We got some fire. It’s amazing how mesmerizing fire is- the kids have been having a blast making s’mores.
Every year, I forget what a tornado the end of school becomes. Everyone has assemblies, ceremonies, activities, parties, testing, recitals, practices, and promotions. It’s pretty clear I forget, because I also had the bright idea of scheduling everyone their dentist appointments and physicals as a fun addition. Then add in two surprise business trips back to back for Jon, out of town friends popping in (though wonderfully welcome, I haven’t figured out- yet- how to be three places at once) and family visiting.
No wonder staying in bed all day binge-watching Star Trek and Friends sound so good.
I have a small promotion coming up for Father’s Day- details forthcoming. I think we’re giving away a handcrafted watch Jon’s been test-wearing. It’s truly beautiful, if not completely practical. It’s okay for some things to be extra pretty, but not suitable for pressure washing the house, right? I think so.
Jeffrey won an award for being good at playing the baritone. He’s pretty excited, as you can see here.
As of next week, I have a high-schooler. It’s so weird- this is where my own autonomy kicked in, and I’m watching my kid make that transition. He’s counting down the days until he can get his driver’s license, he’s considering playing football, he’s tested into AP classes for the fall, he’s half a foot taller than me and can pick me. It’s weird.
Bean’s Home-Schooling Adventure is… well, it’s almost over. I’m less than impressed with some of the support from the district— big surprise. They let a week lapse before the teacher even contacted me, and now the school doesn’t want to pay her to make up the hours. Again, big surprise. Never mind they have a legal obligation to provide him with a certain amount of hours of instruction. Yes, less than impressed.
Abby’s cruising along- she’s going to have a modified curriculum next year, and spend time every week in a separate classroom doing math, writing and science at her own level. This is a very good thing; she’s bored all the time in class, but she’s had two really good teachers for third grade, so at least there’s that. She’s also decided to make origami as tiny as humanly possible. See above.
Me? I’m considering some big changes for next year. Not ready to talk about them yet, but they involve retooling grad school courses and maybe biting off something new. We shall see.
We managed to brave the beltway traffic and catch dinner and a move at this fancy place. It was good.
Now I have to go drag my teenager out of bed. His alarm just went off and Simple Minds is crooning at me from down the hall to don’t you forget about me… it’s really weird my kid is listening to music I remember slow-dancing to in 7th grade. He’s older than that me. Weird. Getting the kid up now.
Onward. The only option.
Dandelion Mama 
I completely understand the end of year – throw in moving to a foreign country on top of it, and once we arrived here in DC I was spent, and grateful to be together as a family, and not have to be anywhere else….including that doctor appointments were done, as well as physical therapy. Deep breath my friend, it will end!
I look forward to catching up with you – and a hug!
I bet you already know this, but there are advocacy groups all over the country that are available to help parents and families work with (force) the school districts to provide an appropriate education for their children. As a teacher there have been a couple of times I’ve had to quietly inform parents how to seek help when things got ugly at school. I’m sorry you have experienced such frustration over something that is your son’s basic rights.
Susan, I would love to hear what advice you’d give. His home teacher quit today, and he’s now down 8 days of instruction time guaranteed by his IEP, and the district is saying they won’t pay for it, and the school has to. You can guess what the school is saying.
I’d start with the SPED teacher at the school. Ask what plan is in place so they stay in compliance with his IEP. That IEP is a legally binding document and schools can get into big trouble for not following that plan. If you are not satisfied with the plan the school has (that’s assuming they have one) ask to speak to the SPED supervisor. His/Her job is to monitor IEPs and ensure that they are being followed. Keep working your way up the chain until you know, understand, and agree with the plan they have for providing services for your son.
A couple of things.
Document, document, document. Keep a notebook with dates, who you spoke with, what questions you had, and what their response was. Even better, communicate as much as possible through email so that you have a paper trail of your interactions. Be professional, calm, and stay on target with the message that your goal is for your son to get the services that have been agreed to in the IEP.
I found a website that might be helpful. http://www.aje-dc.org/about
You might consider contacting them and seeing if they can give you advice or information that is more specific to your school district.
Don’t give up. Somewhere along the way you will find that one person that will help you and the school/district make it work. It will probably be a struggle to get there, but with perseverance, grit, and tenacity it will happen.
I’ve got those bases covered, and am on a first-name take-my-calls basis with the director of SpEd services for the entire district (I did as you suggested and have worked my way up over the year). It’s been a nightmare, but I know it can be so much better. Here’s hoping. Thank you!