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I'm a parent of a fully mainstreamed 9th Grader who has Asperger's. I hope this forum is the right place to post my concerns.
He is currently in 4 Honors classes (Geometry, Biology, Spanish and World History) and his IEP specifies that in each of these classes there be an In Class Support teacher (as opposed to an aide/paraprofessional).
The purpose of this accomodation is to assist my son in difficulties he has in his Executive Functioning (i.e. organization, note-taking, ensuring that he has complete notes before a test, ensuring that he hands in his homework, making sure he has the materials needed for homework). He has no academic modifications. The school has assigned one specific teacher to 3 of these classes (Biology, Geometry and World History).
At the beginning of the school year, my son did poorly on both his first Biology and Geometry tests. Actually he failed... something that not only surprised me but completely stressed him out, since he has never gotten below a B in any class, ever.
Anyway, I requested copies of these tests to review and sat down with my son to review the notes he used to prepare for the tests. What I found was that indeed the grades were justified but what disturbed me were the notes he was provided by the In Class Support teacher. The notes were not only incomplete (for example, the Geometry notes were a collection of incomplete examples, you would never know what they were trying to convey and the Biology was just a list of terms), but moreover, it was obvious that this particular teacher was not familiar with subject matter at all.
Luckily, I did very well in these subjects when I was in HS, but I have to literally re-learn them so that I am prepared to help him with his homework and/or tests. I have very little faith in this particular teacher's knowledge or notes. Doing this has enabled me to be available if my son needs and since then he has been getting low A's/high B's in these classes. I am concerned that in future grades, I won't be able to assist him in the same way.
However, shouldn't an In Class Support teacher be knowledgable in or Qualified in the subject matter? Are there laws or state requirements that cover this (I live in NJ)? I feel that the school is cutting corners by putting in one ICS teacher into some very highly specialized subjects.
In a related matter, this same teacher took a medical leave of absence for over a month (without the school letting me know about it) and for that time period my son apparently had an assembly line of subs. Again, I only learned about it when I got my son's interim progress report and saw that his grades were suffering. The main reason: not handing in homework which he had done, or not handing in a project in a timely manner, things the ICS teacher should have been on top of.
Sorry that this is long... Looking forward to getting some input.
I am not familiar with the credentials of the support teacher, and am much more familiar with the practice of a paraprofessional aide. Sounds like a wonderful modification, if it would work right.
...have you had an IEP meeting to address your concerns? It seems that the way the IEP was written it quite possibly isn't being followed. Would it be possible for the IEP to include a provision for a sub - like requiring the regular teachers to provide notes when your son's teacher is absent? That could also be an work-around for the quality of the note taking - having the subject teacher supply notes that just needed to be highlighted, maybe.
If you didn't want to call an IEP meeting, it would seem like a meeting with his support teacher would be in order.
I am not familiar with the credentials of the support teacher, and am much more familiar with the practice of a paraprofessional aide. Sounds like a wonderful modification, if it would work right.
...have you had an IEP meeting to address your concerns? It seems that the way the IEP was written it quite possibly isn't being followed. Would it be possible for the IEP to include a provision for a sub - like requiring the regular teachers to provide notes when your son's teacher is absent? That could also be an work-around for the quality of the note taking - having the subject teacher supply notes that just needed to be highlighted, maybe.
If you didn't want to call an IEP meeting, it would seem like a meeting with his support teacher would be in order.
Appreciate the input.
The teachers and I have been communicating directly and one in particular has been great, the other, meh, my sense is that she feels my son is "more work" than she is used to. From what I was told, not all the teachers have complete review notes available in a manner that could be passed on to my son. Maybe the way to write up the future IEP is that the head teacher should be responsible for the ICS teacher fulfilling their role?
We will be scheduling his annual IEP meeting by next month , hence the question of the required credentials in NJ for an In-Class Support teacher in a core academic subject, specifically at the Honors level. I will also be addressing the issue of the extended absence without a planned replacement. I just want to make sure that I know the answer before I head into the meeting.
I think ANY child could be in honors if they all had a private teacher in each class who took all their notes for them and did all their organizing. All the kids would have to do is show up.
I think ANY child could be in honors if they all had a private teacher in each class who took all their notes for them and did all their organizing. All the kids would have to do is show up.
Firstly, the In Class Support teacher is there to support the teacher and all the students in the class. He is not there for my son alone, although my son's IEP specifies the role he should play. My question was, shouldn't this teacher be knowledgable in the subject matter, escpecially when it is specialized?
FWIW, my son has been a straight A student on his own merit. His standardized testing scores are advanced proficient and every learning assessment & psycho-evaluation ever done have been superior. In fact, several years ago he was skipped a grade, so in fact he should have been in 8th grade today not 9th. He was recommended for these Honors classes by the Middle School school principle and his teachers, not by me.
<shrug> But obviously you have a bone to pick. If you feel that every student who receives notes can meet the expectations of an Honors class, then maybe all students should have these. They're review notes, not the answers to an exam.
I disagree with NOEXCUSES. Having someone help you with organization and taking the notes for you does not guaranteed that you will do well in the class. You must have the intellect to understand the material being taught. All the notes in the world won't help you if you don't have the aptitude or intelligence. The accomodations of notes and organization are just helping the student with his disability so that he can achieve his potential. I imagine that NOEXCUSES would feel that we shouldn't give wheelchairs to someone who can't walk either.
Robee, I can think of several possibilities of what might be going on here:
Special ed teachers are often qualified to teach spec ed, not to teach the subject matter because their major was special ed, not math or English. I know several high school sped teachers who know very little about the subject matter being taught, and like any other profession, you have those who should be in it and those who should not. Also I know several sped teachers who are very good at the emotional part of the job, but who don't know the subject matter. One of my favorite teachers isn't very knowledgeable about math, but she has such a mothering heart that I'd never say she should get out of teaching--she has helped too many emotionally disturbed kids.
The subs--they are clueless, and it's not their fault. They have no training, and in fact, the teachers don't really have any training in how to most effectively work with an ICS teacher either. When I started subbing, the kids had to train me on the job, and I'm not joking about that either. Last year during the final month of the school year, I got thrown into a job like that and was teaching algebra though I'm an English teacher. And then I had no idea what I was supposed to do to support the teacher and he dropped little hints here and there but I'm sure that some of the kids didn't get what they needed, though I worked very hard to ensure that they did. I paid extra attn to the lectures so I'd know what was going on and that helped some, but it never occurred to me to take notes for the kids.
Sped teachers and gen ed teachers are often at odds with each other. I don't know why, but for some reason each thinks the other has the better end of the deal, but sped teachers are often drowning in paperwork and have less time for the students. I honestly think you'd be better off with a teacher's asst in the classroom because they have more time to spend w/ students, but of course you never know what you're going to get--we have very intelligent ones at our school, but I've met some that weren't too bright. (That's true of teachers too though.) Anyway, if this is the case, then they won't be communicating too well with each other.
I hope this helps to give you a sense of what goes on in the schools, and I also think you need a meeting with the teacher at least, and just let them know what you need, b/c it's very likely that it was missed. They really do have a huge volume of paperwork, so I can see how it could happen. The unfortunate thing is that parents of kids in the sped program really do need to keep an eagle eye on their kid's progress b/c it's an inexact science as of yet--sped is still in it's infancy.
NoExcuses, I totally don't agree with you--these kids just need a level playing field so they can show that they know the subject--helping them out with executive functioning is not cheating, but not helping them out with those things just assures that they'll fall thru the cracks like so many before them have. Please go read up on the subject and try not to have any kids who need special help.
Robee, I can think of several possibilities of what might be going on here:
Special ed teachers are often qualified to teach spec ed, not to teach the subject matter because their major was special ed, not math or English. I know several high school sped teachers who know very little about the subject matter being taught, and like any other profession, you have those who should be in it and those who should not. Also I know several sped teachers who are very good at the emotional part of the job, but who don't know the subject matter. One of my favorite teachers isn't very knowledgeable about math, but she has such a mothering heart that I'd never say she should get out of teaching--she has helped too many emotionally disturbed kids.
The subs--they are clueless, and it's not their fault. They have no training, and in fact, the teachers don't really have any training in how to most effectively work with an ICS teacher either. When I started subbing, the kids had to train me on the job, and I'm not joking about that either. Last year during the final month of the school year, I got thrown into a job like that and was teaching algebra though I'm an English teacher. And then I had no idea what I was supposed to do to support the teacher and he dropped little hints here and there but I'm sure that some of the kids didn't get what they needed, though I worked very hard to ensure that they did. I paid extra attn to the lectures so I'd know what was going on and that helped some, but it never occurred to me to take notes for the kids.
Sped teachers and gen ed teachers are often at odds with each other. I don't know why, but for some reason each thinks the other has the better end of the deal, but sped teachers are often drowning in paperwork and have less time for the students. I honestly think you'd be better off with a teacher's asst in the classroom because they have more time to spend w/ students, but of course you never know what you're going to get--we have very intelligent ones at our school, but I've met some that weren't too bright. (That's true of teachers too though.) Anyway, if this is the case, then they won't be communicating too well with each other.
I hope this helps to give you a sense of what goes on in the schools, and I also think you need a meeting with the teacher at least, and just let them know what you need, b/c it's very likely that it was missed. They really do have a huge volume of paperwork, so I can see how it could happen. The unfortunate thing is that parents of kids in the sped program really do need to keep an eagle eye on their kid's progress b/c it's an inexact science as of yet--sped is still in it's infancy.
NoExcuses, I totally don't agree with you--these kids just need a level playing field so they can show that they know the subject--helping them out with executive functioning is not cheating, but not helping them out with those things just assures that they'll fall thru the cracks like so many before them have. Please go read up on the subject and try not to have any kids who need special help.
I think that what you say is true but problematic. Why? Because many times when a problem arises, it seems that many want to pass the buck, from the ICS teacher to the teacher to the Case Manager, and around again we go.
In the meantime, I only learn about issues well after they are in full swing and usually when something as concrete as a grade or an interim report card is sent to me. Then I conference with the relevant parties at the school and they get into "putting out fires" mode. I think that's unfair to my son and sometimes not in compliance with my son's IEP.
How can I as a parent get all these moving parts to work together without every teacher feeling like I'm breathing down their neck and micro-managing their classroom? Shouldn't that be the job of the case manager or school administration?
BTW, I also agree that many high school teachers, especially those at the Honors level, as well as the school staff, have only recently been faced with kids like my son.
I am an elementary teacher (in NJ) and I have an in-class support teacher in my room for 5 inclusion students. The teacher is special ed certified. I've done several skills in math that this teacher had no idea how to do. I had to teach her so that she could assist the students. I would imagine that maybe in your child's situation, the teacher has the special ed cert. but is not subject certified. If the teacher is there fore support but is not teaching the class, I don't believe they need to be certified in that subject.
I am wondering if there needs to be clarification regarding the quality/specificity level of the notes. People take notes many different ways and the ICS teacher may be taking notes in the way that helped the ICS teacher in school. Perhaps the IEP needs to be modified to state a specific note format, such as Cornell notes? Or is the ICS teacher under the belief that they s/he is just assisting with note taking rather than being fully responsible? Sometimes IEPs can be misinterpreted, so before the next ARD/IEP meeting, maybe go through the current IEP to see what you would like to request be more clear cut. Are there other modifications that could be made to the IEP that would assist in this area? For example, if your son were able to record the lectures/class discussions and then replay at home - pausing as needed and able to listen without other classroom noises - would that help? Are there graphic organizers that can help with the note taking? Could he use a laptop to take notes?
If there is an ICS teacher with this specific role, I don't think the gen. ed. teacher would be the one to provide notes; if that is part of the ICS teacher's defined responsibilities, that should not need to be addressed by another staff member instead.
I know that in my district some parents have advocates that sit in with them at any IEP meeting and help make sure the child's needs are fully addressed. These are volunteers; I honestly don't know if the parents contact them through the district or if there is some other way they found them. Does your district have advocates or is there a way you can find one in your area? I am not saying it sounds like you need one, but it doesn't hurt to have one if available to you.
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I would imagine that maybe in your child's situation, the teacher has the special ed cert. but is not subject certified. If the teacher is there fore support but is not teaching the class, I don't believe they need to be certified in that subject.
