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Post by mykids on Sept 12, 2012 10:30:23 GMT -5
Recently my child was told by resource teacher that she was not obligated to provide help in a non-core subject and that it was not detrimental to him passing to the next grade level.
I asked the class teacher to allow extended time on tests and homework (both of which are an accommodation on iep) I was told no, he has plenty of time to do and turn in his hw, which is true but for whatever reason is not getting done.
Both of these teachers are new to the school. Last year this would not have been a problem, the resource teacher would have made it happen.
Anyway, my question is, do accommodation apply to every subject, core and non core?
I think the answer is Yes.
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Post by healthy11 on Sept 12, 2012 10:37:12 GMT -5
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Post by michellea on Sept 12, 2012 14:50:06 GMT -5
Your resource room teacher is wrong. If the child needs support for ANY aspect of school including lunch or recess, he or she should get it. There is nothing in IDEA that states accommodations are only for core courses - I would ask her to show you that law/regulation. Perhaps she means that her schedule does not allow for help in other areas. If this is the case, they need to change her schedule or find more resources to help your child.
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Post by michellea on Sept 12, 2012 18:10:27 GMT -5
mykids -
I think you need to look closely at the IEP and how the resource room services are written up. In my state, services and time correspond to particular goals. So if the resource room was targeting a math goal, it would be true that the teacher would not help with History. But, if the resource room is about study skills, organization or some other global skill, if a student needed help in History, the teacher should help.
As for accommodations being attached to only certain subject areas - I have NEVER seen this. But if it were to happen, it would be clearly indicated in the IEP. For example: Time and a half for all in class Math assignments, tests and quizzes. But, more often than not, I see time and half for test, quizzes and in-class assignments.
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Post by dihicks6 on Sept 13, 2012 13:42:21 GMT -5
HA HA! Another stupid statement for my list..... As Michella says, they are dead wrong. You can always play the puzzled parent and ask for the written policy that says so, but that takes time, so I vote for writing a quick email that says you believe they are incorrect, and that you will be sending a copy of your email to the dir. of sped to 'clarify.'
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Post by mykids on Sept 13, 2012 17:28:54 GMT -5
michellea - there is a math goal and also 3 other goals, Writing Applications, Work Analysis (learning new vocab. words including defining meaning) And Organization & Task Completion (working on maintaining academic planner and prioritizing tasks).
There are a couple of specific accommodations. One being manipulatives for math and science the other accommodations is that a teacher is suppose to check his planner ( a specific accommodation as well as a goal). This is not being done. Nothing to little is getting logged which results in things not getting done on time. And what is remembered & done, half the time he forgets to turn it in. And now this particular class teacher is saying he has plenty of time to turn things in so no to the accommodation of extended time.
Resource teacher is suppose to call me next week regarding math. I plan to ask her about her conversation with my son regarding his request for help in foreign language and all other subjects (he is failing them all right now) as well as accommodations refused by class teacher and no one working with him on organization/task completion goal. I believe this is a big part of the problem right now.
There is so much gone wrong right now. It has become so overwhelming. But I wanted to check on the foreign language. Even if the resource teacher can not help directly because she does not speak that language, there should be accommodations allowed to help aide in the difficulties. I would think.
dihicks6- We are in CA. This is a charter school, started in the middle of last year. Things went so well for him last year. Brought his D- in math up to a B, and his F in History to a C. The rest he had A's and B's. He is able to take electives at this school where as before they always wanted him in a resource/study hall. At this school they also have study hall but it is after school. He does like this school much better than the Jr. High he was at before. Much happier, misses less school.
I just don't get it, this new resource does not seem too bright. I hope I'm wrong.
Just when I thought it was safe.
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Post by michellea on Sept 13, 2012 19:47:56 GMT -5
mykids - the last three goals touch all subject areas. It makes no sense that a teacher would check a planner for only math and English and not other classes. Even if the student was taking art, the organizational goal would apply anD therefore so would the support and accommodations.
Sometimes charter schools try to make their own rules - I agree with Di, that the best thing would be to go to the top and get this straightened out asap.
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Post by dihicks6 on Sept 17, 2012 10:34:01 GMT -5
If this person is new, they might not have rec'd the message that charter schools think outside the box, i.e., provide more, not less. Let us know what happens.
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Post by mykids on Sept 21, 2012 20:31:08 GMT -5
"If this person is new, they might not have rec'd the message that charter schools think outside the box, i.e., provide more, not less." - Exactly. This is one reason we moved him. They provide after school tutoring. Small class sizes. It is suppose to be a college prep school, everyone working towards the goal of college. Supposedly 98% of students graduate and go on to college. I wouldn't expect a teacher at this type of school to tell a student a subject is not detrimental to his passing to the next grade. I call that promoting bad work ethics.
Anyway, today my son tells me the resource teacher told him that she will be working with him 2 days a week after school. We will see, I hope he understood correctly.
I do have a meeting with resource next week. I hope something positive comes out of it.
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Post by mykids on Sept 26, 2012 7:57:08 GMT -5
Met with resource teacher. The positive is that she will be working with him everyday for approx. 30min to get him caught up and on the right track and after school to make sure he has everything logged in planner & knows what he is suppose to do for homework.
The not so positive, everyone is asking if he is putting in the effort he can and should be. I had a feeling by the communication I had with spanish teacher that that was their thought process. And I honestly have to say, I don't know because although he does homework, he rushes thru it just to get it done & half the time forgets it at home & doesn't turn it in.
I'm trying to get him out of the spanish class & into a math intervention class. We did discuss the possibility of him taking sign language instead of a foreign language. I think and maybe I am wrong, that if you have not yet mastered your own language then you will have difficulties mastering another language. Maybe when he is a little older he will be able to handle the foreign language better?
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Post by healthy11 on Sept 26, 2012 8:29:59 GMT -5
I'm forgetting...is your son in 7th or 8th grade? Is taking a foreign language mandatory in high school to graduate with a regular diploma, or to get accepted into college, if that's a long-term goal? They generally say that the earlier a person learns a new language, the better they do, especially as far as proper pronunciation; before puberty is supposed to be best. Having said that, a child's success in a classroom is usually measured by having to read and write, and not just through spoken language. (I know in my son's case, as a young child, he had no problems speaking English, but when he entered school and was expected to deal with it in print, his dyslexia/dysgraphia became apparent.) My son's elementary school required everyone to take French, and what we found was the same sort of thing...he struggled more with reading/writing it, than picking up on speech. He never really mastered it (just as he's never really mastered English) but he got through 2 years in high school as well, and I think it was because he did have exposure to it when he was younger. Here's one perspective on the best time to learn a foreign language: esl.fis.edu/parents/advice/myth2.htm I know there was an older Millermom discussion thread about learning foreign languages and it listed other references. If I recall, they said many kids with LDs actually learn best in "immersion" situations, but that's not the way most schools can teach it, and you probably aren't going to be taking an extended family trip to Mexico anytime soon... In any case, I believe the old discussions mentioned that sign language is accepted as a foreign language by many CA colleges. Truthfully, if your son needs math intervention, eliminating his Spanish class is probably a wise thing to do. It's much more critical to build a strong math foundation now, because he's going to have to deal with it in many more courses, and in life. |
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Post by mykids on Sept 26, 2012 16:45:48 GMT -5
He is 8th grade this year. It is not required that you take a foreign language for a basic high school diploma. But my understanding it is req. 2 yrs to get into a 4yr college. College is the goal we are working towards.
However if he does not pass Algebra he does not graduate, so I think that is our 1st priority. Plus at this time there does not seem to be strong support in the foreign language department.
I have not looked into it but it is my understanding that sign language is accepted as a foreign language so it may be another way to go. There is another student at his school that is taking sign language in place of foreign.
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