415 Baldwin STREET, Oconto, WI 54153

This school and the Oconto school district are way behind when it comes to Individualized Education Plans (IEP) for Emotional and Behavioral Disturbances (EBD) and other areas of need. While more other school districts are recognizing the importance of IEPs for mental health struggles and have interventions such as providing more time for test and homework completion, teaching techniques that match the child's style rather than the teacher's style, allowing children to take breaks between each lesson to burn off energy, and ensuring each child fully grasps lesson concepts, Oconto schools are lagging behind by not providing the necessary interventions to meet each childs' needs. Rather than recognizing when a child needs extra help, Oconto schools ignore the warning signs and wait for the parents to insist the school provide some testing in order for their child to obtain an IEP.Oconto schools have a zero tolerance for bullying that is rarely enforced. My nephew attends the elementary school in Oconto and has been bullied by peers for a 2 years now for being short; as a result he has low self-esteem, believes he will never be good at anything due to his height, and is afraid to try out for the sports he loves to play for fear of kids picking on him for his height. In the past two years my nephew and his parents have talked to his teachers and the principal about the social bullying (teasing, putting down, outcasting someone, encouraging others to ridicule someone) this 7 year old has experienced. After several talks with his teachers and the principal nothing has been done to put a stop to my nephew being bullied; the best thing his parents and family members can do for him is encourage him, support him, and tell him things will get better. However, this is not enough! The school districts need to take a stand and encourage its students to call out the bullies so their mental health needs can also be met and some social skill trainning and anger management classes can be completed. It is not ok for a 7 year old to have low self-esteem and say he is unhappy and depressed because he is continuing to be bullied by peers at school on a weekly basis and the teachers let it continue!! Get woth it Oconto School District and hire some school counselors rather than guidance counselors who don't know how to meet the mental health needs of children and adolescents.