Well, I just got a call from the principle of my son’s school. Those of you (Pandora, Socks, Andy) who told me to call the district’s bluff on their claim that we couldn’t do dual enrollment because excessive tardiness was truancy were right. There is nothing in either district or state law that specifically prohibits tardiness, although they obviously don’t like it. We are going to get a letter about his tardiness and he won’t get a grade in language arts because he hasn’t been there for the marking period but that appears to be all.
BTW, he is doing well. He is now reading second grade readers and he is in second grade!! Now they are first semester readers and it is getting to be the end of the year but he tested at first semester first grade in January prior to me pulling him out of special education.
Re: Congrats! (and a few points to ponder...)
Beth,
So glad to hear all went well, and all is going well. Remember, you didn’t get into this to be their friend, the origional focus is to educate your child; if no one else remembers this, it is your responsibility as his parent.
Good for you holding your ground. Be forever vigilant, just maintain your dignity, be respectful, and try to not lose your sense of humor.
As opposed to being an “I told you so”, I opt to leave you with a few quotes for all to ponder:
beaurocracy is a challenge to be conquered with a righteous attitude, a tolerance for stupidity, and a bulldozer when necessary.
patience is a virtue, but persistance to the point of success is a blessing.
the squeaky wheel gets replaced.
“no” simply means begin again at one level higher.
Once again, congrats.
Andy
Re: forgot to tell you
the most amusing thing is that our situation ended up on the desk of the school district’s attorney. Given the way the policies are written, he couldn’t do anything either.
I knew it but I won't say I told you so :-
BOY O BOY!! Fantastic…Don’t you just love it when you can call their bluff :-P I am so proud of you!! I bet it just grates on their nerves that you knew what he needed moreso than they did and you were the one that got through to him. If he is still doing the work at home why can’t he get a grade? How is the Interactive metronome working out? I would like to learn more about that and would you recommend it?
I knew it but I won't say I told you so :-P
BOY O BOY!! Fantastic…Don’t you just love it when you can call their bluff :-P I am so proud of you!! I bet it just grates on their nerves that you knew what he needed moreso than they did and you were the one that got through to him. If he is still doing the work at home why can’t he get a grade? How is the Interactive metronome working out? I would like to learn more about that and would you recommend it?
Re: I knew it but I won't say I told you so :-
They have a policy that if you aren’t present for 25 days a marking period you don’t get a grade. So he got marks for everything but language arts. It is hardly worth fighting for from my perspective.
We ended up not doing Interactive Metronome. He was almost on the next beat during some of the pretests—the ones that required him to coordinate the two sides of his body. This, I guess, all ties back into his auditory integration problems (the decoding issues ended with FFW). The audiologist was new at it—we would have been her first clients (at a discount) and based on the advice she got at the time, she told us to wait and get other OT therapy first. I have since spoken to her and she said that probably wasn’t necessary, given what she has since seen.
But all is well that ends well. We have ended up during Neuronet therapy with the developer of it. She is an audiologist who has developed a multi-disciplinary approach that combines speech, rhythm and timing to automate low level processing. We have seen great progress and I am sure that it is part of the reason he is moving ahead in reading. It is a more comprehensive approach than IM and I think is the exactly right therapy for him right now.
And yes, I got great pleasure out of knowing the laws better than they.
http://www.neuroacoustics.com
Thinking out of the box can work :) :) :)
Okay, it’s tougher to have to teach “well, you are supposed to be on time — but this is different” — and it’s always more challenging when you have to make your own rules… let’s just hope they don’t have the collective energy to change those policies (might do to be subtle about it…)
Re: Thinking out of the box can work :) :) :)
I actually like the principle and feel like she’s on our side as much as any administrator can be. So I certainly am not going out of my way to rub it in. She said those policies probably will change eventually but I doubt there are many who are so foolhearty to challenge their collective wisdom.
Re: forgot to tell you
Beth,
make sure you keep GOOD records of his progress. Being the “language Arts” teacher you should record his grades,doesn’t matter what grade the school records,but think about it in this way:
If you show progress,vs the schools progress,then you have a damn good case,for reimbursement for all of his language arts instruction.
Re: forgot to tell you
Socks,
I really haven’t written anything down. What types of things should I be recorded?
I really don’t think I would try to get reimbursement. I read CBS’s story (above). Seems to me unless you are in her situation where ps is inappropriate placement it would be cheaper to pay for extra services than sue the school district.
I would prefer to see changes in the way the district does things—but that, I suspect, would be more difficult than winning a lawsuit.
Beth
This is great news, Beth!
I don’t know you, but remember reading your original post and I rejoice that your son has improved so much. If he keeps up this rate of improvement (and why shouldn’t he, if you are able to keep working in the same way) he should be ready for Grade 3 come September. Even if there are other LD issues, the improved reading ability and confidence have got to help.
This success should give you both confidence that you are on the right road…best wishes.