IEP/teacher help...

I would go to the principal because that sounds WAY off base to me. Why should your child be punished because he has a LD? He should not get a C because he’s only doing half of the words. He has been diagnosed with a problem and what does his teacher think he’s accomplishing by doing this? If he gets all 10 words right and only makes a C that’s going to distroy his self esteem. I’m sorry to sound so blunt but I’m quite angry for you after reading this post. Obviously some people are just ignorant and uncareing. I would talk to the principal ASAP and let him/her know what’s going on and that you feel it’s totally wrong.

Just an FYI for next year…I have a preschool conference each year with my child’s teachers and I hand out a summary of accomindations. That way, we find out right away if everyone is on the same page. You might want to start that.

As for this year….sounds like its gonna be a long one, huh? Sorry. I don’t know what the legal situation is because the 10 word accomidation isn’t spelled out. I’m also very concerned about this teachers general attitude. Are you experiencing difficulties in other area with this teacher? Do you want your child moved to a different teacher?

If it were me, I’d talk to the principal and explain that there seems to be some type of misunderstanding as to what the IEP means (<—misunderstanding! ha! See how polite I can be when I have to). Try to sound out if the principal can get the teacher to change his approach. If the principal doesn’t offer to work with the teacher, immediately request another IEP to straighten this out. Follow up the request in writing.

Have you contacted your states PTI (parent training and info center)? They are federally funded centers set up to help parents understand special ed. Each state has at least one. Yours is:
Alabama
Parents as Partners in Education of Alabama
576 Azalea Road, Suite 105
Mobile, AL 36609
251-478-1208 Voice & TDD
251-473-7877 FAX
1-800-222-7322 AL only
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: http://home.hiwaay.net/~seachsv/

Services offered vary from state to state but they should have an advocate avialable to discuss this question or, at the very least, handouts on writing IEPs so the next one is better defined.

Good luck!

Barb

What the teacher is doing is modifying his grade because he is giving modifications to his tests and homework. The teacher is within his legal right to do this if the child is not doing the same standard of work as the other students.

I know it seems harsh but here is an example…of the difference between standard accomodations and modifications. My 16 year old daughter got accomodations in high school for her spanish class as she was struggling…But it wasn’t enough…when she was getting a failing grade due to low test scores she got a “modified” grade of a D. That was instead of the “F” which is what she had earned when compared to her peers. The report card also showed modifed grade. She wants to get into college so she is retaking spanish and I think she will do ok…with accomodations. But the modified grades are on her report card and in her mind she “failed” even with the modified grade as she knows she didn’t pull her weight in the class.

Here is a rhetorical question…

If your boy has dyslexia, why doesn’t the school give him some O-G to address that so he can learn to read?

My suggestion towards your immediate situation is to convene an IEP meeting to address the oversights in the current IEP and to get this teacher in the same room as the Sped Dir and others so a better understanding of what the school year will hold can be reached. Suggest very strongly you bring a third party along with you, preferably a fully experienced advocate.

Good luck to you!

In general, this teacher is great for Kyle. I’m just now worried about 2 things: The i”f it’s not specifically stated, we won’t do it” thinking I’m finding this year and the ability of the teacher to lower his grades based on his accomodations.

Thanks for the information for AL, too late to call now, but I plan on getting in touch with them tomorrow.

His IEP is worded so generally, that his accomodations really aren’t spelled out. I guess I need to have another IEP meeting. Sigh! It will be a long meeting…

As for the lower grades, it just doesn’t seem leagally possible to punish a child for needing accomodations. His self esteem is alreay low and this is making things worse when we had been impoving.

On another note, the resource teacher is supposed to spend 30min a day with him and yet hasn’t seen him in 4 days. She’s been working on a “If the teacher thinks Kyle can handle the material himself, I don’t work with him.” I’m trying really hard to be pleasant about this situation because it was so successfull last year, but I’m quickly on my last nerve!

The school says it cannot test for dyslexia (there is none according to them), but we are going to the University of Florida in October for testing (soonest appointment). He has all the signs of dyslexia, but no formal diagnosis.

The school is not providing any remedial help whatsoever, they don’t have the “resources” to do it. Knowing our school district, I believe them!

Last year the accomodations worked well, but I guess his new teacher either wasn’t told about them or is ignoring them. I’d love to find an advocate to bring, but don’t know how to find one in the area.

I’d like to repete what Dad said.

Accomidations are great BUT THEY NEED TO ADDRESS THE UNDERLYING ISSUE as well.

I hope you have the “we don’t have the resources line” on tape. If they can’t educate your child, they have to send him to a school which can. At no cost to you. : )

When you (or your advocate) start talking about them paying the whole cost of a private school, they generally find the resources.

Dylexia is considered a medical (I beleive) term. The school will call it something else…usually “specific learning disability” or “reading disability” or whatEVER.

It truely sounds like you are getting the run around.

Barb

Please don’t get hung up on the vocabulary! “Dyslexia” and “learning disability — reading” mean exactly the same thing. The difference in usage is politics and money. So if they use LD - reading, fine, you have what you need.

Yes, as Dad and Sue said — what is important is NOT the grade number or letter on the report card. When he is an adult, nobody will ever look at elementary reports ever again; the only ones that count are senior high grades to get into college. You can tell your child that, too, and try to de-stress grade numbers.
What does matter is that he needs to learn skills to get up to that senior high level. Spelling as it is usually practiced with the lists and copying over and punishments is a weird ritual that has nothing to do even with the rest of school, much less the outside world, so if he doesn’t do that it makes little difference. He *should* be spending the time building up reading and writing skills. The reading teacher should not have the right to decide not to teach him — just scraping through without making noise is *not* an education.
Try to find a low-confrontation way to address the issue: “You know, ___ may be quiet in class, but he really is having a LOT more trouble than he likes to let on, and we really need your help.” Something on those lines, trying some way or other to twist it to the positive.

To repeat what you have been told by other is a different way. If your son qualifies for an IEP because of a reading disability the IEP should address remediation of the reading disability. The school can not say they do not have the resources. You should request in writing an IEP to address his reading disability and to spell out the accommodations he needs. If they deny remediation request in writing Prior Written Notice (do a google search on this to find out what is required). Asking for Prior Written Notice is requesting of the school district the reason why they turned down any IEP requests that you made. School Districts do not like to put in writing that they don’t have the resources because writing this can get them in big trouble with the state.

I agree wholeheartedly about grades not being important in the grans scheme. Kyle’s grades definately do not reflect what he has learned. the problem is that he’s at a “magnet” school. If he does not maintain a “C” average he will get kicked out and have to go to another school.

The curriculum is not too difficult for Kyle, but he has great difficulty “downloading” the information onto paper. He had been in private school until last year (it turned inot a nightmare in 3rd grade…bullying) and his difficulties would not be helped by being sent to his neighborhoood school.

It would kill him to be asked to leave his school. He doesn’t need major accomodations, the spelling list is the only thing we majorly reduce. Other things are mostly more time on tests, being allowed to use books on tape for AR tests etc.

Thanks for all the input, it’s helped to know others have gone through this.

[quote:5a376f3fb9=”ALmom”]I agree wholeheartedly about grades not being important in the grans scheme. Kyle’s grades definately do not reflect what he has learned. the problem is that he’s at a “magnet” school. If he does not maintain a “C” average he will get kicked out and have to go to another school. [/quote]

As my district’s inclusion specialist told me, an IEP trumps a district policy.
This was when my younger son was in honors math. He didn’t meet the criteria for honor classes because of his grades in another area (specifically writing). Even though no one suggested my son be moved out of honors math, to be on the safe side we wrote that honor classes were important to his mental health and therefore he was was to attend such classes regardless of his grade point average.

Now, my older son is in high school. He is considering AP math and science. He was warned, by his case manager, that he needed to maintain B averages in ALL classes in order to do that. His advocate didn’t say anything in the IEP meeting but took me aside later and said that was a load of bunk. She said if son wanted to take the AP classes and his writing grade was the only thing keeping him out she’d get involved and straight it out.

So…keep an open mind…you may have more options on the grade thing then you beleive.

Barb

ALmom,

I sent you a private message yesterday and I noticed you hadn’t opened it yet. That’s okay I just wanted to make sure that as a new member you knew how PMs work.

Barb

I am having similar issues with IEP plan and new teachers. Can you request a new IEP meeting. I would think so, especially since it’s not what you understood at the meeting.
Good Luck…I hope it gets easier for you.

I plan on doing a lot of research into what the school can and cannot do this weekend and scheduling a meeting next week. Not sure if I should push for a formal IEP meeting or keep it more casual between the teacher, resource teacher and myself.

As for IEP overruling district policy, I don’t think it would in our case. It is written into the charter that even those with IEP’s must maintain the grades or they are out.

Why does all this have to be so confrontational? If everyone wants “what’s best”, why don’t they work together? This is so tiring, and I’m afriad it will only get worse next year when he’s in middle school.

Some schools aren’t confontational but I think most have to be.

Special education is expensive. The district is trying to balance the needs of the many vs the needs of the few. Most of the families in a school district don’t directly benefit from…say…the salary of an special ed aide like they would from the salary of a librarian. In times of limited resources, its easier to hear one parent complaint about lacking an aide then 50 about lacking a librarian.

Some teachers don’t like having to make accomidations, for whatever reason. If it comes to making a teacher happy or making the parent happy, well, the teacher has a union behind him that knows the law and can help him and the school admin will need to live with the teacher for years. The parent is often confused by the laws, what exactly is available and is trusting the school. The parent, even if a great advocate, will be moving out of the school soon as their child ages.

Really, its best not to be confrontational but sometimes is necessary.

Barb