Just another school letter

M.________, Prinipal _________

Every year of Emily’s school life at __________, we have had nuts, peanuts and peanut butter in the classroom.  The worst and scariest incident happened when the teacher who had her for two years in a row handed out bags of trail mix (80% nuts) to everyone sitting around her, and then tried to hide it from me.  Emily could easily have gone to the hospital or just stopped breathing that day.  Emily is contact and airborne sensitive.  The more food we have in the classroom, the easier it is to forget.  Unless you have an allergic child, there is no possible way for you to understand.  All it takes is one parent to slip, and we have a problem.  Kinder through second grade, we have had a problem every single year without fail.

At the beginning of this year, I almost cried with joy when M. _______ announced at the welcome night for parents there would be no surprise birthday food or snacks in the classroom.  Imagine my confusion and fury when I come home to an email on Friday when SURPRISE BIRTHDAY FOOD had already taken place!  I am still trying to process the fact that there will be snacks in the class on Monday, something I only received warning about on Thursday.  That is already a short time-frame considering that Emily is my easy allergy kid, and our weekends are spent at farmers markets purchasing and processing food for her younger sister Sasha.  Sasha can only eat food from specific vendors are the farmers markets that are uncontaminated with corn products.  Her diet is extremely limited and her migraines are out of control at present, which is why she no longer attends kindergarten at _______.

Clearly, the no-food policy in M. _____’ classroom has changed, and I am extremely upset at having that sprung on me with absolutely no warning.  I’m thinking if you’re going to lie to a population in a classroom, lie to the ones who can already go to restaurant and eat at the drop of a hat, or to the ones who take vacations ever because they have safe sources of food and water.  Maybe don’t lie to the ones who have three different neurologists, who have to plan every move as if it were going overseas, even if it’s just running errands.  And if there is a change in food policy, for the love of god, give me warning so that for the 4th year in a row Emily isn’t excluded every damn week.  Food is already our enemy, please don’t make it the thoughtlessness of people too.

Charli

Emily's Mom