i think i made a mistake

MOM23ANGELS · 09-13-2006, 12:13 AM

my son started kinder. last week in a self contained classroom. the class is new to our district and is for high functioning kids. there were suppose to be 14 kids to 1 teacher, 1 aide in the class, but as of right now there are only 9 kids. but here is the confusing part that makes me think i've made a mistake.....it's not just kindergarten but k-2nd grade. and there are 3 aides in the class. i feel like such a boob for assuming this would be a kinder. class at my son's transition IEP meeting this past spring. and the amount of aides makes me think that maybe not such a high functioning class. i worry about what the curriculum will be and how is she teaching such a wide spectrum of age groups.

i wasn't crazy about the class to begin with especially when his ABA therapists pushed me to ask for maintream with an aide. (not available for kinder. in my school district, just first grade and above) i fought with my husband on this and he convinced me to allow him this "extra cushion" for this year and maintream for first grade.

i have a meeting with my son's teacher on monday to ask some questions on how she plans to run this class. any suggestions on what other questions to ask? has anyone every been thru this and had success convincing the board that child is in wrong class. i have been soooo upset over this and feel sick about it.

oh, and another 2 things that i didn't like. firstly- 6 days of school so far and nothing in my son's backpack to show me what work he has been doing. when i ask him he says " i colored and played in the playground". secondly, when i picked him up today i walked up behind one of the aides yelling at 2 kids who were kicking the sh** out of each other. HELLO!!! don't need that behavior coming home.

Nakita · 09-13-2006, 01:08 AM

Do you have to wait an entire a week for the meeting? Can you go in early one day and observe the last half hour of class? Or go at lunch time to speak with the teacher? IF this class was mis-represented to you in the spring, than you definetly have the right to have some questions answered. This is your child after all. Don't let the school board push you around. You are entitled to the services your child deserves and needs.

I went through this some twenty years ago. My daughter is a special needs child also. Although the circumstances are different, special needs are special needs. My daughter and you son are entitled to the best education as every other child. my daughter is schziphrenic and bi-polar with an extremely hi IQ. She was seen as a behavior problem and a smart a**. IT took years off fighting, but she finally graduated and is now in college with a full time job.

I wish the best for you and if you need to talk, I'm here for you. I am also a highly functioning person with bi-polar and borderline personality disorder.

Keep fighting and don't let them get to you.

Laura

LeeannaL · 09-13-2006, 10:44 AM

If you feel that your son's placement is not appropriate, request an IEP meeting and ask about what other options that the school has for him. If none of them are appropriate, the school may be forced to help pay for private schooling. The more aides that are in the class, the more likely your son will get one on one instruction. Many HFA's do best with one on one instruction. Maybe they are putting your son's work up on a bulletin board or in a folder? Perhaps you could start a communication folder with his teacher. You could also ask for a copy of the curriculum. They should be following the same curriculum as other kindergarten classes. My son had homework in kindergarten, and always had lots of completed academic work and art projects to show me when he got home. Of course there were a few behaviors that he picked up from other kids in the class too, but those behaviors disappeared quickly when he went to a mainstream classroom midyear in kindergarten. Good luck!

9CatMom · 09-13-2006, 10:57 AM

It sounds like absolute chaos in that class, hardly conducive to learning. I agree with everyone else. Request an IEP meeting and get it ASAP. Good luck to you. I would hate to see your son's potential for learning squandered by lack of teaching.

MOM23ANGELS · 09-15-2006, 09:18 PM

had a meeting with the teacher on thurs.socially, all the children are getting along nicely so far. didn't give homework right away because she was testing each child to find out what level they were at. (BTW, got homework the very next night after my post and boy do i say....be careful what you wish for.) because my son can read and do some math he gets some pretty intense homework for a 5 year old. but as she explained to me "I set the bar high and modify from there". the reason for the extra aides is because of the 3 grade levels, she needs someone to be with each group so she can focus on individual help. aside from that one kicking incident, behavior hasn't been an issue. the 2 boys involved were brothers (mom insisted on same class) but were seperated because clearly same classroom was not working. i was worried about my son handling full day school but she told me he adjusted great. congratulated me on his abilty to sit and focus on task so nicely. (wish i could take the credit but 2 years of intense ABA is to thank for that).

felt much better after that meeting. thanks for the posts.