Confused

You’re posing questions that are fair to pose to them. He has a C in math. While we should be happy to see that, why with a C do they want to intensify his remediation? What is their concern? Is it that he’ll do worse in the year to come and is this how they’re telling you that?

Middle School is a different ball game than elementary school and it may be that they sense trouble ahead. Sometimes it’s hard to tell how it will break until a student is actually in the school.

Remember, though, you don’t HAVE to agree to anything. I’d also suggest that you consider taking a foreign language in Middle School or not only makes a different to you and your son. It doesn’t make any other difference on his transcript - no college cares what any student did in Middle School. Some students who take a foreign language in Middle School, take a different one in High school and thus they begin at the beginning there too.

You can always refuse their suggestion and see how the next year goes.

Good luck.

Maria,
I agree with Sara, you should have a meeting with the Special Ed teacher and have her explain the rational for increasing the hours so significantly when the student is still passing with a “c”. He may need more help but they need to
explain to you why in terms that make sense not words that fill up a page on the IEP. From what I read they have not identified a problem specifically yet they are making rash decisions to correct his problem. If you aren’t satisfied with the answers that the teacher gives you, request a meeting with the head of the Special Ed. division for the school system. I’ll bet you get some results and straight answers then.

Jerry

Maria: I’m confused too!

I agree with the advice of the other posters. But as a parent, just had to comment. I am SO uncomfortable with removing something he loves and is good at, to give him more of what he is so bad at. If the grade of C is fair, then why does he require more remediation?

I’m in Canada (Ontario) and our system is somewhat different. However, teachers are being greatly pressured by the government to meet the new “curriculum objectives”, and this is hurting children like yours and mine. A C is not “good enough” as it negatively impacts the school’s results, giving the government more ammunition against the teacher’s unions and the school board in their fight for supremacy. I can’t give in to this, even though I have sympathy for the teachers.

I won’t have my kid be a war casualty, so I’m trying to ignore this tendency to want to make my child “average”, “acceptable”, “at grade level” (which is B in Ontario!). In some areas, he isn’t and he won’t be, no matter how hard we try. I’m focused on his life and his gifts — as long as he gets a C in the things he’s bad at, I’m happy, regardless of the teacher’s opinion. For my child, I had a teacher who felt he should be kept from gym class (which he loves and NEEDS to combat the stress of school!) to complete unfinished work — not appropriate!

We may not know it now, but perhaps language learning holds a key to your son’s special gift(s). In your place, I’d be going for the meeting and asking the questions — but I think I’d be saying “Hey, how can we remove success and replace it with a possibly vain attempt to teach a fish to ride a bicycle?” And as we all know, the sped staff have so much being asked of them, they are not always (often!) able to provide effective methods for each and every child. But how will it seem to a child who is bad at (and suffers from) math, to have a favourite class taken away and replaced by MORE math? I think it may be that they are putting program before pupil in this case — an understandable error, but one that the parent should not allow.

Teachers have a hard job. They have to sort and categorize the mass of children to get anything done at all, and they too have individual strengths and weaknesses which make it hard to teach in certain ways or to certain children. They have to have “standard” programs, “operating policies”, “educational plans”, etc, to do the best overall job for all the children they teach, even as they know that some children are falling “through the cracks”.

But it is the parent’s job to ensure that the individuality of the child, their gifts and unique potentials, survive intact through their school years. You know your child best!
Best wishes, Elizabeth.

>I am SO uncomfortable with removing something he loves and is >good at, to give him more of what he is so bad at. If the >grade of C is fair, then why does he require more remediation?

This is exactly my feeling. How do you take away what he is good at and loves, replace it with more of what he is bad at and expect him to like school? I am afraid his very good attitude might turn sour pretty quickly!

I also seem to have confused everyone. He is not going from 2 up to 5 periods in the learning center because of math. According to this IEP, ALL of his core curriculum areas are affected by his disability(ies) instead of just math as the elementary school said. I wish I knew exactly what those disabilities are but no one has ever tried to figure that out. He would be getting support in all 4 core subjects. Actually it turns out that’s what he has been getting all year this year too. The two period/week Learning Center class covered all areas, not math only like his IEP had stipulated. Apparently there is no such thing as a support class JUST for math.

This is the part of the IEP that has my head swimming…

Present Level of Educational Performance

General Curriculum areas affected by this students disability(ies)
English Language Arts
History and Social Sciences
Science and Technology
Mathematics
Foreign Language
(all are checked as affected)

How does the disability(ies) affect progress in the curriculum areas?

-difficulty processing language - oral and written
-difficulty understanding abstract concepts
-overwhelmed by mathematical problems (basic to abstract)
-written output is hindered

This is sooo different than what I have always been told and this has never appeared in any documentation I have ever seen. There was no new testing this year so I have to assume that this stuff is coming from his everyday school performance. My question is, if this is so, then HOW are his grades so good and why did the school never speak to me about their concerns?

Honestly, in my heart, I know these things are true. I have been amazed by his school performance all year. I was prepared for him to bomb out in middle school and be miserable, but those progress reports and report cards lulled me into feeling that perhaps my gut feelings were wrong. Maybe my expectations were just too high? I’ve come crashing back down to earth. I should have believed my gut all along.

The real problem is that my son can’t understand any of this. He believes that he has been doing well because of the report cards. He has been so proud of how well he is doing in school. How am I supposed to explain this all to him?

I almost forgot. I have put in a call to the school to ask these questions. No one has returned my call yet.

Letters document your request. A phone call can be ignored.

When was his last evaluation? Maybe you should request ***in writing*** a complete re-evaluation. (The school is legally obligated to respond to a written request for evaluation. Verbal requests are not legally binding on the school.) Your reason for the request could be this unexpected broad expansion of academic areas affected by his disabilities. If you do not agree with the results of the re-evaluation, request an IIE (Individual Independent Evaluation).

Because he already has an IEP, an evaluation was made at some time to determine what his disabilities are, as well as how to best address them. You are entitled to see those test results and be informed about what exactly his disabilities are.

Check out the “LD in Depth” section of this website. The areas of “assessment” and “IEP” offer some really useful information about the evaluation process and services, how to work with a school to get what your child needs, tips on taking charge of meetings, etc. There is supposed to be a “team” working on your son’s IEP, and you are supposed to be a full-fledged team member. You have the right to call an IEP meeting. In our state, the school has to keep meeting with a parent until agreement is reached. (I don’t know about other states.)

Personally, I would not agree to my child being removed from a foreign language class that he likes and does well in. A child with disabilities needs to work on areas of strength as well as remediate areas of deficit!

Mary

Hi Maria,

I totally agree with the comments made by others here, but just wanted to add that if your school has not been giving you progress reports on how he is doing towards meeting his IEP goals, they are also out of compliance in that regard. Here’s a great example of exactly why such reports are mandated in IDEA, since here you are at the end of the school year, and this is the first hint they’ve given you of the bad news. Sounds to me like they are majorly out of compliance in a number of ways. They aren’t following last year’s IEP as written (e.g. help only in Math), they haven’t delineated how what they are doing is helping him, and now they want to do more of the same? I don’t blame you for being upset!

By all means, document your concerns in a letter, and tell them that if he really needs so much help, across all content areas no less, then maybe they aren’t meeting his educational needs at all — perhaps a private school, at their expense, could do a better job! Believe me, that will at least get their attention, and I’m pretty sure you’ll see some serious backpedaling. Of course, what you want is a program that is appropriate and works on his weaknesses while not overstressing his self-esteem, etc. I suspect that the new testing standards are indeed what is behind this sudden change, but you have to be the one to keep your head, and insist they use common sense. As a parent of an LD child, as well as being a special ed. teacher, I can tell you that your most important goal is getting him through the next few years with his self-esteem intact, rather than in shreds. So, make them explain themselves, do another eval, whatever it takes, and then update us all on the results, and we’ll go from there!

Sharon

Dear Maria:

It sounds like you have a very frustrating problem on your hands. Being a new father, I can understand how concerned you are for your child’s well-being at school and life. Also, being a special education teacher for individuals with a learning difference (at the high shool level), I feel, from what you have written, that you have some genuin concerns. You asked in your letter how you can really know how your son is doing in school. My suggestion would be to keep in close, and constant, contact with your sons special education teacher. Also, keep in touch with his general education teachers. Always document what is said when you meet and file any paper work for future reference. You are your child’s BEST, and sometimes only, advocate. Even the best special education teacher needs family support to give their students the best opportunity to succeed in school. Concerning your other questions, I feel that the best “thing” you can do is to request a meeting with your son’s teacher. Before you call, I would make sure that you have a recent copy of the Parent’s Rights document. According to federal law, you should have recieved a copy of this when his IEP was sent home to you. Here is a web sight that will be helpful if you do not have a copy of this document (www.ideapractices.org). If you are unable to get a meeting with he/she since it is summer time, I would suggest that you contact the Director of Special Education for your county.
You need to be told why “they” are changing his placement hours. You need to be shown DOCUMENTED material that supports his need for a change in placement. My last bit of advice is to stand for what you are obligated to by law and insist that the law be carried out to a “T”. Hopefully my advice will be of some help.

Sincerely,
Jimmy