Nov 28, 2007 7:22 am US/Eastern
Cherry Hill Parents Outraged Over 'Quiet Room'
CHERRY HILL, N.J. (CBS 3) ―
Outraged parents attended a school board meeting Tuesday evening to discuss
the discovery of a padded 'quiet room' inside a Cherry Hill
school last month.
Parents met with school officials to discuss the room during a public meeting at
the Clara Barton
School on Rhode
Island Avenue in Cherry Hill.
The room was first disclosed during an October meeting where parents were
apparently told the padded room may have been used for children with autism and
behavioral problems.
Concerned parent Lisa Grams used her cell phone to snap photos of the small,
windowless storage room which was lined with gym mats.
"It made me sick. It made me absolutely sick," said Grams.
Grams said she took photos and video of the room while visiting the school in
October.
"I walked into the room and it stunk so bad; the air was just very old.
The gym mat, it smelled like urine," Grams said.
She said special education students notified her that other students with
autism and other behavioral issues may have been put in the 'quiet room' in
order to calm down.
Grams' son, who is autistic, was never placed in the room, but it concerned for
other students at the school.
"How dare this school system treat small children so disrespectful,"
an outraged parent said during Tuesday night's meeting.
Not all parents were outraged over the school's actions. A parent of a
special needs student applauded the district's polices.
"This is a dedicated group of people here in our administration," the
parent said.
A School District spokesperson told CBS 3 the room
was only used once under supervision for a student in crisis and they had
received prior parental consent.
The school also followed up with the family after the incident and received
no complaints. School officials said the room has been dismantled and has not
been used since.
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