostly virtual, which felt inefficient and stressful given the urgency of my teen’s needs. During my in-person meeting with the school counselor, I introduced myself to discuss my child’s anxiety. Later, my teen reported feeling uncomfortable with the counselor’s dismissive tone. I also discovered the counselor had been checking my personal Facebook profile at 6:45 a.m. on a Saturday, which felt highly inappropriate and an invasion of privacy. When I raised this, the dean defended the counselor, suggesting staff may contact parents via social media if phone calls are unanswered, even though I consistently answer. The school environment contributed to my teen’s anxiety. My child felt unwelcome and unsupported, including an incident where the counselor laughed while my teen was emotional instead of providing help. Treatment from administration appeared inconsistent, often depending on parental connections with the principal. I also observed a troubling double standard in enforcing rules. Students were allowed to vape and engage in disruptive behavior with minimal consequences, even though the vape detector frequently triggered and staff were unable to respond adequately. Meanwhile, my teen was accused of academic dishonesty on Google Forms, despite the system not being prone to cheating. These issues left my teen feeling anxious and undervalued, ultimately leading me to homeschool to protect their academic progress and mental health. This is disappointing given Bay County schools emphasize “no child left behind,” yet my teen was left behind by administrative inefficiency, dismissive behavior, and inconsistent enforcement. The combination of delayed 504 accommodations, counselor boundary violations, dismissive treatment, unequal enforcement of rules, and lack of proactive support prevented my teen from thriving. I hope this summary highlights systemic failures that should be addressed to prevent similar experiences for other students.