TODAY- DISGUSTED WITH SCHOOL

[liasmom]

OK- Dawn made me write this. I was trying to hold off til after Christmas break to do anything .
I ran into the wonderful former school secretary at the Library. I was happy to see her as she really was awesome. I told her I was very sad she quit, and even sadder that her replacement was Lia's favorite para. So of course she bent my ear about what goes on in the sped class. The high turn over of para's and para's calling in sick leads to our kids NOT going in the regular class because there is no one to take them in there. Lia and another girl her grade in sped were supposed to be in seperate classes this year but secretely all the sped kids are in the same class because one of the regular ed teachers threw a fit. And of course it is easier and takes less bodies to have them all in one classroom- right next to the sped classroom. And when they are short para's the kids from sped all sit together. Even though they are supposed to be away from each other. And even though they are supposed to be on a schedule to go into the reg classes at certain times they do not do it if it is not convenient. Jamie has a niece with sp needs in a different town by the way. And she would love to be Lia's full-time aide, if such a thing was allowed. The person the school hired to do behavior consulting for Lia was NOT a big help when I questioned her about the situation. Of course they knew she would be there that day so were in stellar form for her. I tried to question her without arousing suspicion.
Now I am wondering about hiring my own behavior specialist who can also do some spying for me. IE, the school does not pay her so she can tell me the truth. I have to call Lia's reg ed teacher but not sure about her loyalties. I really thought things were going ok. Just goes to show you that you can't trust anyone. Maybe I should hire on as an aide? Ha ha. Ideas? Please. Nancy

[jelanismom]

Oh Nancy I need to think about this, I have not even one idea. My head hurts after writing today's letter. Just hope others here have some advice. I'll sleep on it. Hope you're not still pissed...give Lia a kiss for me and tell her I'd be her para if I had the credentials and was authorized too...

(Still working on the gift to send, maybe an after Christmas suprise for her )

[jelanismom]

They're in violation of her IEP, and maybe sanctions will spice up the New Year for them!

[sd112170]

GIT EM'

[Googsmom aka Jennifer]

All of this is written in her IEP? When, where, why, how, etc....

[CC]

"The high turn over of para's and para's calling in sick leads to our kids NOT going in the regular class because there is no one to take them in there."

Don't they have subs fill in when one is out? No reason a child should miss out on part of their program thats why they have subs. I mean geeze what do they do when the Teach calls in sick have the kids unattended, of course not they call a sub.

You very well can hire your own behavior specialist but you also if are not happy with whom the school provided you can request an independent eval from another behavior specialist and the school district will have to pay for it. Just a thought

Have you been in to observe yourself to see how things are going. I would get in there and see just what is what. Just another thought

Best of Luck

CC ~

[steffipoo]

Hi Nancy!!!!

WOW whatta situation. So sorry you are all dealing with this... Listen if any of this stuff is written in her IEP write a formal letter to the school telling them of all the violations they have of Lias IEP. Tell them you will be forwarding this exact letter to the sp ed dept head the school district and anyone else that matter in your school unless this is resolved in such a time limit you choose. I did that once and never had to forward any letter to anyone else I watched as they scattered to fix all the problems we were having with Olivias aide never showing up and no replacement ever being there.(((HUGS))) Nancy it's frustrating but once you get something in writing ( I sent our letter registered mail and my sis is a notary so had her even notarize it. )Good luck don't let em ruin your holidays just work on a letter and send it out registered mail so they can't say they didn't get it. Steff

[lorraine]

Sorry things are not going right at school, hope you get it sorted out in the new year.

Lorraine

[laurasnowbird]

I agree with Steff, don't let them ruin your holiday. Ethan's para is written into his IEP, and as such they are legally required to provide the para. When his is sick, they have a sub arranged. He is never without a para. As a matter of fact, when he is going to be out of school for any reason, I let them know ASAP. That way, if for any reason his aide is unavailable, they don't have to hire a replacement for that day.

If it's in the IEP, it's legally binding. If it isn't in the IEP, I'd probably call a new one and make sure its in there so they don't have any wiggle room.

I would be careful about listening to someone who no longer works for the district. You didn't mention why she left, but people sometimes have an axe to grind. I'm not saying that's the case here, just that it's a good idea to be careful before you begin making allegations, KWIM? The only way you're going to know is to make some unannouced visits.