Well, my meeting at school with the evaluators did not go as I had expected. I had assumed that since they asked for a meeting that HJ had qualified for services. I was wrong. She did well enough on the tests to not qualify for services. Essentially, they accused me of pressuring her too much and implied that I should back off. When I told them that I wasn't the one actually teaching her during the day and that CP was and he is laid back and that he sees the same issues, they didn't have a response. They also recommended that I enroll her in the school and let them work with her in small groups. Now, if small groups is what she needs, what could be better than the one-on-one of homeschool? Aren't these the same people who told me in the spring that she was probably better off for having had the one-on-one time of homeschool? They also suggested that she needed the full day structure of an 8:00am to 2:30pm classroom. WHAT!?!??! For a child that doesn't respond well to pressure?
They asked about having some of the other kids teach her. I mentioned that SG reads to her, they said that was demeaning to her. But a few minutes later, they suggested that we teach HJ and SG together since they are only a year apart. They said that HJ would learn from watching/listening to SG. HUH!?!?? Having Sarah read to her is demeaning, but having us teach them together isn't??? When it would be blatantly obvious that SG is doing so much better than HJ?
When I talked with them back in the spring, they said to make sure she has an 80% success rate. Yesterday, they said to not let her fail. If she starts to say the wrong word, say it for her instead. WHAT?
How am I supposed to talk over her when the word is I and she says "is"?
They asked me if I thought she would have been promoted to 1st grade. I told them that I think she would have, but that she really isn't ready to start reading like they want them to in 1st. Back in the spring, they told me she would only have to count to 20 by the end of K, but yesterday they told me she needed to count to 50. So which is it? Somedays she can count to 50 - other days she can't.
When I asked about her garbled grammar, they said that very few kids are having this problem at this age. But the language testing they did was mostly "repeat after me". There was very little spontaneous conversation between HJ and the evaluator. But they didn't know what to tell me...
I have basically decided that since I am seeing progress with her that I am going to continue doing what I've been doing and d*mn the schools! (pardon my french!) They seemed only interested in trying to convince me to enroll her. They did not suggest any thing else for me to try. Besides, they couldn't answer any of my questions about why she was still struggling with these things at nearly 7 years old! All they could say was "Well the tests showed that she doesn't qualify for services."
Oh, well, so much for getting help from the "experts"...
The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it. Matthew 13:44-46
3 comments:
I"m so sorry! We had an encounter this week with the principal at our Elem school as well. J was put in a class that we were told by many, would not be good for J. Many people said J would shut down. So when I called, the principal was of course defensive and could not believe the things I was telling her about J; how she's afraid to fail first grade etc. She told me "Who would put ideas like that in a child's head?" When I explained that that is how J thinks, that she is very routine, structured, etc, then she backed down a bit. I "won" and she was moved.
We know our children best. And it's sad when the "professionals" give us the hard time. I think you should continue to do what you think is best for HJ. And if that is staying home, then keep her home and homeschool.
Good luck!
Oh man, I am so sorry! :( :( :( It seems to me that they really can't decide how best to help HJ. I hear a lot of conflicting information coming from them. Are they really equipped to deal with kids who are HS AND require services? Seems to me NOT! They want to be in charge of her entire education yet they give you conflicting information on how to help your daughter. Um....no. ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!
BTW, PS started 2 weeks ago and Caleb STILL hasn't been seen by his OT because they can't get their act together. And I know if I ask them to make up these days, they'll look at me like I have 2 heads! grrr
Okay, who do I need to go and slap! LOL Just kidding. I find it hard to believe if she's struggling in areas as you say.. I'm sure she is ... that she wouldn't qualify for some services. That makes no sense. Sounds like they are worried about their budget. If she's enrolled, they'd receive more funds.
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