Public Education

You what it is sometimes that drives me crazy regarding people who knock public education? It's the people who automatically decide it's a bad thing, just based on their own experiences as a child. When you really think about that, it doesn't make sense.

It sort of falls in to the same category as defining what makes a good teacher. Of course there are obvious things that don't, but most of the time, if you were to define a teacher's "goodness" by the performance of their students? You'd have a tough time. Because guess what? Everyone is different. There are always going to be students who learn better by reading, others who learn better by doing, others who are very adaptable and can learn using any method, and still others who will have difficulty no matter what you do. Does this mean that because a student is failing the teacher isn't doing a good job? Maybe, but not necessarily.

Getting back to the original point, just because your experience in school may have been poor, does not automatically mean your child's will too. Personally, if I had really given a lot of thought to what my experience in school had been before sending my own children, I might not have sent them, and in the case of my children specifically? I think that would have been a big mistake.

Using Julia as an example, I do sometimes wonder if all of the extra help she is getting now and may need to continue with in the future is more of a hindrance to her than a help. It may not be a big deal now, but when she gets older, if she needs to be pulled from the classroom for whatever, will that bother her? I have no idea. But right now? By all accounts, speech therapy is not torture. It's fun. They play games, read stories and use different manipulative's (blocks, play dough etc) to initiate speech and language development. It's not like they sit there and just ask her to say specific words or ask her tons of questions to see how she responds. Same goes for PT and OT. Does this mean that all 4 year olds will love these therapies? Of course not, but it works for her.

The point? While we should take our own experiences in to consideration when making decisions, we should not allow that to be the deciding factor in whether or not we send our kids to public school. A little open mindedness can go a long way.

Middleboro School News

Of note to local readers...

The Middleboro School Committee is looking at saving energy costs. YAY! More money for the kids and green living...works for me!

And, perhaps even more exciting than that...

The School Committee has decided against pursuing the extended learning time initiative.

Julia's IEP Review

A couple of weeks back, I had Julia's IEP Review meeting, in which her concerns, vision statement and annual goals were updated.

Here's what I included for her parent concerns and vision statement:

Parent Concerns: Our immediate concerns for Julia lie in her gross motor, speech and language, and sensory processes. Specifically, our concerns relate to Julia’s overall muscle tone and balance, comprehension of materials and tasks being presented to her, her social skills and interacting with her peers, and her sensory motor and planning skills.

Vision Statement: Our immediate vision is for Julia to improve her overall muscle tone and balance, comprehension of tasks and materials being presented to her, social interactions with her peers, and overall sensory and motor planning. Looking to the future, we are hoping that this school year will adequately prepare Julia academically, physically, and emotionally for kindergarten.


Julia has four parts to her IEP; general curriculum, Physical Therapy, Occupational Therapy, and Speech and Language. Within each area, specific accommodations are listed as they apply to Julia's needs.

General Curriculum/Speech and Language:
Extra wait time, short, simple directions after obtaining eye contact, cues and prompts to complete tasks, and cues before transitioning or changes in routine.

Occupational and Physical Therapy:

Encourage prone positions, encourage weight bearing prone positions suich as kneeling, encourage stair climbing, work on vertical service like black board or easel, encourage movement activities and position change.

Each area also has a measurable goal which are as follows:

OT: Julia will improve sensory processing, sensory motor development, and fine motor development.

PT: Julia will demonstrate improved postural strength, proximal stability and strength, endurance and balance.

Communication (Speech and Language): Julia will follow two step directions in small group therapy sessions with 80 % accuracy, and will answer "Why" questions when reading a book or playing a game with 80 % accuracy.

General Curriculum: Given decreasing prompts, Julia will increase her time spent on non-preferred activities through out the school day.

There are of course, all kinds of benchmarks that are listed to achieve these goals.

She will be particpating in the sensory-motor OT/PT group that she has been next year, 2 times a week for 45 minutes each. She will be in a small group speech session for 30 minutes per week and in a co-treat speech group for 30 minutes per week.

Overall, i am pleased with how this will play out next year. Silly me is already getting nervous about kindergarten because it's hard for me to imagine her being in a structured setting for an entire day. I never really had this concern with Emily and Katherine but this is Julia. And Julia? She's just not like Emily and Katherine were at the same age. It's hard to put it into words though. Anyway, worrying about kindergarten now? It's just a little premature!

Does anyone know anything about...

...Hippotherapy (aka Therapeutic Horse Riding Therapy)? At Julia's IEP meeting the other day, her team recommended that she do "something" over the summer to keep up a consistent schedule (which was really my main concern for her over the summer and why I was hoping she might get in to the summer program). For some reason the idea of horseback riding popped in to my head today while I was pondering ideas. The basic idea I left with at the meeting was that she would benefit from keeping up with some sort of a once or twice a week activity that would keep her on a "getting out of the house and being social activity." One of the main concerns her team has was her lack of independence as compared to others her age, and her constant need for prompting. She is not the kind of kid to just "jump right in" but it goes beyond that with her. She needs much more direction socially and otherwise than the "average" almost 4 year old.

My understanding of Hippotherapy is that it is an individualized program that is tailored to the child's specific needs, using speech, physical, and occupational therapists, as well as the horse to address concerns. It seems like it could be a wonderful thing for Julia who has concerns in all three of these areas.

Does anyone have any experience with this, or have you heard anything good, bad or otherwise about it?

NCLB Etc.

When, I ask you, are the higher ups going to get off their high horse and do away with the stupid law?

This article caught my attention this morning.

There are a couple of things that really set me off, first and foremost of course, is the money. It's wrong to expect the state and town to come up with the money for something the feds hand down. Take some responsibility for your actions (what am I thinking...responsibility and government don't even belong in the same paragraph). If you can't fund it, kill it.


Something else? If the federal government is the one handing down these silly laws, then why is it up to the state to set the standards which need to be met? I have said before that I don't think the feds should be involved in any form, but, if they have to be, they could at least support and stand behind their initiatives.

Speaking on behalf of my own town, as it stands now, we are only level funded from last year. Last year we were functioning (barely) on a budget that was drastically reduced (as in more than 30 positions cut). So all of the "bad stuff" going on last year will continue this year. Great. It's certainly better than being cut again but still? When are the kids going to get the support they deserve and need? And how the heck are we supposed to come up with the money to fund programs that will help us make AYP and other goals when we can't even hire a librarian to staff the media center in the elementary schools? An override? Maybe but even I don't think that's a good idea. I'd support one again because when faced with no other options what else can you do? The kids shouldn't suffer.

I'm telling you, I'd support and extended school day before I'd support NCLB and federal involvement in education.

Ugh.

I don't think...

...I have ever had a bad thing to say about the Middleboro Public School System but, I am appalled that I have not yet been officially informed that Emily has a long term (more than likely until the end of the year) sub in her classroom right now. Emily has informed me of this verbally but I think that it is crazy to expect a 10 year old to tell this to her parents and leave it at that. It is the school's job to inform parents for a major change in the classroom. I realize that there is only a month and a half of school left but it still seems like something I should be getting official word on.

Am I wrong here? I mean, maybe I am over reacting?

*UPDATE* Emily came home with a letter today! YAY! I knew the higher ups wouldn't disappoint!

Emily's 504 Plan: The Details

Emily is currently on a 504 Accommodation Plan based on her diagnosis of ADHD. Her plan is reviewed every March, and added to or changed if needed. Her current accommodations are as follows:

-Preferential seating
-Parent/teacher communication as needed
-Reminders to bring home important papers at the end of the day
-Frequent verbal cues prior to giving directions and transitioning
-Rules and expectations should be clear, explicit, and consistently reviewed for understanding
-Small group and alternate site for testing
-Checklists and graphic organizers
-Time lines for longer assignments
-Check agenda and material daily
-Study guides and outlines as needed

I can tell you right now, only some of these are being adhered to. I really don't see it as much of a concern now (although I often wonder how much better she would be doing if she was more organized and together, which would be helped by following the above accommodations) but I am so concerned about next year (middle school) that I am practically having anxiety attacks about it. As it stands right now academically, she is doing well enough to succeed (mostly 3's which is Middleboro means at grade level standard). Could she be doing even better if she was more organized both mentally and physically? I think so. I haven't really worried to much about it because at grade level standard? That's not something to be concerned about really, is it? Unless of course (which my counselor pointed out and I have often thought), she is gifted. Then, at grade level standard might be a concern. What really worries me about next year though, is how much more organized she will need to be (compared to elementary school) just to get by, let alone get to grade level standards or beyond. While I hope some of the needed organization skills will come with maturity, I also know that some of this? It's just the "way she is." Did I mention she has a known abnormality (diagnosed via MRI during the whole Epilepsy diagnosis saga) in the frontal lobe of her brain (the very area which "controls" the so called executive functions of the brain, as well as planning and memory)? So yes, maturity may help, but I question how much it will help.

I feel like I have failed her in a way, not really taking the necessary steps to make sure her 504 plan accommodations are being met. I don't want to be known as "one of those parents" who constantly calls the school, demands services for their child, and in general is just a pain in the ass. Because really? I'm not. Also, authority figures that by the very nature of their job title and/or degree are supposed to know about these things and have a tendency to make you feel inferior, they scare me. Scare the hell out of me if I am being honest. For some reason I live in this world which I think , "If there's a plan in place, they must be following it because well, they're supposed to." After I bang my head on the desk though and come back to reality, I know that while the plan is there, it may not be being enforced and the only way it will be is if I make sure that it is. To that end, not only am I going to take some initiative and meet with the necessary people prior to next year even starting, I am going to request that the following accommodations be added to her existing plan:

-tap on desk or use some other code to bring child back in to focus.
-notify family immediately of any missing or late assignments by phone or email.
-provide Emily with a simple outline and/or notes for lectures.
-allow for expedient make up of late or incorrectly done homework. If deduction for lateness works to the curb problem, keep doing it. If not, recognize the problem as an uncorrectable disability.
-provide an extra set of books for home.

I think the addition of these accommodations, combined with maturity and medication, will really get Emily off on the right foot for the beginning of next year.