Hope he didn't fail English...

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
All year long, we've had problems with Pat's English teacher. She rarely responded to emails and when she did she was curt, almost to the point of rudeness, and didn't answer questions at all.

So, on the 29th we get a letter from her stating Pat must get an 80% on his final exam or he will have to go to summer school. The 30th is the last day of regular classes and his finals are June 2-5. English final was June 2! (I did the math and he would only need a 69%, but that's my math...)

As of this morning, she STILL has not posted his final grade. Guess what? Summer school started YESTERDAY. I asked a local facebook group about it and one of the teachers responded saying the grades were due by end of day June 6 and teachers were to call or email parents if their child failed. No email, no call.

Oh, and we were supposed to pay for summer school before school let out. HOW?!

Well, since we got no notifications, I'm going to "assume" he passed. If it turns out he didn't, they're going to wish they had never heard of me... I am NOT happy about the way they are handling things. Oh, and... he WILL HAVE PASSED because I won't make my kid do TWO English classes the same year when it is his hardest subject.

And, yeah, given the documentation I have and his IEP and the whole FAPE/IDEA thing... I'll take it up the chain if I have to.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
I knew he was skating on thin ice... But this teacher did not update grades online in a timely manner, either. So this is just a continuance. It was very hard to discipline for things that he didn't turn in a month ago. And darned hard to catch up.
 

dstc_99

Well-Known Member
We had one teacher this year who was exceptionally difficult to deal with. When we toured her room during a parent meeting I figured out quick why easy child was having issues. Too many places to get things from and turn them in to. The teacher was difficult to get ahold of and difficult to get a meeting with. Her soccer coaching duties were more important. She also updated grades sporadically. I hated that!
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
husband is on his way to the BOE. He's livid. I'm sick and I'm angry too.

He failed SPECTACULARLY. His exam grade was 44%. We still don't know the final grade for 4th quarter, but since she hasn't entered ANYTHING ELSE, I have to assume it is a 59%.

I honestly don't think she was even remotely reasonable, nor do I think she took his IEP into account. If HE thought the questions were easy, then SOMETHING wasn't right. English is HARD for him. So if he thought it was EASY... UGH.

And, it's too late to enroll him in summer school. So he will have to take 2 English classes next year. That right there is a setup for complete failure, dropping out, and a possible suicide attempt because he KNOWS how we feel about school. (I truly don't think he studied... AT ALL. But even so...)

I think he may be doing ECOT for his sophomore year.
 

dstc_99

Well-Known Member
That sucks~ I wonder if you could put him in online school for the summer just to complete the English class. That way he wouldn't be bombarded with it next year. Also how the heck is a kid supposed to know they need to enroll in summer school if the teacher doesn't tell them or give them their grades? That sounds so weird to me.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Oh, husband has an appointment with the principal of the HS because this is a complete disaster. I dug up all communications between me and the English teacher (5 emails to, 1 back, and that was a response to the first one), the sped who was getting no response from her, and other teachers who DID respond. He pulled up his (not as many because school is actually more my area of expertise).

I'm discussing a couple different options - Hound Dog, Flutterby and TeDo have all had kids in online schools.
 

pasajes4

Well-Known Member
There are credit recovery classes available online. We all encounter difficult people throughout our lives. This would be a good opportunity for Pat to learn how to navigate this type of situation as well as the consequences for dropping the ball on his end.
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Pasajes, I completely agree.

The biggest problem, though, is that there was no communication. Because of the issues he has (thanks a LOT biomom) he does not want to be a bother. Being a bother, up until about 3 years ago (wow it's been that long?!) got him screamed at, physically punished, or locked out of the house (and they did NOT live in a good area)... So even though that doesn't happen with us, he has nearly 13 years of learning to be invisible to un-learn.
 

pasajes4

Well-Known Member
I can understand why he shuts down. Is it possible for Pat to go to the conference with dad and participate in the discussion. He might be able to provide insight from his direct encounters with teacher x. He might also be able to observe how rational adults discuss tricky/touchy subjects. You of course know him best and he might not be able to handle this at the moment.
 

Kathy813

Well-Known Member
Staff member
AnnieO, I teach online classes and I have to warn you that many students have problems keeping up with due dates and assignments. You really have to be a self-disciplined, self-motivated student to succeed (or have a very proactive parent overseeing due dates and making sure that the work is getting done and submitted).

Summer classes are particularly difficult since they have such a short time frame to complete an entire semester's worth of work. I warn my students ahead of time that it will take 4 -5 hours a day online to get all of the work done (for my math classes) but they don't usually believe me until they fall hopelessly behind.

I am not trying to scare you . . . just sharing my experiences as an online teacher. The students that are the most successful are the students in my accelerated online classes where they are working to get ahead. Students that are taking a class that they failed are much less successful.

~Kathy
 

AnnieO

Shooting from the Hip
Unfortunately, if he goes to the meeting (IF there IS one, at this point husband has received NO communication and we are working on a formal complaint to the state BOE), he will get flustered and silent. Being put on the spot is a major trigger for him shutting down. Sigh.

Kathy, that is something that I am VERY concerned about, but given what's happened over and over with this SD... I'm thinking we at least have to try.
 
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