The schdule. They got around to it. Here it is!

Shari

IsItFridayYet?
(drum roll please)

7:30 Drop him off at the curbside. Para #1 will meet him there
7:30-7:45 Resource room with Sped Teacher #1
7:45-8:30 Joins Gen Ed room with Para #2. Will join in the middle or morning group time, and be present for 1/2 of gen ed math class
8:30-9:30 Back in the resource room with Sped teacher #2 - may work on reading, math, who knows
9:30-10:30 Specials with Para #3
10:30-11 Lunch with Para #4
11-11:15 recess with Para #4
11:15-11:45 gen ed classroom with Para #5 (not sure what they are doing there)
11:45-12 Resource room to debrief and check out with SpEd #2

So there ya have it folks. The schedule.

Para #1 is the same as last year's para. The best one he's had so far. Hasn't met the rest.

Oh...and I might add that SpEd #2 is on maternity leave, so there will be a sub for the first 2 weeks...

And third grade is a year when you see so much growth and maturity so everything could just work out just fine. Don't worry.

And they are giving him more independance this year so he doesn't learn to be so dependant on the adults with him.

And he know one kid in his classroom.
 

totoro

Mom? What's a difficult child?
SO how do you feel about this? How come he has to be with so many different Para's?
Is he done with school at 12?

Maturity? Ha Ha can you predict this with our kids?!?!? WOW so K is going to mature? Thanks, so now I know something positive... DOH'
Well I hope this works somehow for him and you. Fingers crossed
 

gcvmom

Here we go again!
FOUR different Para's??? Holy crud. What are they thinking? They are asking for a LOT of flexibility and transitions from him.
 

slsh

member since 1999
Shari - I'm really disappointed in them. Surely they could have squeezed in a few more transitions in his puny little half day of (non)education. There's only 7, if you don't count the transition from sidewalk to first classroom. Really, they aren't trying very hard, are they?

Gag me.

Not a chance in Hades I'd put my kid thru this. There is zero continuity, zero chance for him to ever build up a comfort factor anywhere or with anyone. For heaven's sake, high schoolers *maybe* have that many transitions in a full day. And this is to create a smooth transition from a self-contained classroom last year? In what parallel universe?

Am I correct in thinking they were fighting out of district placement? And then they hand you this? Pretty much guarantees a meltdown within the first hour of school. Honestly, if it weren't for the fact that they're messing with- your kid and in my humble opinion intentionally setting him up for a massive failure, I'd tell you to take your phone off the hook and let them deal with it. But you simply cannot to that to him. Poor baby. These people are just... well, I'm speechless, hon.

"Everything could work out fine." Holy COW! These people are delusional. We're not talking about an average third grader who has been in mainstream the whole time, who hasn't been consistently denied the opportunity to receive FAPE, and who has had to suffer at the hands of these alleged educators who obviously don't have a clue of what they're doing. I'm just so aggravated for you.

Have you talked to advocate about this so-called schedule yet?

Hang tough, hon.
 

Shari

IsItFridayYet?
Oh no. FIVE paras and 2, possibly 3 sped teachers! Plus Mainstream teacher.

KTM, getting this schedule from them was just my little morbid joke. Well. It ended up being that way. I decided since they couldn't meet before school started that I would at least see what they had planned for him. AS of the initial date of the IEP meeting? They had no plan. I was initially going to use that to decide if he was goiing to start school before we met for the IEP meeting...if they had some sort of plan that seemed to have had some thought and Wee's history put into it, then maybe he'd start tomorrow. But....you see what I got. So no, he's not starting tomorrow.

And yes, Toto, if you come to this district, they have magic teachers that are just so calming and soothing that they can cure every difficult child. Only problem is....they have yet to actually show me one. (tho I gotta tell ya, last year's teacher gets an A++++ for effort and heart. She learned about dyslexia and incorporated it into her classroom. She wrote Wee letters when he was out on suspensions. She even wrote him a letter and sent it before school started this year. She was an old-school disciplinarian and now sees the value in CPS and TEC and uses them in her classroom. Now, if half the staff woudl put forth that kind of effort, I doubt we'd be having half these meetings....)
 
Last edited:

Shari

IsItFridayYet?
Sue, you snuck in on me. I'm with you...if I wasn't worried about his best interest, I'd take him to school in the morning and say "see ya!" But I can't do that to Wee.

He'll probably hold it together for a few days, even at this level, but it won't be long, if at all. I understand what their theory is. IN the self contained room, he got bored and slept. He attends to things better in the first fefw minutes of it. But he doesn't transition well...all these transitions and people...you're right. Its a disaster waiting to happen.

Oh, and we requested his progress reports, the work samples they were based on, and incident data from last year. Got progress reports. Got a copy of the database where they keep track ofhis attendance, and in the out of school suspensions it has notes like "fought with adult". The SpEd teacher from last year also just kept summarized notes of each day (got mad cause wanted to play instead of work, hid under table and kicked it).

One positive thing has happened with this schedule. At the last IEP meeting, they were refusing to keep him after lunch. In fact, that IEP says he'll leave after lunch recess. They've extended the day to match last year, now. Which, I'm not going to complain about, but....they can't change placement without a meeting, and here again, they did just that.
Advocate just left.
 

Shari

IsItFridayYet?
Wow, I cut that last reply short.

Advocate was here. I have a typed list, 2.5 pages long, of requests. Things like trained para, full day of school or homebound services if he's not in the full day, outside group coming in to do an ongoing FBA...stuff like that. And I have about half that are non-negotiable. They give them or we go due process.
 

SRL

Active Member
I hope the advocate has a lawyer lined up. By giving him half days again they're either pretty sure you won't seriously challenge them so they're going to get away with what they can, or they're baiting you to go due process.
 

Shari

IsItFridayYet?
I don't know what they are doing. But, I think they made the change to extend his day to match last year's says something...I think they knew they couldn't get away with shortening the day just cause they "don't et much done after lunch".

However...they made the change to extend the day just like they've made a lot of others....they just randomly changed it...again. Without a meeting. Granted, I am not going to make them go back to the hour shorter day, but...they can't just go changing the IEP on a whim...even if it is to cover their butt.

I dont' want to get the lawyers involved, but I feel very confident that if we have to, wee have one heck of a case, and I think they know it.

ExMIL, who used to work in the district, says it was quite a stink when the SpEd director was hired on because she's not qualified. ExMIL thinks she's skated by til now, and doesn't really know what to do. So maybe there's hope, cause this second advocate has a ton of ideas.
 

JJJ

Active Member
That is awful. I cannot imagine that they will have any defense at the Due Process hearing. Be sure to ask for compensatory education as well - he's going to need it to recover from their "efforts". I would inform them via certified mail that you do not agree to partial day and then each day that you must pick him up early (make them call you, even if you are in your car in the lot, make them tell you to come and get him) give them a letter stating that you disagree with his suspension and his time suspended from school this year equals "____ school days". (whatever it is, you'll need to do the math). When it hits 10 days suspended, then call for an IEP meeting to look at out of district placement since it is clear the school district does not have a program for him since they have have suspended him from school for 10 days in the first month of school.

I know technically THEY are not calling it a suspension but if you are not agreeing to partial days, then IT IS a suspension.

Bury them.
 

Marguerite

Active Member
1) Do not agree to partial days. If they insist, point out that now you have been informed, partial days = suspension and the clock starts NOW.

2) Do not agree to so many different paras. Not on. Too many transitions. I think you should urge them to have a practice run with a "normal" kid, put them through this including the early finish. Then observe to see if there is any problem. Also compare the normal kid with a normal kid in the classroom with access to the full learning program. Which one has learned more during the day?

3) Do not let anything slide. Insist - but always, always, follow through. Don't ever say, "Well see how this goes, it might not be that bad," because that is THEIR words and thinking, not yours. This is YOUR child who does not have equal access to education. He is missing out. They have the responsibility to ensure he does not miss out. They are failing that responsibility. Have failed it already, last year (at least). They think they can continue to snow you, to convince you to accept their crud. DON'T ACCEPT IT ANY MORE!

Stay strong. be firm. Be ready to get the lawyers and be ready to follow through. You may not need to, but your current unwillingness is telling the school that yet again, they can muck this up and you won't do anything except whinge. That is what too many parents do.

Never forget - it's the squeaky wheel that gets the oil.

Marg
 

Shari

IsItFridayYet?
I honestly expect this to go to due process, and I'm ok with that. I don't want to, but I'm ok with it. The comments at the end of my first post were things diff staff said to me during my visit today, I guess to assure me how much better this year is goiing to go. haha

Wee visited a friend today, so he knew about the open house and wanted very badly to go. I tried to make it positive and say we didn't quite have his schedule worked out yet, but it just broke his heart, so we went at the very tail end. Principal got her stab in, too. Hollered at him "we're gonne have a GREAT year THIS year, right???" gr... He stimmed thru the whole thing...

I've posted my list of requests that I will present at the meeting. There are a few that are absolute deal breakers...if I don't get them, we file a complaint at office of civil rights or due process immediately. Beyond that, I think I'll ask for hald of them, striaght out of the gate. AS in, you have 5 days to pull this together, do it, or I file.

And as I said...even the schedule they handed me today....is changed from what "the district was offering" at the IEP meetings in May...and even tho they handed me the extra hour I want in this schedule...they did it in direct violation of sped law ... again.

I'm done. These people are a group of folks who know my kid can beat the tar out of all of them, yet have done nothing to prep for him to show up tomorrow at 7:30am to prevent that from happening. I don't owe them a dang thing. I have bent over backwards to help these people figure it out and all they've figured out is how to get rid of him. I feel bad for the mainstream teacher. She's gonna walk away thinking I am a complete and utter witch, but that's ok. Casualties happen. The rest of them think that, anyway.
 
Last edited:

Lothlorien

Active Member
Get lawyers involved if you have to. This is one giant case for the courts. This district is seriously mishandling this. No parent or child should ever have to deal with this again in your district. I cannot believe all the malarky you've had to deal with. This district never ceases to amaze me.
 
Top