dreamer
New Member
My sons school has a program called "ZAP" where teachers issue cards weekly with slots for each day and for each day a slot for each of the core classes. Every day when they turn in homework, the teacher stamps the related space on the zap sheet. For each blank unstamped spot the kids get one detention. for any lost zap cards it is a detention.
Approx half the time the teachers do not stamp the zap card till Thursday. On one end of the card is an area for recording for when a parent was called to report a "zap" (a blank spot) The last teacher on Fri collects the zap cards and the first mon morn teacher passes out new ones.
If there was no homework, the teachers are still supposed to stamp the spot. ANY blank spots is supposed to earn a detention. "related arts" do NOT have spaces for stamps.
We also have an assignment notebook. Every day every kid must write the assignment in the appropriate spot. Supposedly the teachers then go around and check every assiign notebook and initial every childs (this is schoolwide, standard mainstream public school) if there is no homework it is supposed to say "No homework" and still be initialed. Atually this is districtwide here now and has been for a couple years, altho my son has had this in his IEP all along and the parents are to sign the assignment book daily and the zap sheet daily. Failure to procure parents signature on either is also automatic detention.
There is also a "homework hotline" which is a phone nymber parents or students can call and there is a recording listing by class every teachers omework assignment for that day.
My sons IEP has since grade 1 called for organizational help, a person to assist him in getting his homework assignment written in to his assign notebook. A secondary reason for this is his dysgrahia. he cannot write small enough to fit it in the space and he cannot write legibly enough for anyone to read it.
He also has in his IEP to have someone help him get his assignments turned in to appropriate teachers daily and for someone to help him remember and organize and gather what he needs to bring home to be able to do his homework each day.
THis has been in his IEP all along. Sadly there has been almost zero compliance by school all along. So- he is nowhere near learning how to do this on his own.
THis year the school steadfastly insists he is to handle it on his own and refers me to the Homework Hotline if we cannot read what he has written. Sadly, the homework hotline is left neglected and not updated approx twice a week.
AND related arts classes (Health, gym, speech, music, tech center etc) do NOT report assignments to homework hotline.
Those teachers also have so far not returned a single phone call from me asking for a list of assignments, and they have not responded to letters in snail mail, either. ANd they do not write those in on the homework assignment notebooks.
I spite of written validation of my sons newly found colorblindness, school continues to take points off his assignments such as social studies maps where the teacher asks for specific colors to be used in specific places, and the colored pencils the school demanded we buy are not labeled with colors names.
In spite of dyysgraphia documented, and an ALphasmart listed as an accomodation in his IEP, the bulk of work is not on paper but worksheets, and instead of textbooks, the kids get copied handouts they must return at end of class. The teachers havebeen subtracting points for "sloppy writing" etc.
I have worked out a very rigid system with my son and we have been diligent in sitting together 3 hours, yes 3 hours every single day doing homework together. I have been extremely pleased with the quality of his work, especially after he missed 3 months last school year.
BUT I have been going over his returned woork with him, much of it has very low grades on it, partly due to sloppiness and then tomy dismay, answers marked wrong- ones where they were fill in the blank direct quotes from text given to the kids, my sons was marked wrong, even when it was right.
Yes, I called the teachers and said on this page, here is the direct quote giving the answer exactly as my son wrote it.....why did it get marked wrong. -------I amnot talking one paper or 2 questions, I am talking the difference between an F and an A more than twice a week.
OK thats plenty enough that has me some frazzled. BUT
My son also now has complications in his bad eye. We have had to once again begin traveling back to the univ hospital weekly. and we are gone 2 days each time, usually. I feared this scenario as I was prewarned, and it was part of what made me wish to retain him last school year, especially since even before his eye injury and losing 3 months last year, he already was a few years behind academically.
Well, last doctor visit, last week, we were going to stay at the Ronald McDonald House (traveling has become a financial hardship) but, I did not realize we had to get to there earlier than what we arrive when we stay at a hotel. SO after my son left for school, RMH called and said I better head there NOW. SO I had to call school and pick son up early instead of letting him finish the school day.
SOmehow he came out without his brand new special glasses and.......without his Zap card for that week.
He did not go back to school that week as we were way out in the city.
On Mon his eyeglasses and zap sheet were nowhere to be found.
and- he got detention for losing his zap card.
Detention was to be according to my son- 1 hour on Halloween.
BUT I never got a phone call, Inever got a note,no letter, nothing. My son DID go to detention room on Halloween, but- noone was there. SO he left and came home. I told him that was OK cuz I never got any notice, anyway.
Noone said another word about it.
Due to more followup he missed his last class 3 days last week. (specialists do not seem to care if a child misses school)
His last class is speech. Monday he went back to speech class and that teacher grabbed his zap card and wrote in the margin- "1 zap, speech was due Friday" BUT she never called, as is school poilicy.
I wrote next to that, hey speech is not ON the zap card, and he was absent.
Today as we always have done, we went to pick him up after school. I waited an hour and he never showed. the parking lot had a firetruck, ambulance, a county squad and then 2 local town squads came. 2 girls were brought out in handcuffs.
then all the busses left.
I called home to see if somehow my son decided to walk home, (except he has NEVER walked home) Nope. I checked my voicemail to see if he or anyone called. Nope.
I waited some more. No son. I called husband and he set up watch at home, I called sons friends and their moms set up searches. My dtr went walkng between school and home. I waited with car in the usual pickup spot with cell glued tomy ear.
No son.
I was getting very scared.
when dtr got to school, we went inside.
There was my son! I was SO happy to see him, my eyes welled with tears.
Sadly his eyes were full of tears too. I said bud where have you been? He started to cry. someone came up and said he had detention. I said wait NOONE told ME. I went in office and asked who to talk to about it..the entire office stopped and stared at melike I was nuts. the assistnat principal slipped past me out the door, and the principal went in his office and closed the door.
some teacher came and said tome, well if you would LOOK at his zap card, it would say so on it. detentions are prearanged and it is the childs responsibility to inform the parents.
HUH?
I said wait, noone notifies the parents? you depend on the child to do so?
well, thats all well and fine BUT I can think of some kids who might say they have detention so as to be able to go off whereever.
and no my sons zap never said a word about detention and I check it and sign it EVERY DAY.
I decided I was gettinnowhere, and went out office glass door to find........my dtr and the friend she had with her and my son, ALL sobbing their eyes out and looks of horror on their faces! The assistant principal was talking to them but when I took a step closer, she left. I looked at the 2 18 year olds and my son and my son was hyperventilating and literally sobbing so hard he fell off the chair! I said what in the world? My dtrs friend said OMG that lady assistant principal just came stomping to your son and got right in his face and screamed at the top of her lungs "Whats your problem?" and then she outright called him a liar tohis face that he did not know he had detnetion today.
BUT as soon as she saw you coming out here, her voice changed and she stood up, and smiled at us. ike we were just having a nice friendly chat!
I had tohalf carry son to car. Mind you my son did not cry when he found out he had to have 2nd surgery. He does not cry. and he is NOT a mouthy child or anything, he never talks back etc.
Got to car and I said dude, why didn't you call me? He said .mom after school was out I was at locker and teacher came and grabbed me and said I HAD to go with him to his class. I went, what else could I do. when we got there another kid said hey Mr teacher, I have to call home to tell them I am in detention and mom, teacher told him to shut up and sit the f down. I figured it wouldbe better if I did not say I needed to call home.
I do not think I can handle this, I cannot do it, I cannot send my son there to be treated this way.
I checked and cannot find anything in our school policy abouut whether or not anyone has to tell a parent they are keeping a child for detention.
It also seems to me, the losing the zap card could maybe be considered something that has accomodations in his IEP already?
I have to say both my kids and the friend are ALL still freaked out and still whimpering to have been talked to and treated this way. and my son is not a weepy kid.
Heck, it was 6 hours ag and I am still trembling.
DOn't they have to tell us they have him and are not letting him come home? I was dialing police to report him missing when we found him.
Approx half the time the teachers do not stamp the zap card till Thursday. On one end of the card is an area for recording for when a parent was called to report a "zap" (a blank spot) The last teacher on Fri collects the zap cards and the first mon morn teacher passes out new ones.
If there was no homework, the teachers are still supposed to stamp the spot. ANY blank spots is supposed to earn a detention. "related arts" do NOT have spaces for stamps.
We also have an assignment notebook. Every day every kid must write the assignment in the appropriate spot. Supposedly the teachers then go around and check every assiign notebook and initial every childs (this is schoolwide, standard mainstream public school) if there is no homework it is supposed to say "No homework" and still be initialed. Atually this is districtwide here now and has been for a couple years, altho my son has had this in his IEP all along and the parents are to sign the assignment book daily and the zap sheet daily. Failure to procure parents signature on either is also automatic detention.
There is also a "homework hotline" which is a phone nymber parents or students can call and there is a recording listing by class every teachers omework assignment for that day.
My sons IEP has since grade 1 called for organizational help, a person to assist him in getting his homework assignment written in to his assign notebook. A secondary reason for this is his dysgrahia. he cannot write small enough to fit it in the space and he cannot write legibly enough for anyone to read it.
He also has in his IEP to have someone help him get his assignments turned in to appropriate teachers daily and for someone to help him remember and organize and gather what he needs to bring home to be able to do his homework each day.
THis has been in his IEP all along. Sadly there has been almost zero compliance by school all along. So- he is nowhere near learning how to do this on his own.
THis year the school steadfastly insists he is to handle it on his own and refers me to the Homework Hotline if we cannot read what he has written. Sadly, the homework hotline is left neglected and not updated approx twice a week.
AND related arts classes (Health, gym, speech, music, tech center etc) do NOT report assignments to homework hotline.
Those teachers also have so far not returned a single phone call from me asking for a list of assignments, and they have not responded to letters in snail mail, either. ANd they do not write those in on the homework assignment notebooks.
I spite of written validation of my sons newly found colorblindness, school continues to take points off his assignments such as social studies maps where the teacher asks for specific colors to be used in specific places, and the colored pencils the school demanded we buy are not labeled with colors names.
In spite of dyysgraphia documented, and an ALphasmart listed as an accomodation in his IEP, the bulk of work is not on paper but worksheets, and instead of textbooks, the kids get copied handouts they must return at end of class. The teachers havebeen subtracting points for "sloppy writing" etc.
I have worked out a very rigid system with my son and we have been diligent in sitting together 3 hours, yes 3 hours every single day doing homework together. I have been extremely pleased with the quality of his work, especially after he missed 3 months last school year.
BUT I have been going over his returned woork with him, much of it has very low grades on it, partly due to sloppiness and then tomy dismay, answers marked wrong- ones where they were fill in the blank direct quotes from text given to the kids, my sons was marked wrong, even when it was right.
Yes, I called the teachers and said on this page, here is the direct quote giving the answer exactly as my son wrote it.....why did it get marked wrong. -------I amnot talking one paper or 2 questions, I am talking the difference between an F and an A more than twice a week.
OK thats plenty enough that has me some frazzled. BUT
My son also now has complications in his bad eye. We have had to once again begin traveling back to the univ hospital weekly. and we are gone 2 days each time, usually. I feared this scenario as I was prewarned, and it was part of what made me wish to retain him last school year, especially since even before his eye injury and losing 3 months last year, he already was a few years behind academically.
Well, last doctor visit, last week, we were going to stay at the Ronald McDonald House (traveling has become a financial hardship) but, I did not realize we had to get to there earlier than what we arrive when we stay at a hotel. SO after my son left for school, RMH called and said I better head there NOW. SO I had to call school and pick son up early instead of letting him finish the school day.
SOmehow he came out without his brand new special glasses and.......without his Zap card for that week.
He did not go back to school that week as we were way out in the city.
On Mon his eyeglasses and zap sheet were nowhere to be found.
and- he got detention for losing his zap card.
Detention was to be according to my son- 1 hour on Halloween.
BUT I never got a phone call, Inever got a note,no letter, nothing. My son DID go to detention room on Halloween, but- noone was there. SO he left and came home. I told him that was OK cuz I never got any notice, anyway.
Noone said another word about it.
Due to more followup he missed his last class 3 days last week. (specialists do not seem to care if a child misses school)
His last class is speech. Monday he went back to speech class and that teacher grabbed his zap card and wrote in the margin- "1 zap, speech was due Friday" BUT she never called, as is school poilicy.
I wrote next to that, hey speech is not ON the zap card, and he was absent.
Today as we always have done, we went to pick him up after school. I waited an hour and he never showed. the parking lot had a firetruck, ambulance, a county squad and then 2 local town squads came. 2 girls were brought out in handcuffs.
then all the busses left.
I called home to see if somehow my son decided to walk home, (except he has NEVER walked home) Nope. I checked my voicemail to see if he or anyone called. Nope.
I waited some more. No son. I called husband and he set up watch at home, I called sons friends and their moms set up searches. My dtr went walkng between school and home. I waited with car in the usual pickup spot with cell glued tomy ear.
No son.
I was getting very scared.
when dtr got to school, we went inside.
There was my son! I was SO happy to see him, my eyes welled with tears.
Sadly his eyes were full of tears too. I said bud where have you been? He started to cry. someone came up and said he had detention. I said wait NOONE told ME. I went in office and asked who to talk to about it..the entire office stopped and stared at melike I was nuts. the assistnat principal slipped past me out the door, and the principal went in his office and closed the door.
some teacher came and said tome, well if you would LOOK at his zap card, it would say so on it. detentions are prearanged and it is the childs responsibility to inform the parents.
HUH?
I said wait, noone notifies the parents? you depend on the child to do so?
well, thats all well and fine BUT I can think of some kids who might say they have detention so as to be able to go off whereever.
and no my sons zap never said a word about detention and I check it and sign it EVERY DAY.
I decided I was gettinnowhere, and went out office glass door to find........my dtr and the friend she had with her and my son, ALL sobbing their eyes out and looks of horror on their faces! The assistant principal was talking to them but when I took a step closer, she left. I looked at the 2 18 year olds and my son and my son was hyperventilating and literally sobbing so hard he fell off the chair! I said what in the world? My dtrs friend said OMG that lady assistant principal just came stomping to your son and got right in his face and screamed at the top of her lungs "Whats your problem?" and then she outright called him a liar tohis face that he did not know he had detnetion today.
BUT as soon as she saw you coming out here, her voice changed and she stood up, and smiled at us. ike we were just having a nice friendly chat!
I had tohalf carry son to car. Mind you my son did not cry when he found out he had to have 2nd surgery. He does not cry. and he is NOT a mouthy child or anything, he never talks back etc.
Got to car and I said dude, why didn't you call me? He said .mom after school was out I was at locker and teacher came and grabbed me and said I HAD to go with him to his class. I went, what else could I do. when we got there another kid said hey Mr teacher, I have to call home to tell them I am in detention and mom, teacher told him to shut up and sit the f down. I figured it wouldbe better if I did not say I needed to call home.
I do not think I can handle this, I cannot do it, I cannot send my son there to be treated this way.
I checked and cannot find anything in our school policy abouut whether or not anyone has to tell a parent they are keeping a child for detention.
It also seems to me, the losing the zap card could maybe be considered something that has accomodations in his IEP already?
I have to say both my kids and the friend are ALL still freaked out and still whimpering to have been talked to and treated this way. and my son is not a weepy kid.
Heck, it was 6 hours ag and I am still trembling.
DOn't they have to tell us they have him and are not letting him come home? I was dialing police to report him missing when we found him.
is also a dear friend to my PCs mentor and to my best friends family, and he IS aware, 
