More stories on the streets

[Shari]

Some of you may remember that last year, along about February, we had an IEP meeting, and the school's proposal was to further reduce Wee's day from 5 hours to 2 because he could not maintain in the mainstream classroom.

We countered that proposal by making a case for him to be in the resource room, and that's what we got.

Although Wee stayed at school and had much more success, it was obvious the SpEd teacher was exhausted with it. She was not keeping Wee engaged and he slept A LOT of days. At the meeting to determine ESY, they threw out their "new idea" for this school year, and this "new idea" was for him to be entirely mainstreamed. They planned to cut his sped minutes in half, keep him in school for 4 hours instead of 5, and transition him 10-13 times a day in those 4 hours, between 10-13 different people. And that plan was lead by SpEd.

We *got* that sped was tired. We *got* that she was trying to get him out of her space so much.

What we didn't get was that she wanted him out enough to quit because of Wee.

I've heard several times now that she said she'd "rather stick a fork in her eye than babysit Wee for another year." The last time I heard it? Was from the aid that worked in her room last year.

This is about the 5th incident I've heard that on the streets about my kiddo. How nice.

 

[AnnieO]

If sped was exhausted? Maybe she shouldn't have been in sped.

 

[DammitJanet]

Isnt that a violation of his privacy? I know you live in a small town but really. We live in a small town too and the town my boys went to jr and sr high in is really really small. Practically everyone knows everyone here. I mean my kids are related to the mayor of the town! That should have counted for something shouldnt it? LOL. It didnt. If their information was on the street, it sure never got back to me. I mean, everyone knew Cory had issues because he was so obvious but no one ever said anything out of line.

 

[susiestar]

Shari, it is time to go straight to a lawyer. They are violating his privacy in horrible ways. It doesn't MATTER if the sped feels that way. she, and teh aid, had NO RIGHT to tell ANYONE about that. Maybe I could see telling YOU, the aid telling you that is, because she wanted you to know that Wee was NOT getting educated and the sped was NOT doing her job. But to tell ANYONE else is a violation of his right to privacy. PERIOD.

It is time for a lawsuit to make them treat him right and send him to a real school where he can actually be HELPED. They simply are NOT allowed to talk abouth is problems all over town. In ALL the years my dad was a teacher (almost 4 decades) and my mom was a prof (20+ yrs), I heard a LOT about students. But NEVER did I have ANY info that was personal. No name, nothing that would let me spread anything all over town that was private.

I did learn he had some students iwth funny names, including Lemonjello and Orangejello, yes those were REAL names that a mother gave her sons. But they were NOT his students at the time and had not been his students for years. Plus the chance that I would meet htem was nil. because he didn't say anything at all until they were no longer students in the school district he taught in.

There is no excuse for this. I am sorry sped was not up to doing her job. I am FURIOUS that she let Wee sleep at school. When Wiz was in sp ed there was NO sleeping unless the child was on new medication OR something serious had happened at home and he was up all night. Things like Mom being on meth and tweaking all night, yelling and screaming. THAT serious type of thing. These people are warehousing Wee, not educating him. I am so very sorry. I had hoped for so much more.

Push for them to send him to the school in the next district, the one that they were supposed to be looking into earlier this year. Call that school or go visit and see what must happen to get Wee enrolled. Heck, you might even consider finding a way to pay for him to attend, and then make the school pay for it because they have wronged Wee so very badly.

((((((((((hugs)))))))))) for you and Wee. He deserves so much better.

 

[Shari]

This was last years sped. This years sped invites us to dinner and the park...I really don't think she has the same feeling about Wee.
Step, I'm with you.
And all that last years sped did to modify his curriculum was shorten his worksheets. This years teacher uses manipulatives and games and hands on for everything. You know like a sped should....

 

[susiestar]

That is good to hear. The prior sped teacher sounds like J's 4th gr teacher. She was "the best" with sped kids because she had a son with Fetal Alcohol Effects (FAE) and "issues". In reality she HATED the sped kids and did ALL she could to kick them out of her class. So all the sped kids were put in her class and she kept them out of the room for everything even sort of interesting. I do mean EVERYTHING. She wouldn't even let them eat lunch with the class or participate in pizza parties or cake for bdays. She said HORRIBLE racist things to me about the three sped kids in her class and then lied when I called her on them. Now she is the principal and has driven most of the teachers who were not her close friends away fromt he school plus they have more requests for transfers than any other school in the district. She is HORRIBLE as a person and an educator. I think she and the old sped teacher would get along just great, ick.

I am glad that this year's sped is better and I hope she is staying for the next few. Heck, maybe she will take a Waldorf School approach and move up with Wee when he leaves elem school. (I have a cousin who teaches in a Waldorf school and each year she teaches the same group of kids the next grade. She started with kindergarteners and then went with them up through sixth grade. Both she and the students LOVED this.

The right sp ed teacher can make a HUGE difference. When the sped teacher that made a giant difference for Wiz moved to another district we seriously considered moving to that town so Wiz could still have her. But the other teachers were NOT up to standards and it would have been bad for the other kids.