BusynMember
Well-Known Member
The Special Education teacher is very young and has no kids and by the end of the meeting I wanted to choke her and I knew she wanted to choke me too...lol.
To name just a few things that happened, the Psychologist, who I really liked, said that my daughter has SEVERE ADD. He said she couldn't do the TOVA test at all and is severely impaired by ADD. I want to add that until this time, the school did not really believe she even HAS ADD because she is inattentive. Psychologist feels she has trouble in school largely because of her inability to focus, even though she sometimes appears to be focusing. He said she was borderline for an IEP. Really, the guy was cool.
The Special Education teacher (back to her) insisted Jumper has no learning disabilities. I disagree, but I didn't care. She already qualified for a 504 (IDEA) under the Civil Rights Act. It's not as good as an IEP, but I called Civil Rights and they said it is indeed a legal document and we can take the school to court if they don't implement it. With that knowledge, we are ok with the IDEA as long as they agree to a particular intervention regarding her testing. Will get to that later. But all of you who have 504's and they aren't being implemented, you can force the issue legally. And you should. Ok, next:
Special Education teacher ticked me off first when she suggested that Jumper, who is getting all A's and B's on her regular homework, but has flunked every single test in every single subject might be cheating to get those A's and B's on her homework. Now, you HAVE to know Jumper. She tells me everything, even things she does wrong, such as talking back to teachers because "she didn't show respect for me" or more commonly "she made my friend cry." She will voluntarily tell me these things.I asked her later. after the meeting, if she cheated on her homework and she started crying and said, "No! You see me doing my homework, don't you? Why do they always think these things about me?" And it's true.
Back to the meeting: I asked SPT if she had any knowledge of Jumper cheating. She said "No, but it goes on in the grade." I told her to get back on topic because it's not relevant now and I'd talk to Jumper. Which, as you see, I did. And she doesn't. Although none of you know her, Jumper is not that kind of kid. She would tell me if she cheated. She'd say, "Yes, I do and I have to in order to pass." Moving on...
Another issue came up in the meeting. Speicial Ed Teacher has told my daughter things like, "There are ten teachers in the school who never want to talk to your mother again." When Jumper told me this, I laughed. It's probably true. Still I told her, in front of the Special Education Director, that she needs to stop acting like Jumper's friend and talking to her that way to her. I told her that I know it's true, but that it's inappropriate to make comments like that to Jumper. She has said other things too. The Special Education Director looked shocked and turned white. I guess she really crossed the line there. He asked her about it and she turned whiter than him. Ok...it continues...
Special Education Teacher and I disagreed on what we should do to help Jumper be able to pass her tests and show the knowledge that we know she has. Her IQ is average. She can do homework (and IS doing all her homework) but can not pass one stinkin' test in any subject because she can't remember details. I said that we should do what they have done since she's been in second grade and let her read her notes while taking the test. If they don't want to let her do that anymore, I said she would need an alternative testing method such as all multiple choice, which she can handle. She can not do essay questions. She can not organize her thoughts on paper and forgets details without prompting. It's not on purpose. And no matter how long she studies, she can't answer any essay questions. She is also struggling in Algebra. She has trouble remembering all the formulas without her notes.
We left the meeting with no agreement. Special Education Teacher wanted her to use one 3X5 card for her tests and Jumper tried already and she still failed the tests. I have no idea what they are going to do, but Special Education Director is eager to bring this to a close because he knows hub and I haven contacted the Dept. of Civil Rights and that they are involved. I don't know what he is going to say Monday, which is when he promised to have a 504 written up, or if hub and I will accept it or fight on. It depends on how helpful it is to Jumper. We want her to be able to pass her tests. As of the meeting, her teachers were blaming HER for not passing the tests and it is not her fault. I would gladly homeschool now except that she loves the school and adores all her many friends and she desperately wants to stay. That's not an option. She'd be miserable and lonely.
So we have no agreement, but are happy that we learned not to jump at any crumb they will feed us. We care about one person, Jumper, and we're going to take our time before agreeing to anything.
Trust me, though, this is exhausting. It's alarming how little the school will do if not pushed. I wonder how meeker parents handle these meetings or if they just agree to anything in order to stop the intimidation of the school employees. I think sometimes they forget that we pay their salaries (sigh). Ok, vent over. Sorry if I sounded overly angry.
To name just a few things that happened, the Psychologist, who I really liked, said that my daughter has SEVERE ADD. He said she couldn't do the TOVA test at all and is severely impaired by ADD. I want to add that until this time, the school did not really believe she even HAS ADD because she is inattentive. Psychologist feels she has trouble in school largely because of her inability to focus, even though she sometimes appears to be focusing. He said she was borderline for an IEP. Really, the guy was cool.
The Special Education teacher (back to her) insisted Jumper has no learning disabilities. I disagree, but I didn't care. She already qualified for a 504 (IDEA) under the Civil Rights Act. It's not as good as an IEP, but I called Civil Rights and they said it is indeed a legal document and we can take the school to court if they don't implement it. With that knowledge, we are ok with the IDEA as long as they agree to a particular intervention regarding her testing. Will get to that later. But all of you who have 504's and they aren't being implemented, you can force the issue legally. And you should. Ok, next:
Special Education teacher ticked me off first when she suggested that Jumper, who is getting all A's and B's on her regular homework, but has flunked every single test in every single subject might be cheating to get those A's and B's on her homework. Now, you HAVE to know Jumper. She tells me everything, even things she does wrong, such as talking back to teachers because "she didn't show respect for me" or more commonly "she made my friend cry." She will voluntarily tell me these things.I asked her later. after the meeting, if she cheated on her homework and she started crying and said, "No! You see me doing my homework, don't you? Why do they always think these things about me?" And it's true.
Back to the meeting: I asked SPT if she had any knowledge of Jumper cheating. She said "No, but it goes on in the grade." I told her to get back on topic because it's not relevant now and I'd talk to Jumper. Which, as you see, I did. And she doesn't. Although none of you know her, Jumper is not that kind of kid. She would tell me if she cheated. She'd say, "Yes, I do and I have to in order to pass." Moving on...
Another issue came up in the meeting. Speicial Ed Teacher has told my daughter things like, "There are ten teachers in the school who never want to talk to your mother again." When Jumper told me this, I laughed. It's probably true. Still I told her, in front of the Special Education Director, that she needs to stop acting like Jumper's friend and talking to her that way to her. I told her that I know it's true, but that it's inappropriate to make comments like that to Jumper. She has said other things too. The Special Education Director looked shocked and turned white. I guess she really crossed the line there. He asked her about it and she turned whiter than him. Ok...it continues...
Special Education Teacher and I disagreed on what we should do to help Jumper be able to pass her tests and show the knowledge that we know she has. Her IQ is average. She can do homework (and IS doing all her homework) but can not pass one stinkin' test in any subject because she can't remember details. I said that we should do what they have done since she's been in second grade and let her read her notes while taking the test. If they don't want to let her do that anymore, I said she would need an alternative testing method such as all multiple choice, which she can handle. She can not do essay questions. She can not organize her thoughts on paper and forgets details without prompting. It's not on purpose. And no matter how long she studies, she can't answer any essay questions. She is also struggling in Algebra. She has trouble remembering all the formulas without her notes.
We left the meeting with no agreement. Special Education Teacher wanted her to use one 3X5 card for her tests and Jumper tried already and she still failed the tests. I have no idea what they are going to do, but Special Education Director is eager to bring this to a close because he knows hub and I haven contacted the Dept. of Civil Rights and that they are involved. I don't know what he is going to say Monday, which is when he promised to have a 504 written up, or if hub and I will accept it or fight on. It depends on how helpful it is to Jumper. We want her to be able to pass her tests. As of the meeting, her teachers were blaming HER for not passing the tests and it is not her fault. I would gladly homeschool now except that she loves the school and adores all her many friends and she desperately wants to stay. That's not an option. She'd be miserable and lonely.
So we have no agreement, but are happy that we learned not to jump at any crumb they will feed us. We care about one person, Jumper, and we're going to take our time before agreeing to anything.
Trust me, though, this is exhausting. It's alarming how little the school will do if not pushed. I wonder how meeker parents handle these meetings or if they just agree to anything in order to stop the intimidation of the school employees. I think sometimes they forget that we pay their salaries (sigh). Ok, vent over. Sorry if I sounded overly angry.
Last edited: