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I'm not sure that one can demand an IEP, but one can certainly demand an evaluation.
I believe a parent can require the school to convene a CSE (Committee on Special Education) to determine whether classifying a child and drafting an IEP, is the appropriate course of action. The parent can also bring a child advocate to the CSE meeting. Most states give schools extra funding for classified students and unless this particular school already exceeds the state's recommended limit (usually around 13%), I am surprised that there would be resistance to this process. But in the OP's case, having his son classified will not get him out of the current class, so it's sort of a Catch 22.
I would talk to the principal and say that since he did so well last year, you'd like to try him in a class other than the inclusion one to see how he does. I know you said the inclusion/not inclusion is not the issue for you in this case, but his possible ADHD/Aspergers does continue to be a question mark.
Why not ask for him to be in a non-inclusion class? If he functions well there, your mind can be put at rest and no IEP is needed. If he can't function there, revisit the IEP thing. Either way, he gets away from this teacher.
If the principal needs more reason, use the reason you gave us: it seems like he is being labeled and set aside, and you do not think that is good for him.
I have to ask first if you have actually been in the classroom witnessing these things?
If not, one thing to consider is that most young children are relaying the most recent events of the day and not a cumulative of what happened throughout the day. So while he may be accurate in saying he raised his hand and didn't get called on, it may have only been the last lesson of the day. He very well might have been called on and praised earlier and that memory was overridden by the negative memory of not being called on later.
Another thing to consider is some teachers communicate exceptionally well with students and not so well with adults. What you experience with her may not be anything like what goes on in the classroom.
So, my suggestion is to have a conference with the teacher, not the Principal at this point. She is the one who is directly dealing with your son and the one who can make a difference right now. If you go to her asking for clarification of what he has relayed to you in a manner that does not put her on the defensive, as you stated in regards to the Principal, then you will be far more successful than going in and expecting a class change. For instance, if you approach the teacher with the mindset that "X, Y and Z is what you'd like to see your son accomplish this year and how can we work together to get there?" then you can begin a very good working relationship. You can mention that he responds well to being called on and knowing he is working well towards the end goal of the task. You can mention that he manages responsibilities very well.
If you don't get satisfactory results from the discussion ask her if she thinks a different teacher might be a better fit and let her go to the Principal first, or let her suggest you talk to the Principal about it. Then take it to the next step.
I can tell you that most Principals do not want to have a parent in their office that has not tried to work it out with the teacher first, unless it is a dire circumstance.
I'd work with the teacher first, and I would not necessarily take the word of a 6-year-old that he's "never called on even though he's raising his hand," or that "the table I'm at doesn't ever get called on." Let's face it, every little one with his hand up wants to be called on, and over the course of a day, each kid is only going to be called on a few times. If he didn't get a chance to talk during the last hour of school, he could relay that as "she never calls on me."
With that said, you're his mother, and if you want him switched, then go in and ask to have him switched. When you utilize the public school, you do need to play by their rules, though, and it might not be allowed. See what happens; the worst that they'll say is no, and at that point, you can decide if the benefits of leaving him in the school outweigh the negatives, or vice versa, and make your subsequent choices accordingly.
From starters, I assume the answer to this question will be "no" (he is in public school).
But just in case there is any way in which we could go to the principle and ask for our son to be placed in another class - in the most non-offensive and non-threatening manner possible, we would want to know about this possibility.
Our son just started 1st grade and all I can say is that we are not terribly excited about the teacher he has and the class he is in. I don't want to bore anyone with the specific, rationally explainable reasons behind this disappointment with his placement, but my instincts simply say (actually they kind of scream) that this teacher and the class he is in will NOT be in his best interest this year.
We were very pleased with his K teacher last year but this year he seems to have had less luck.
Any way his placement could be changed after the school year started?
Thank you so much.
Unfortunately, it's unlikely. Principals and districts generally have policies against it. Still worth a try, though. Sorry to say that the best thing to do is spend time volunteering in the school, join PTA, and then know ahead of time which teachers you want to avoid. Before school begins, a parent who is active in the school often can choose a teacher for their child, or at least avoid one. In the meantime, I would keep careful documentation of all the problems that occur, and regularly bring them to the teacher's and principal's attention. Be more active in the classroom and communicate regularly with the teacher. This will make you a PITA, but will afford your child a measure of protection, since no matter how annoyed the teacher is, she doesn't want that kind of thing (whatever it is) going to her boss or into her record.
Oh, no, no - nothing like that. I have no real evidence of what would officially be considered "harm".
Not even close.
However, based on his first weeks of school, my instincts tell me this is the type of teacher who tends to have favorites, as in "pets" , and my guts tell me he will clearly not be one of them.
He tells us how he raises his hand all the time in class but she never calls on him, how other kids get a variety of praises and he never does, even though he tries very hard.
He is an academically advanced child, at least in certain areas (that I know for sure as he was privately evaluated and he came close to gifted, but not quite there). He excelled last year in K - but he is also suspected of having some developmental disorder, either ADHD or a mild form of Asperger's.
The school would not hear of an IEP anyway, regardless of the results of our private evaluation. The Special Ed teacher said that whatever "quirks" he may or may not have, his learning is not in any way affected by them, and that she believes he is a normal little boy doing his thing.
His report card last year had maximum grades on everything - so they pretty much implied we should not even think about an IEP.
Yet, this year he was placed in an inclusion class again, which we didn't mind at all since he did so well last year in a similar one, plus they have an extra teacher - so why not?.
The trouble now seems that he was placed at some kind of "ghettoized" table which appears to include only the kids with some sort of developmental problem (whether just mild or suspected, as in my son's case, or already dx-ed officially).
This table of theirs seems to get little attention, no child at this table ever gets praises for good behavior, etc. It just feels funny and uneasy to me.
I strongly believe in the power of labels and I have seen evidence, over and over again, of kids being labeled/perceived/regarded as part of the "awesome crowd" early in school, only to have the self-fulfilling prophecy work out exactly in their favor; and I have seen kids, equally - if not more - endowed from an academic/IQ standpoint who, for one reason or another, did not make it into the teacher's "pet group" early in life...only to do less well mainly because they never had the "you rock!" label plastered all over their foreheads.
I had other reasons to get a funny feeling about the whole thing but will skip them here for privacy-related reasons (never know who lurks on boards).
That being said, I am aware a child's teacher will not be changed simply because of mother's "funny feelings", so I guess that's that.
Any advice as to how I could continue to interact with his teacher in such ways that it will come out in his very best interest? At the end of the day, in all honesty, this is all I care about.
As an additional note, I have been nothing but sweet, kind, positive and cooperative during the little interaction I have had with the teacher so far - but she seems to be relatively detached/removed.
I would lie if I said I got anything negative/hostile from her, but neither did I get any amenable/accommodating vibe or any sign that she might be at all interested in my kid.
I do see her attention directed towards kids of mothers who hover a lot at school as room moms/volunteeristas or other roles of this nature.
OK, so now I see more clearly. First, about not being called on or praised. It's possible. However, there are so many other possibilities: 1-the tables were done randomly and the not calling on can just be an oversight. 2-he was deliberately placed near some struggling students because the teacher thought he would be a positive academic influence due to his good grades in the past, and he is not being called on because she knows he already knows the answer - there is always one kid that has his hand up all the time and always gets it right, and you try to avoid calling on them too much, sometimes accidentally ignoring them. 3-He isn't getting as much praise because the teacher feels he is a good, confident student and is working hard to praise those who are struggling and she thinks need more confidence. There are so many possibilities. That she doesn't like him is kind of far down on the list, but not impossible of course.
2 - about the IEP. Leave it alone. Your kid is doing great in school. IEP's are for kids who cannot succeed without additional services. Yours is fine. If that changes in the future, then worry about it. Honestly, there is nothing more that schools hate than parents who go out and get some private evaluation to show that their high performing student requires expensive services that are hard to get even for those who desperately need them and which are completely unnecessary for him. Seriously, we hate hate hate that. There will have to be some problem that is actually relevant to the classroom before he can be evaluated for special ed. And honestly, if you are worried about "ghettoizing" him, that's a good way to do it. He can then always be in a classroom or a table with low performers.
Meet with the teacher and ask about the seating (like, how often does she change it, which should be at least a few times a year), express his concerns about not feeling called on or praised. She may be completely unaware of that. And I stand by my suggestions from before - keep in contact and be a presence in the classroom at at least the inbox of her email. Also, ask about meeting with the school counselor to put him on her radar if you think there may be emotional issues beginning.
I'd suggest volunteering in the class a couple times so you can observe for yourself. Somthing unobtrusive where you can just sit back and observe rather than interacting with the kids would be great. I'm not saying you shouldn't believe what your child says but I learned not to trust "tales from school". On the other hand it's not always a big deal to change classes early in the year. I did it once myself, not because of the teacher but because there was a different start/end time for one of the classes and when I asked the Principal about it she said someone had already talked to her about switching out of that class so it just worked out.
I would definitely speak to the principal about the situation. Your private evaluation DOES count and perhaps it is time to insist upon a proper evaluation not just the special ed teacher's judgment. She may have the qualifications to teach special ed but she is not qualified to determine whether a child falls into that category. If you get no help from the principal, there's the school board. Insist that they either follow the recommendations provided by your private evaluator or at least use that as a basis for an "official" evaluation by a qualified professional.
An IEP is only required if they are struggling academically, regardless of the disability. You could have a severe disability, but if you are able to compensate enough to do well academically in all your classes, it does not apply to you. It only levels the playing field... Is not meant to let you excel to your abilities.
Try a 504, they are easier to get. And if you are doing any parental hand holding academically, stop it completely and let him swim or sink for some time. I had to do that with mine, after his grades and performance slumped, he was then eligible. Once all the accommodations were granted, I resumed staying on top of him ( which is in itself an accommodation) and he excelled. Early grades are the time to do it, it will help later.
Quote:
Originally Posted by syracusa
If the results of the private evaluation we are going through currently come clean (as in "he is within the limits of regular/normal") then I could make the case that he doesn't need to be in the inclusion class, hence he could be in another teacher's class.
Here it is not really about inclusion or the school accepting our evaluator's decision (a possible IEP would be a different story).
It is about changing this particular teacher, who happens to teach inclusion, and whose vibes I am not crazy about.
In this case I would need him to be moved to a regular class. To be noted that "inclusion" classes have mostly 100% regular kids, plus a few who have been identified to have some kind of developmental challenges (such as attention problems, as in ADD, etc).
I would also bring up the point that since your child has been diagnosed with issues, placing him in an inclusion class as a non IEP student is not beneficial to either him nor the special needs kids. He should not count as a regular kid as far as percentages go (and they are probably counting him) for inclusion, and he does not have all the abilities that the "normal"kids have to deal with the needs of the special kids. Sounds like a loose loose for him.
The complaints sound like the normal variety of petty feelings parents usually have. If you really have issues, you need to meet with the teacher, clarify your concerns and see if there is some kind of resolution that can be worked out. General, gut-feeling kind of stuff shouldn't even be brought up.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cc0789
An IEP is only required if they are struggling academically, regardless of the disability. You could have a severe disability, but if you are able to compensate enough to do well academically in all your classes, it does not apply to you. It only levels the playing field... Is not meant to let you excel to your abilities.
Try a 504, they are easier to get. And if you are doing any parental hand holding academically, stop it completely and let him swim or sink for some time. I had to do that with mine, after his grades and performance slumped, he was then eligible. Once all the accommodations were granted, I resumed staying on top of him ( which is in itself an accommodation) and he excelled. Early grades are the time to do it, it will help later.
This is absolutely correct. One of the criteria for SPED qualification is that the disability affects performance to a degree that the student is not successful, in other words, failing. If they are already making all As, then what is the point of an IEP?
I would also bring up the point that since your child has been diagnosed with issues, placing him in an inclusion class as a non IEP student is not beneficial to either him nor the special needs kids. He should not count as a regular kid as far as percentages go (and they are probably counting him) for inclusion, and he does not have all the abilities that the "normal"kids have to deal with the needs of the special kids. Sounds like a loose loose for him.
Frankly, I think if the OP wants a different teacher, she should just say that, instead of trying to justify it like this. "Personality clash" might work just as well.
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