Small vent

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flutterbee

Guest
Wynter is receiving - or, rather, is supposed to receive - a school funded tutor. We started the application process in January.

In mid-March, I got a call from the tutoring company the SD contracted with asking what areas Wynter needs help with and then I got a call from the tutor. She asked what time we preferred - we said afternoon - and she said she was also going to be working with another family, she would get everything coordinated and email within a day or two and we could get started later that week (this conversation was on a Sunday).

I didn't get the email until Thursday of that week and she could do mornings on either Tuesday or Thursday. I already had a doctor's appointment that Tuesday morning so I chose Thursdays. I wasn't thrilled with the time as Wynter doesn't perform well that early, but we could make do.

Then, that Wednesday evening I get an email from the tutor and due to babysitting scheduling those times won't work and she'll need to do either Mon or Wed from 5pm to 7pm. I told her to pick one and we'll go with it, completely forgetting that Wynter has guitar lessons on Mondays at 7. But, we could work around that. The lessons are here in town - 5 minute drive.

So, after we started this process in mid-January, we finally have a tutor on March 17. She had Wynter do an assessment and that's it. She left saying she would be back the following Monday and hopefully the assessment would be graded and she would have tutoring materials.

Last Monday, we're waiting and waiting. Finally at 5:30, I emailed her after I couldn't find her phone number. I asked her if I had the wrong day. She responded and said that she had emailed me earlier and that it must not have gone through and that she couldn't make it. That was it. Hmmm.

The next day I get an email from her stating she would like to come on Wednesday to make up the tutoring. Fine. Then I get an email from her on Wednesday saying she couldn't make it.

Now, I don't check my email every day and when I do check it, it's usually late at night.

So, she was supposed to be here today. Since it hasn't worked out, I checked my email. Sure enough there is one from her. Only this one states that she will no longer be tutoring and she forgot to have me sign her time sheet and she's going to send it to me with an SASE and, oh by the way, can you give me your address because I've lost it. And I hope you find another tutor soon.

:grrr:

And, of course, the tutoring agency hasn't contacted me so now I have to try to track them down. This started in January. The tutoring only runs through May. It's now April. I'm so frustrated.

And this lady just got hired with this tutoring company. We were her first clients. I was excited about her because she has her bachelors in pysch and is going for her masters in sped and works M-W-F with an ABA therapist doing intensive homeschooling with an Autistic child.
 

totoro

Mom? What's a difficult child?
OK! ***! What are you supposed to do with that??? I am sorry but that just #&$^!!! Why bother at this point except for the politics of it all???
Hang in there, if you get through this one without um, hurting someone, I will be very impressed!!!
 
F

flutterbee

Guest
The thing is, I haven't felt well enough to battle anyone on this. Until now. :devil:

And poor Wynter thought that the tutor just didn't want to work with her. She was taking it personally. I showed her the email and explained that it wasn't just her; that the lady just wasn't going to tutor anymore.
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
How very unprofessional! Hope they line you up with somebody who has their act together next time!
 

busywend

Well-Known Member
OK, I would be on the school to provide tutoring for your difficult child through the summer at this point. They have missed 3 months, they can make it up in the summer. Do NOT let them get away with this.

I would be furious!

They are messing with YOUR child's FUTURE!
 

Marguerite

Active Member
The school could well be the victims here too. They contracted with this tutoring company and the company has failed to provide a tutor. I would make sure the school knows, so they don't automatically fork out the allotted amount of money for services not rendered.

We had a problem a bit like this with difficult child 3 - I had been accused of neglect, had the authorities called on me, due to difficult child 3's failure to develop proper language. I had already applied for speech pathology for him, but this wasn't enough for the authorities - I hadn't been nagging to get the therapy early enough! In the end, he was on a waiting list for ten months, which is a ridiculously long time for a kid who is only 30 months old. One third of his life. We were losing valuable time when he really needed to be laying down the foundations of language.

Finally the block of therapy was approved. Due to waiting lists, triage etc, only one block of therapy was to be given. But what actually happened - the therapist was to visit where difficult child 3 was receiving child care, but the therapist would often be late. A few times she didn't show up at all. Then she went on leave. One time the therapist rang the care giver instead, to talk to her and ask her questions (and also rang me to ask me questions). We got very little advice at the time, she just got information from us.

When I added it all up, difficult child 3 got less than half, maybe about a quarter, of the therapy he should have in terms of her attendance. When it came down to anything actually don for difficult child 3, it was minimal.

So I made a fuss. As a result, they allotted another block of therapy, to replace what he had missed. This time I had to take him to their centre for therapy, which was better. It was still not enough, but if I hadn't been nagging them, we wouldn't have even got past first base. I've known other parents in similar situations, who because they couldn't get to the centre for weekly appointments, were never given any follow-up therapy in-home. "They should have been trying harder; it clearly wasn't a high enough priority for them." Never mind that so many parents like this are too tired, too mentally exhausted or too intimidated to make a fuss. They seem to have a very superior attitude; they are the professionals, we are just a nuisance.

I'm definitely unimpressed with agencies, therapists etc who have a cushy job dealing with government contracts which they can easily abuse or get lax with, and who then strike an attitude of "we are doing you a favour by deigning to turn up at all".

I'm wondering with this tutor - maybe she wasn't as good as she was supposed to be? And when it came down to producing the goods, she chickened out? Just a thought. I've seen similar things before - an office manager my charity hired (I was on the interview panel) who claimed to have amazing references (only I couldn't track down any of her referees - they were either out of the country or dead) and who also claimed to have skill in a number of important computer programs, actually turned out to need to be sent on expensive courses to learn the stuff she was supposedly an expert in.

People sometimes lie on resumes.

Marg
 

Christy

New Member
OMG what a disater! Contact the school and send copies of the emails. I am wondering if this "tutor" was fired for failure to show up at other clients homes as well. If it is the school's responsibility to provide the tutoring, demand that they find someone who can start immediately and at your convenience. If you are dealing with the company directly, demand the same from them and be sure to recount the unsatisfactory experience and the loss of instruction the delay has caused your child. If you do not have the time or energy to tackle this on the phone, start with a professional, yet seriously-toned email.

Good luck and don't be overly accomadating. If you are entitled to this service then they have an obligation to provide it.
 
F

flutterbee

Guest
I'm not upset with the SD as they were the ones that suggested the tutoring and her teachers are just as upset as I am. However, it did take the lady at the SD almost a month to process my paperwork initially.

I called the tutoring company and of course got the voicemail of the lady I need to speak with. She has until tomorrow to call me back and then I'm letting the SD know and will forward copies of everything.
 
F

flutterbee

Guest
Well, apparently the message I left was effective, because some other person called today and was apologizing profusely and has another tutor lined up. Hopefully, she'll be out here next week.
 

Star*

call 911........call 911
Wynter,

Sweetie - Your tutor lacks professional insight and common courtesy. You are a fantastic young lady and I believe that it was destiny this woman didn't help you. It sounds very much like she's not able to help herself.
You deserve better, and will get another tutor that is awesome - just for you.

Big hugs =
Auntie Star

Wyntersgrace -

Welcome to the club (i just couldn't think of anything more appropriate)
 
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