Home-schooling over the 2 week break...

Holiday break means a different schedule without setting the alarm clock so early! Sleeping in an hour or even two later is GOOD FOR YOU when you can get it! With so many things to do just for the Holidays and Family time, its easy to forget to keep our kiddo's on somewhat of a schedule.

Computer programs that continue to keep the focus on READING and phonics is important!

Here are a few favorite 'stay-at-home' and learn to read sites:
Scholastics great phonics program called: Headsprout at http://www.headsprout.com/
For keeping up with spelling words and word lists: Spelling City at http://www.spellingcity.com/
If you have a few favorites sites, please email to see them listed here: nancy.harris@dsadvocate.com

Have a great Holiday Vacation and enjoy Family and Friend time during this Christmas Season and Happy New Year!

Nancy Harris
DS Advocate
http://www.ds-advocate.com/
nancy.harris@dsadvocate.com

Tell the Board of Education it is DISCRIMINATION....

Tell the Board of Education it is DISCRIMINATION to deny alternative


Posted by: "Rosemary N. Palmer" floridalawlady@gmail.com askthelawlady

Fri Dec 18, 2009 11:40 am (PST)





Please forward this email as widely as possible, asking your friends and

friends of those who oppose discrimination to write the Board of Education

in opposition to excluding alternative schools from the same accountability

as other schools.



https://www.flrules.org/gateway/readFile.asp?sid=2&tid=8045585&type=1&File=6A-1.099811.htm



FLDOE has just announced its differential accountability rule, which is set

for public hearing January 19, 2010 in Tampa (unknown time and place,

contact lynn.abbott@fldoe.org). The rule sets out what schools where

students aren't learning have to do to fix it. The rule excludes

alternative schools, including special education day schools, second chance

schools which are disproportionately populated by students of color and

students with disabilities, whether or not identified under IDEA or 504, who

have typically been sent there because school districts have failed to

provide research proven interventions in less restrictive environments, and

similar schools, from full accountability when they continue to fail

students . (See

http://info.fldoe.org/docushare/dsweb/Get/Document-5588/dps-2009-215.pdf )



Apparently school districts have argued that the populations are too fragile

and and too mobile for school districts to be required to close them when

they cannot fix the problems after 1 year in Intervene status (which follows

multiple years in prevent and correct status --- most of the ESE schools are

now in Correct or Correct II status throughout the state).



However we know that students with disabilities whether or not identified

and students of color ought to be equally entitled to the benefits of

differentiated accountability. After years of knowing that such schools do

not implement research proven interventions with fidelity and do not produce

results (not to mention assigning personnel to such schools after they have

failed in some way in non-alternative schools), we all know that school

districts will NOT have any incentive to fix the problems until they know

that they must implement interventions that actually educate in those

schools too, and they are subject to ultimate sanctions of disbanding the

schools if they cannot find a way to successfully educated the students

there assigned, just like other schools are. Indeed, exempting alternative

schools gives districts additional incentives to throw away students with

disabilities rather than educate them, and also continues practices of using

more restrictive environments that clearly don't work any way, which are

also in violation of the law..



I say that students with disabilities (and students of color to the extent

that they are disproportionately represented in alternative schools) deserve

to be in schools that teach. Let's tell FLDOE and the Florida Board of

Education that passing a rule exempting alternative schools from Intervenor

status is discrimination, pure and simple.



Dr. Eric J. Smith Commissioner of Education Commissioner@fldoe.org

Office of the Commissioner Turlington Building, Suite 1514

325 West Gaines Street

Tallahassee, Florida 32399

*Phone:* (850) 245-0505

*Fax:* (850) 245-9667



STATE BOARD of EDUCATION

(850) 245-9661

325 W. Gaines Street

Suite 1520

Tallahassee, Florida 32399



T. WILLARD FAIR, Chairman

President and Chief Executive Officer of the Urban League of Greater Miami,

Inc.



PETER BOULWARE, Vice president of Legacy Toyota, Tallahassee FL

DR. AKSHAY DESAI, President, CEO and Chairman of Universal Health Care, St.

Petersburg, FL

ROBERTO MARTÍNEZ , Colson, Hicks, Eidson, Coral Gables FL

JOHN R. PADGET , Key West FL

KATHLEEN SHANAHAN, CEO WRSCompass,

LINDA K. TAYLOR, Ft. Myers, FL



Thank you for your help. It will take us all writing and calling to make a

difference.



--

Rosemary N. Palmer

Attorney at Law

FBN 070904 UBN 005004

5260 Pimlico Drive

Tallahassee FL 32309

floridalawlady@gmail.com

850 668 9203

STEP BY STEP DAYCARE a Collier day care shut down - INVESTIGATION


Posted: Dec 18, 2009 6:32 PM EST

COLLIER COUNTY: A Collier County day care center shut down abruptly tonight and parents weren't told why. But NBC2 uncovered the school is closing because of a criminal investigation against one of the school's employees.

A board member with Step by Step Day Care said criminal complaint was just filed Thursday. While he wouldn't tell who it was filed against or what sparked the investigation, he said the center is closed indefinitely and parents will have to find another school for child care. Friday, parents walked out of the doors clinging to their children and wondering what caused the child care center to close with no warning. "Everyone was crying, upset and everyone was blind sighted. I guess the teachers aren't getting paid," said parent Victoria Ingram. Ingram's daughter is enrolled in the VPK program. She says she noticed that something at the day care wasn't quite right last week. "Last week there was a police officer here as I was leaving with my daughter," she said.

Step by Step board member Clay Cone said the board decided to close down the school because they could no longer afford to operate. That's leaving parents like Ingram with few options for child care and now she says she's struggling to explain this to their kids. "No one has given me any information. My child goes here and I haven't told her yet. "It's going to be an emotional strain for my child," she said.

Step by Step board members say there is a criminal investigation surrounding the center's closing. They say the investigation is financial in nature and is lodged against one of the school's longtime employees. But that information isn't enough for Ingram because her child's education has been put on hold. "I just want to know what's going on. I trusted them with my child all day long," she said.

Board members say they will have a meeting at the school Monday night at 5:30 to answer parent questions and help find alternative day care and child therapy classes. They also say board members of the Naples Wine Festival, who donated more than $300,000 to the school last year, will also try to help place the students.

By Travell Eiland

http://www.abc-7.com/global/story.asp?s=11702303

ESE ~ Tools for behaviors?.....

Have you ever attended a DOG TRAINING CLASS? Have you ever tried to get a dog to do a new trick? Keep tasty little dog treats or something yummy in your pocket and reward your dog quickly with a little treat when they do 'the trick' or what you are trying to get them to learn...this is what I obseved in an ESE CLUSTER CLASSROOM the other day!

Is this really the correct way to get CHILDREN to behave and do well in school and do what the teacher wants? Yup...this is how this particular teacher was helping her young students behave well during calendar math time! I was appauled to see this in action! It was amazing to me to know that here I was actually observing how this Special Ed teacher with a degree to teach Special Education in our schools was reaching into one of her 2 front pockets of her sweater/jacket and using GOLDFISH CRACKERS to reward or NOT reward her beautiful students! She even went as far as to make sure she did NOT give a goldfish cracker reward to a particular student and made sure all the other students received a tiny goldfish cracker!...she was showing "him" he can't have one till he stops moving from "his spot" on the carpet. He kept moving to the corner spot up front closer to her and up against the filing cabinet, so he could use the corner of the wall to lean up against. Teacher was going over the calendar, weather and telling time yet it really seemed to be more about keeping him in the same spot and NOT MOVING, not about teaching. He is an active little boy and also has hypotonia, which I am sure not many teachers fully understand how hypotonia affects the body of the child with this condition.

I was greeted in the front office by the school principal, she was professional in the way she greeted me and shook my hand....but the PINK CROCKS she was wearing on her feet surprised me as her choice of professional dress. Never have I met a principal that is in charge of a school wear flip flops or PINK CROCKS to work! She was going to be taking me to where I was to do my observations and she would be staying with me throughout the entire observation time.

We started my observation time when he was visiting the regular kindergarten classroom during their calendar math and weather time first thing in the morning. He was sitting on the corner edge of the carpet near the classroom door, like he just came in and wasn't able to mingle or be amongst all the other students, but was able to just sit 'just on the edge'....with a woman sitting directly behind him monitoring his every move and action. She had a baggie full of CHEETOS she gave him for 'behaving well'. He was quiet and didn't move from his place, his head was down most during most of this time as he touched his shoes with his crossed legs. He was never called on or even LOOKED at by this teacher or his classmates. The other students interacted with one another and actively answered the questions the teacher was asking of her class about the calendar day and date, the time and the weather. One student was in a rocking chair next to the chart the teacher was using. This student was the one that was allowed to 'pick which students were called on to answer the questions' the teacher was asking. He was behaving himself sitting so nicely on the carpet during this time, but he wasn't really 'part of' the class at this time either, he kept to himself and had his head down most of the time and didn't participate with the lesson....he just seemed to be listening to everything and doing what the others were doing.

The class then stood up and went to go stand behind their desk and chairs to do some physical activity. He or his Para/Aide didn't seem to know where to go to do this activity so they just went to the front of the class to an 'open empty area'...was this his spot or did he even have his own desk area and chair in this classroom? It didn't seem so during this time of observation, by the way the Para/Aide or this student didn't know where to go stand.

He was happy to be in this classroom, but at the same time, there didn't seem to be anyone that was friendly with him or seemed to 'notice' him other than the fact that the little girl next to him seemed to be 'waiting for him to touch her' and she was ready to tattle on him for touching her! I could see it on the faces of some of the students that they were NOT to interact with him or talk to him...he was an outsider visiting this classroom. The teacher pretty much never made any eye contact with him or ever engaged with any kind of teaching with him. She let the Para/Aide work with him, since the Para/Aide had the baggie full of Cheetos to give to him, so he would 'do what he was suppose to do' and behave well. He was being ignored by this wonderful General Education Kindergarten teacher and was being provided Cheetos as his training treat to help him with behaving properly in this classroom. (I wonder if these food treats are listed anywhere on his IEP that he just has to have in order to BEHAVE....) INCLUSION WAS NOT HAPPENING WITH HIM in this Gen. Ed Kindergarten classroom!....HE WAS A VISITOR to this classroom and was being 'trained with CHEETOS' at every opportunity, just to get him to do what the adult watching over him wanted him to do!

I was not happy with how they were not providing INCLUSION for him in a Gen. Ed Kindergarten classroom...even though he obviosously seemed happy being in this classroom! The teacher never looked at him or seemed to notice he was there, allowing him to visit her classroom was ok, but to have to 'teach him' was not something she was doing.....he was invisable to her....the Para/Aide was only with him to prevent him from touching others or moving from where 'they wanted him' to be. Is it possible this Kindergarten teacher told her students to also not notice or interact with him?...because no one talked to him or acted like he was even there...the entire time he was being INCLUDED.....so sad to see first hand!

I was there to observe BENSON in several of his 'classroom changes' and saw so much in the very short time I was on that campus! The ESE Specialist told the mom the day she enrolled him that they are an INCLUSIVE SCHOOL and that her son would be attending a General Education Kindergarten classroom first thing in the morning for circle time. Mom asked me to schedule an observation to go see what exactly was going on at her sons school, because she hadn't been able to even SEE ANY OF HER SONS CLASSROOMS in the 2 months he had been attending his new school....communication coming home wasn't the best either!. Mom just wanted to know how he was being included in a REGULAR KINDERGARTEN CLASS but wasn't able to have any communication with his teachers to help her know more about the fact everyone was saying: that 'he was doing so well'....she wanted to see and know more than what they were 'telling her'....she needed to have someone else do the observation for her.

It took about 5 weeks of phone calls and emails back and forth with the ESE Specialist in trying to set up an observation time, the day he was enrolled we told them we would like to be able to come for an observation about 2 weeks after he has some time to 'get settled into' his new school. After mom had several conversations trying to set up an observation time, I started emailing the ESE Specialist and then I was beng told I was only allowed just a 1/2 hour of observation at the most, that is was according the the BTU=Broward Teachers Union policy. This is what that ESE Specialist provided me in one of her emails as THE POLICY this school principal was going by, please note there was no policy number or where this was coming from other than the BTU! I had to ask her during a phone call WHERE this policy came from or was written, I had to do my own research on the Broward Schools main website to see exactly what this entire BTU policy was and said and not go by what she was choosing to send over to me in an email. Here is what was provided to me in her email:

"Observations of an employee's class by persons other than school system personnel shall be allowed only after consent has been granted by the principal or his/her designee, notification to the employee, and proper security clearance has been granted. The visitation shall be scheduled no sooner than two (2) workdays after notification, except in extenuating circumstances as determined by the affected principal. Such observations shall be no longer than one (1) hour in length. Upon request, a building administrator shall be present in the employee’s classroom during the entire observation period."

This entire time of my trying (about 5 weeks) to set up a day-date-time for an observation, mom had still not been able to see any of her son's classrooms or get to know her son's teachers or the male Para/Aide that was usually taking him into the 'regular Kindergarten class' for his INCLUSION TIME first thing in the morning. Mom was being barred from getting to know or have any real communication her son's teachers or to see any of his classrooms!

Is this how all principals in charge of our public schools and districts treat the NON-DISABLED STUDENTS and their parents? I don't think so...but have a young 5 year old student with Down syndrome that has communication delays. His mom that just wants to make sure she had made the right decision to have her son attend this oh so wonderful fully inclusive elementary school, yet don't let that parent see his classrooms or get to know his teachers!! THIS IS NOT RIGHT OR ACCEPTABLE TODAY! This mom has a right to SEE HER SON'S CLASSROOMS....ALL OF THEM....AND MEET AND GET TO KNOW HIS TEACHERS! She also has a right to have regular communication with each of his teachers....since his speech isn't clear and not everyone understands what he is saying, he communicates by gestures and some signs, sounds and of course facial expressions.

I am hoping by blogging about the real life experiences of what parents go thru in trying to make sure their child is being treated fairly and is attending the classrooms and being provided what the ESE Specialist SAID on the day this boy was enrolled...is really being carried out, but with all the 'cat & mouse' games and 'dragging their feet' in providing just a simple observation day-date-time to be able to see what his school day really looks like, sends up a RED FLAG! This school NEEDS IMMEDIATE TRAINING ON POSITIVE INCLUSIVE PRACTICES.....there was nothing positive about him being included at this school. The teachers and the Para/Aides also need some training on how to help TEACH the child and not use FOOD TREATS so much!

Mom is fed up with the games being played....her sons education for Kindergarten is being wasted on or in a program that does not 'feel right' anymore. Mom knew the day she was enrolling him....that they were painting a picture that wasn't true! With so much nonsense to go thru just to set up an 'observation day'....speaks volumes!

Mom..........THANK YOU for allowing me to share your story, you and I both know your son is not the only one out there in the same situation!

Please post a reply to this post if you or someone you know can relate to this small snippet of an 'observation day'.....would love to hear what you have to say! (Click the COMMENT word in white)
DS Advocate

FINALLY!!!....Observation is scheduled!!...took.....how long???

....Monday....FiNaLLy!!!....it took so long to arrange an observation to see how BENSON is doing in his wonderful "inclusive" program at the elementary school he attends...

Did you know that it is up to the Prinipals to make or break a good observation on 'their campus?" Also did you know that it is written in the BROWARD TEACHERS UNION (BTU) policy detailing just HOW LONG a teacher has to allow anyone into their classroom that is NOT a school board employee? Did you also know that according to the BTU you can only observe for 30 MINUTES!!...and another 30 MINUTES to have a discussion with that teacher about what you observed!...How much do you really think anyone will really be able to observe in a very short 30 minutes of a 6 HOUR SCHOOL DAY?

I am going into BENSON'S school on Monday 12/7/09 to finally do an observation of how well he is being INCLUDED in his different classroom settings....all the wonderful 'things that were told to mom' on day she was enrolling him into that school.....mom has asked me to go do 'the observation' for her to see how her son is doing in school. Remember....this little guy can't really TELL his mom how school was for the day....his communication skills are hard to understand and mom says there isn't really any real communication coming home in his backpack to help her understand how his school day went for the day......she hasn't ever had an opportunity to even see any of his classrooms since he started attending school there 7 weeks AFTER the school year started.

I will post how the observation went....stay tuned.....

Can I observe my sons classroom and meet all his teachers?

Told at the meeting that at 'our school' we do this and we do that....we believe in inclusion for ALL students. I wanted to fall over when hearing this, almost sounded too good to be true. Could it really be that at least one school in Broward County really does do things right? Mom was skeptical, with every right to be so....she wants to see her son be happy in a classroom where he will grow and be happy.

.....but when we asked if we could see the classroom after our meeting...there was a look I won't forget....I want to believe this school is going to 'do the right thing' for this little kiddo, and that they really do provide inclusion for ALL. Not the 'be good and earn' gen. ed time, but really do provide lots of opportunity for all students to spend time in a regular education classroom.

It's been 20 days since his first day of school and mom still hasn't been able to see her son's Special Ed classroom or even meet his General Education teachers in the Gen. Ed classrooms we were told he is suppose to be part of everyday. Mom has yet to get any notes home letting her know what and how her son is doing while under their care. Mom wants to SEE and meet her son's teachers....all of them. She needs to SEE what her sons classrooms look like and have an opportunity to meet and have a little conversation with ALL of his teachers....that's not asking much...I think most parents absolutely would want to know WHERE their Childs classroom is and WHO their teacher/s are! What is wrong with this picture IF mom is not able to meet, talk, see for herself exactly where her son is during his entire school day? Open house happens at every school, parents attend to meet and greet their Childs teachers and see their classrooms...but how does that happen when her son started school SIX WEEKS after the beginning of the school year?

Do we really believe this school is providing inclusion for ALL students? I don't know, they certainly aren't providing inclusion of the parent wanting to just meet her sons teachers and to see all of the classrooms he participates in. As the parent advocate I have sent out my email requesting an ALL DAY observation to see how 'things really are' going for him throughout his entire school day. I haven't heard back from the ESE Specialist or the ESE Teacher that works with him all day. I am hoping 'they are doing the right thing' for this little guy....and I pray they open their doors for this mom...she has a right to know what her sons classroom LOOKS LIKE and she has a right to MEET ALL HIS TEACHERS and know exactly what his daily schedule really is. If none of these things happen...I would say there is some deception going on.....but would that surprise any of us...really?

What will mom do?....what would you do if you were in her shoes?

We just want to OBSERVE his educational environment....mom wants to make sure her son is happy and progresses, since so much time was wasted and he didn't get to start school till 6 weeks AFTER school started for the entire County!

This school needs to 'do the right thing'...and be parent friendly and allow this mom access to her sons teachers and let her see how he is doing being included in the general ed. Kindergarten classrooms.

If you have a comment to this posting...please post it and let's hear from you and your experiences pertaining to OBSERVING your Child's classroom/s.

"It's an IEP Team Decision"......ever hear that?

Ever heard this before? "It's an IEP Team Decision"... What does it really mean? When you are at your Child's IEP meeting, have you ever heard this said before? Yes parents are part of the IEP team, it's good when you speak up and provide your input, concerns and suggestions....but when it comes to  having the document really say exactly what your input or your suggestions are, it's like a knockdown drag out fight to get the simplest of support or service actually written in. Even the SUPPORT & TRAINING FOR PERSONNEL piece of the document...egads those working closest to and with our Child, should be "required" to receive some training!...how do we parents ever know if teachers and para professionals have actually been trained? We never do! Where does it say specifically that they actually have to 'be trained' and by what date?...usually....this too shall become nothing on that IEP document...it's a legal document right?

I can not believe how the majority of IEP team members are usually on the 'opposing team' to what the parent is advocating for. There is no "IEP team decision"...it's a district wide decision many times ESPECIALLY when it comes to PLACEMENT of our Children with certain 'eligibilities' into a certain type of classroom environment!...only to hear repeated like it's the mantra 'they all chat' while brushing their teeth in the morning before going off to attend yet another one of 'those meetings' with one of 'those parents'....they get paid for attending these IEP 'team' meetings day in and day out! These meetings don't give them diarrhea like it does the mom's of those Children! Parents are STRESSED OUT and fighting hard to have their Child provided a good classroom with good supports to help them be successful! Parents know best, but are never really heard and often times their suggestions or concerns are not really 'taken into consideration'......usually shot down at every corner they turn...every real concern or support the parent suggest many times falls on deaf ears of the entire IEP team!

The majority of our 'school society', and that means teachers, principals and especially district administrators and staff, schoolboard members and Superintendents even....still do not really believe our Children with disabilities should be 'allowed' to be taught in a GENERAL EDUCATION CLASSROOM with their friends that live in the same neighborhood! I am sickened by the uneducated and outdated way of thinking that so many running our schools have today in 2009!

They call themselves professionals and say it "at us" in a degrading sort of way...during our IEP meetings, as a way to talk down to parents! Because 'they have' this or that degree in Speech and Language Pathology ~ THEY ARE THE PROFESSIONALS!!! Of all people that should understand the most about fine motor delays in speech and language and communication....some of the so called 'most educated' from a BOOK...have NOT-A-CLUE what it means to provide a support or service to a Child that needs it the most! (They have been instructed from their 'higher ups' on what to say and provide!..do not go over!!! Everyone wants to keep their job and that paycheck coming in!) Most times the highest degreed IEP 'team members' are the very ones that have no idea what it's like to really help a Child be all they can be! Mainly because they don't believe certain individuals will ever really amount to much....they went to school to get that degree for?...for what? To deny the very support or service they could provide to help a young mind learn skills they struggle with, so they can be better at it in the long run..for life!

Why do people go for the Professional degrees they have, to work with Children with disabilities in the first place? IMHO: To make money OFF the delays and disabilities of the very students they don't 'really believe in'? I think our Children with Disabilities are a COMMODITY...seen only as a means to earn a living off of them! If this is not true to some degree...why are the professionals providing MINIMAL support across the board and only giving out a one size fits all service, no matter how hard it is to understand a person 'communicate' or 'write'.....needing OT-Occupational Therapy...or how funny they may walk because of certain genetic conditions...if they can stand up and walk and they ''can navigate the school campus''...what more do we want from those professionals during the school day?

I see too many IEP 'teams' act as though they haven't a clue about doing the right thing in providing WHAT THE CHILD NEEDS and only go by what 'they are instructed' to carry out by the end of that IEP 'team' meeting...us against them....who's gonna win.....well certainly not the Child!! Two opposing teams...certainly not all on the same team, but out to deny!!

It's been a stressful day of advocating for the rights a Child to be educated in a General Education Classroom today. Trying to secure the needed supports and services so the Child can be successful....I am up against 'the district'.....THE DISTRICT wants this student where they WANT THAT STUDENT and that's the bottom line! THEY WANT TO SEPARATE and put this Child in of 'those cluster classrooms' without ever once providing an opportunity or chance to attend a regular general education classroom with all the supports and services to be successful...why???...because for one..."it's an IEP Team Decision"!! and THE TEAM believe that Child "NEEDS" that type of most restrictive setting! Do they even care what the parent wants and knows their Child needs? NO THEY DO NOT CARE WHAT THE PARENT WANTS FOR THEIR CHILD!!.....The Professionals...THEY HAVEN'T A CLUE!!.....many times they aren't even a parent.....and of course they aren't raising a Child with Down syndrome or Autism or any number of unique learning challenges...how could they possible know what we know....we didn't get our EXPERT KNOWLEDGE from attending college....we shed our blood for these Children!!!

Our 'school society' is pushing our Children with Down syndrome especially, away and into SEPARATED and out of sight SPECIAL classrooms...usually in a portable or a back classroom, away away away from the general population! Oh let's not forget they will "INCLUDE THEM" during lunch and recess and specials!...might get lucky and get an entire 15 minutes of GEN.ED time during a REGULAR KINDERGARTEN CLASS CIRCLE TIME!...15 WHOLE MINUTES!!!....and that's ONLY if the Child BEHAVES for those 15 minutes!! Oh assuring the student would get ALL THE SUPPORT he needs!!...We should be grateful we have such caring and knowledgable professionals making Individual Education Plan Placement decisions for our Children! We are GRATEFUL!

I will wake up again tomorrow to fight the good fight all over again....certainly not making a regular paycheck doing it either! I am trying to contribute financially to our family expenses, but am I doing these 'advocacy fights' for the money....for the most part no! I work for FREE much of the time! I do this with a passion because I believe in the Children that need us the most! I believe in their futures and their abilities to do great and wonderful things...so I fight for them! They can't.....many times their parents can't.....but everyone is learning. I see myself as a coach to parents! I love what I do, I love the little kiddo's I am speaking up for, I believe in their futures and I believe in their RIGHTS TO AN EDUCATION! I am a parent to a Child with Down syndrome, all of my friends have a Child with Down syndrome or Autism or Prader Wili or CP or any number of things...these Children are NORMAL to me and my friends...they are our Children!

I hope...when it's all said and done at the end of the day, everyone that sits in on an IEP team meeting...that they can honestly say....they spoke up and supported the parents hopes and dreams for their Child. That they believed in that Child and did the right thing. What would you want if it was YOUR CHILD we were talking about? You would want the IEP team, to do the right thing! You would want your Child going to 'regular' classes....like everyone else!

I know more than anything, bottom line...everyone wants to keep their jobs and they have their instructions to carry out from their 'bosses'....it is so obvious that it's a district wide 'thing'....nothing is going to change unless those running the entire school district open their minds to 'doing the right thing'!!!

Elections for Schoolboard members when those come up....get to know who you will be voting for! Do we need schoolboard members that still call our Children MONGOLOIDS?! I think not!

Subject: Benson still not in school yet

From: BENSON'S MOM
Sent: Wed., Sept. 30, 2009 3:50 PM
To: nancy.harris@dsadvocate.com
Subject: Benson still not in school yet

Hi Nancy
I would like to express my frustration to you regarding this ridiculous time Benson is out of school, because seems that the county doesn't care. He is the one that suppose be in kindergarten and what I see is people from broward county schools acting like kindergartners and try to blame you and you are the only person that is trying to help us from their nonsense, like she say, he say, I have a date for his meeting, no I don't have a date, when I called Ms. Bennett most of the time I hear she is busy or in a meeting, what is that? Where are the professionals they should see that this is not right.

I am not asking for anything that they don't know that is what the law specific says A CHILD SHOULD BE IN THE LESS RESTRICT ENVIRONMENT. I know they have a lot schools to deal with, but it has been 5 almost 6 weeks that Benson is out of school and nobody cares.

When he was at Ann Storck Preschool and I question the reason for him to be in summer school extended year, they told me he could not be without school for this long period of time, that he would only benefit from that, they tell me how important was for him to be that extra month in school so he would be ready for kindergarten and bla, bla, bla, and now it is ok for him to sit at home without any "professional instruction?" That is another reason I am fed up with special programs, they just talk and say how important and beautiful the program is. Do you want to know how many times I go to any of those special schools and my son was sitting there by himself without any activity? why? they don't care, the kid can't tell the parents anyways right? Once when I questioned them they told me he didn't want to participate on the activity, ok so where was the professional that he deeply need as it says in the IEP to use their knowledge, and get him involved. What any of the regular kindergarten can't offer him more than a special cluster could? What services and care does Benson need that can not be achieved in a regular kindergarten? I been asking this question in those IEP meetings since he starts and nobody can answer me. After a while I realize this is the way it works: well the kid doesn't want to participate for whatever reason so leave him alone there doing something else. There is no effort from anyone at all.

Where is the one on one they talk about when they first meet you? Where are the experienced with our special kids? Where is the beauty of those programs? I don't need a babysitter Benson, I want a place for my son to learn, to have good role models, a place where he feels comfortable staying and I feel comfortable leaving him. Not a place where I see him everyday losing good skills, getting odd behaviors, being sad and withdrawn.

And for people to say they have very busy schedules to make a meeting to put him in school it is nonsense, they are just postpone and denying his rights to do and be a little kid in a regular kindergarten school and for me this is discrimination. Thank you Nancy for helping me, you have my permission to put this on your blog about my son.

The MONGOLOID word was used today!!

Today I made so many phone calls on BENSON'S behalf. I called this person and that person. This area person and her secretary only to be told to call this person and then always to be told by so many nice secretaries that the person I wanted to talk to... "SHE'S IN A MEETING"!! I would say I called about 10 different Broward County school district people today and every single one of them was, "IN A MEETING"! Gosh maybe I need to find out where this meeting is so I can be there to talk to all of them in the same room!

I was finally able to speak to one of our schoolboard members for the Area that over sees all of the Nova schools. She apparently was out of her meeting and able to take my call. I introduced myself and told her I was advocating for BENSON. She was aware of BENSON and what mom was trying to do.

In the few minutes of talking on the phone with her, she used the word, MONGOLOID and I just couldn't believe I just heard this professional woman say that word. I actually gasped and quickly said to her, "You did not just use that word!!??" She had a non-chelant attitude about her using that word, and commented on how she had recently had a discussion with someone else about the correct term to use today. She also went on to provide me with her age as the excuse for using it saying that's the term they used when she was growing up. I was jolted by her brazen lacsidaisical attitude or that it even really mattered.....!! Do you believe this?

I know this word was used alot back in the 60's....but this is almost 2010, that's pretty much 50 YEARS AGO!! The word mongoloid is JUST NOT USED TODAY LIKE IT WAS USED BACK IN 1960! I do not buy her answer that it has to do with 'her age' and what "THEY" were called....unless she is 80 years old and showing signs of dementia! She MUST be using this terminology on a regular basis if she could so coldly use it in a telephone conversation with me within 5-10 minutes of meeting me on the phone! She knew what she was saying! I will make sure she doen't get my vote or my friends vote next time re-elections come up!

This is an ELECTED Schoolboard member that is a highly paid professional that is suppose to represent many school age families here in Broward! I told her that her age is not a good enough reason not to use the acceptable terminology when referring to an entire group of unique individuals. I told her, "you wouldn't call a person a '_igger' just because that word was used alot back in her day would you!??" I went on to tell her, "...it doesn't make her sound very professional by continuing to use that word either...!" We also chatted about PEOPLE FIRST LANGUAGE and the current politically correct way when speaking about an individual or group of individuals, such as: Children with Down syndrome, or a young man WITH Down syndrome, not a Down syndrome Child or a Downs kid.....She said, "it's hard to remember that all the time!!"....WHAT IS SHE SAYING?? That she doesn't care how she sounds or what word to use...like it doesn't matter!?

I was absolutely shocked to hear this word even being used today, especially when SHE KNOWS I was calling her about little 5 year old BENSON and why he wasn't being allowed to attend Kindergarten at the very school mom signed him up at....remember, BENSON WON THE NOVA LOTTERY! Now they (all sorts of district personnel) are trying to say he is NOT registered at any Broward County school! Mom registered him at Nova Eisenhower Elementary school, but for some unknown, untold reason...now several district people are saying he is NOT registered at any school in all of Broward County! How can that be, when she had the paperwork and information to attend the Kindergarten Round-Up? Something smells like a rat.......

I am stunned that this word is still being used by any American in the year 2009 as a descriptive of a person having Down syndrome. I am even more disgusted that a professional who claims to be serving the best interest of our children, PROFESSIONALLY can't remember how to use PEOPLE FIRST LANGUAGE and we VOTED for her to be one of our schoolboard members? RE-ELECTIONS folks...remember who your schoolboard members are and do they really represent YOU?

She doesn't want to know what my Facebook friends had to say about a schoolboard member using that word today!!

MONGOLOID.......is that a good name or word to use today? You tell me what you think....................I know it's an outdated word and used much like the word retard or retarded.......used by a schoolboard member? Something just isn't right here.....

BENSON WON THE NOVA LOTTERY!!!

My phone started ringing off the hook a week before school began on 8/24/09. Why? The beginning of new school year means many things to different people, if your a teacher, it means a classroom full of new minds to help inspire and teach. To parents, it means a new teacher for their child and early morning routines and homework struggles. To a parent raising a child with unique learning challenges, it means wanting to make sure proper help and support will be in place at school to help their child learn this year.

My phone started ringing daily exactly a week before August 24th with calls for help in advocating for their child and needing to know some advice on "what to do" and "what to expect" next week on the first day of school.

One mom has a little girl that is entering Kindergarten and is suppose to have a Para to ensure she recieves her G-tube feedings 2 times a day and also for help in the classroom with redirection and safety concerns. The Para was never hired and it didn't look like one would be anytime soon. This mom has spent the first 2 weeks of school on her daughters campus, to do her G-tube feedings and to make sure her daughter was SAFE doing well. She lost 2 weeks of work (so far) being on campus to help her daughter with what the IEP was suppose to provide.

Her daughter had been attending ARC BROWARD DEVELOPMENTAL PRE-SCHOOL for 2 years and at the TRANSITION IEP meeting which only had 19 people sitting around one of the biggest conference tables I have ever seen for a Broward School District IEP meeting. Mom and dad attended this meeting prepared and ready to have an IEP document written up with all the supports and services they knew their daughter needed to be safe and successful in Kindergarten. It was important for her health and safety that she have a PARA on the first day of school when she started in Kindergarten on August 24th. No matter how many district personnell show up and attend IEP meetings it's amazing sometimes how little gets done when it really comes time for the child to receive the supports and services the IEP "TEAM" had rich discussion about. Parents go thru so much stress at these IEP meetings!

Another mom, her son won the NOVA Lottery!! She applied and filled out all the papers to have her son attend the same school all his 4 sisters attend, one sister has already graduated and 3 are still attending there. Mom registered and turned in all the correct forms the school asked for, the BLUE & YELLOW medical records forms had been turned in, all the other forms & cards were filled out and turned in. On one form she even put on it that her son BENSON had Down syndrome. Everything was completed and the Kindergarten Round-Up date was next. She called me 2 days before school started upset that she was now being told her son wouldn't be able to attend Nova at all!! She never recieved anything in the mail or a letter stating this sad news. She was told that because of how his IEP document that was created on June 1st, 2009 was completed, saying he needed to be in a SEPERATE CLASS 100% that they didn't have 'the program' that was on his IEP! She was hurt and angry that this was never told to her...ever...all the way up to just 2 days before school was about to begin. How could this be? How could it go for so long that everything seemed to be going smoothly with getting her son signed up and started in Kindergarten at Nova Eisenhower Elementary? Why wasn't she notified that there was a 'glitch' with what was on his IEP!?

Mom needed me to help make sure her son BENSON attended NOVA and to help make things right. First things first...there needed to be an INTERIM IEP immediately to go over it with a fine tooth comb. She attended the last IEP on June 1st and it was completed then, it was only good for 2 days till June 3rd. Then the dates of the IEP started back up on August 24th, 2009 with his placement being 100% in a SEPERATE CLASS. (Mom did not have anyone or an advocate attend this very important transition IEP meeting with her!) This is NOT what the mom wanted for her son and let it be known at that meeting on June 1st, she said she told everyone at that June 1st meeting he had been accepted as a student at NOVA, and her desire to have him attend a 'regular Kindergarten' classroom and was not interested in anything that had to do with a 'special classroom' for BENSON because she was DONE WITH SPECIAL CLASSROOMS!

BENSON since the age of 3 years old had been attending 3 of the 4 DEVELOPMENTAL PRE-SCHOOLS in Broward County. I asked her why had he gone to 3 different DEVELOPMENTAL PRE-SCHOOLS in 2 years time? She said that too many 'things' happened to her son BENSON in those 2 years time and now she only wanted to protect him from yet another SPECIAL classroom that would not be good for him! I asked her what she felt he gained from going to all three of those SPECIAL DEVELOMENTAL SCHOOLS and she very quickly said to me:
"HE GOT BITE MARKS"
"REGRESSION"
"DEPRESSION"
"BEHAVIORS NOT RELATED TO DOWN SYNDROME'

This conversation was all within the first 10 minutes of just meeting her on the phone and her reaching out to find help for her son!

Of course I was upset to hear this, who wouldn't be upset...no one wants to hear of a child 'being hurt' in anyway...especially at places we entrust our precious little ones to everyday 'for school'!

In our world of raising a child with Down syndrome, we look for the best place to have them to go so they will learn and do well, not a place that is going to make their 'disability worse'!!

I want to help BENSON, I want to help this mom, I want to help BENSON get into a Kindergarten classroom that will ACCEPT and help him progress. I want to make sure that what has possibly happened to BENSON is known about and doesn't happen to another. I WANT TO HELP BENSON and his mom. I am going to do the best I can to help get BENSON into Kindergarten at NOVA Eisenhower or even NOVA Blanche Elementary. It doesn't matter which NOVA, but he won't be 100% IN A SEPERATE CLASS according to his mom! This is the school her 4 daughters, BENSON'S 4 older sisters go to. Three of them will be able to ride the morning bus with BENSON! His sister's are excited about that! They were arguing about who was going to get to video tape BENSON on his first day of going to a REAL SCHOOL! That day never came for this family...BENSON wasn't allowed to go to Kindergarten on the first day of school, or the next day or even the next week...BENSON IS STILL AT HOME WAITING....BENSON didn't get to have his first day of Kindergarten like anyone else. BENSON sits at home everyday with his mom. BENSON'S mom has lost her job because of this! She is a single mom and now has to watch him instead of going to work! What has happened to BENSON and his family should never happen to anyone! Why did things turn out like this for BENSON and his mom? Because mom just didn't know how important it was to have the IEP 'document' say the right things for BENSON'S sake. Now BENSON didn't get to experience the first day of Kindergarten like most 5 year olds.

BENSON HAS BEEN LEFT BEHIND before the his first day of school!!

BENSON WON THE NOVA LOTTERY!!!

*I have permission from BENSON'S mom to retell this story and to use his REAL NAME.

Thank you BENSON'S mom!

INCLUSION VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9-XX9227ek

Nova Lottery Window Opens to the Public Nova Schools applications will be accepted through March 31 for the 2009/10 school year. An online application is available on the District’s Web site homepage at (www.browardschools.com) or accessible directly at (www.broward.k12.fl.us/casdl/reassignmentproject/checkstdt.asp). Copies of the application are also available at the NCLB & Reassignments Department at 7770 W Oakland Park Blvd. in Sunrise. Applying online is recommended. When applying online, print confirmation page to acknowledge processed application. Only one application per student can be submitted during the window.

For additional information, contact:

NCLB & Reassignments Department, 754-321-3035.

FAQ ~ NOVA LOTTERY
http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/educationalprograms/pdf/NovaSchoolsFAQs09v2.pdf

A PURPOSE

Each life has a purpose,
Each purpose a plan;
Great minds find a reason
To do what they can...
A hope for tomorrow,
A task for today,
Through troubles or sorrow...
Each trial on life's way...
A purpose for living,
A test you must meet,
Accepting each challenge,
The bitter, the sweet...
Cast aside every problem,
Rise above endless fears,
Keep the dream you are dreaming,
Wipe away hurtful tears...
Understanding - forgiveness,
A soul that knows peace,
The joy of believing
As heartaches then cease...
The courage that's needed
To travel each mile,
A purpose unequaled -
A life that's worthwhile.

by Garnett Ann Schultz

DEVELOPMENTAL PRESCHOOLS

Developmental Preschools are available for our children that need extra help developing the milestones that come naturally for some. These schools are great for our little kiddo's that need help with walking, talking, coloring and socializing.....Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy and Speech and Language Therapies are provided at these schools with a doctors script. Thru the early intervention program these therapies can be provided when a little one attends a developmental preschool.

Some counties don't have these places and other counties do. Broward County happens to have a nice handful of about 5 of them. They are all located in different parts of town, so no matter where a family lives, one is sort of nearby or they can have their child take a Broward County school bus to one. Our developmental preschools in Broward provide early intervention services and supports and also have classrooms set up for 3-5 year old that qualify for Exceptional Student Education supports and services.

As an a Advocate, I love working with families that have children that need to access the full spectrum of supports for their child in order for their child to move forward in their development. Parents are provided information and the option of placing their Child in one of these DEVELOPMENTAL PRESCHOOLS so they can receive OT-PT-ST therapies during their school day and be provided a language enriched classroom to get them ready for Kindergarten at 5 years old.


My daughter attended UCP and I have only good things to say about UCP and the teachers she had when she was there for such a short time between the age of 3 - 4 years old. The BEST teacher in the entire world there was Mrs. Gayle Clinker!! She cared so much about each and every child that came into the ENTIRE school and it showed by how much FUN she made sure each Child had on any given day. For example she took pictures of her students with a different seasonal theme...like for April it was "April Showers". She would dress them in a raincoat holding an umbrella...take the picture and laminate these pictures onto different colored heavy construction paper and made them into their lunch time placemats that thay used for that entire month...each month was a different theme. My daughter was a popular "June Bride", she had several 'boyfriends' and absolutely LOVED putting on the wedding dress her teacher brought in for that 'theme'!! I still have these beautiful placemats of my daughters moments in time...and what a wonderful time it was for me as a mom...to have her at a place that was going to help her be successful! Having her as Mariah's first 'real teacher' was a great experience for me as a 'nervous mom' sending my Child off to school at 3 years old! Mariah was provided with a quality foundation to her future learning because we did have a good experience and she did have a teacher that truely cared. Attending a developmental preschool for my daughter was a good thing!


The one thing that was hard for me to accept was when my daughter first started attending UCP at 3 years old was that she was not provided with any of the OT-PT-ST therapies that she had been recieving while under the Early Intervention 'umbrella' aka Part C services. I was amazed that she was able to go from having so many daily therapies to not receiving not even one therapy service!...NOT ONE THERAPY!!! NOT ONE!!


Her first 6 months of attending a DEVELOPMENTAL PRESCHOOL SHE DID NOT RECEIVE ANY OT-PT-ST SERVICES!! She only started receiving her therapies only because I was persistent in FIGHTING FOR HER to receive any of those therapy services! I didn't get it...why did I have to fight so hard at the beginning of her journey of going to school? I had no idea what was going on or why all of a sudden my daugher that has Down syndrome could go from having so many different therapies everyday from birth to 3, that now as soon as she was under the 'umbrella' of DOE = Department of Education aka Part B services, that she 'didn't qualify for'....NOT ONE THERAPY!! I didn't get it...I was mad, I was lost, I was confused and very very ANGRY! My daughter needed her therapies and she was loosing precious time with her development by not receiving them! Didn't they care??!

It was at this time I learned very quickly what an IEP was!! I had an IEP EVERY MONTH (about every 4 weeks!!) for the first 5 months after she turned 3 years old and started attending a "DEVELOPMENTAL PRESCHOOL". I had an advocate with me for my first three IEP meetings and quickly found out that 'my advocate' wasn't really speaking up or for me during those first three meetings. I even asked her to step outside during one of those first IEP meetings and had to ask her, "Why aren't you speeking up in there for me??"...her answer was, "You are doing fine on your own in there!" ~ That was the last time I had 'my advocate' attend any of my IEP meetings ever again! I wanted someone that was going to teach me how to be a good advocate and how to help get my daughter what she really needed while in school. The only thing I learned from her was, she always told me to, "learn the language"....learn the language of what? Learn the same language that 'they' the IEP "TEAM" uses...but what did that really mean to me then? I didn't understand what she was saying...really....but I do now! Boy do I understand 'their language now'!!! I read the STATE RULES ON SPECIAL EDUCATION now in my 'spare time'!! I pass out 'the RED BOOK' like it's candy, if you don't know what one is...call or email me and I will make sure you get you first copy! *This is the STATE RULES for Special Education, if you don't know what the rules are, how can you play the game and advocate for something you don't know what your Child is entitled to receive! Call or email me!


I fought hard to have my daughter evaluated for her to receive Speech and Language Therapies, Occupational and Physical Therapies while attending UCP DEVELOPMENTAL PRESCHOOL. It only took me 5 months to FINALLY get her 'approved to be tested' for her Speech! What a joke my first IEP meetings were! I learned so much during those first five meetings! I learned very quickly that all the time that seems to be wasted on these IEP meetings, they could have spent what they pay their employees on providing therapies for a Child instead of having the therapist attend all those stressful and negative IEP meetings to talk such nonsense on what the Child CAN NOT DO and WHY THEY CAN NOT RECEIVE THERAPIES at their DEVELOPMENTAL PRESCHOOL!...what the heck is going on? What is the point of having our Chilren that are classified as 'developmentally delayed' and eligible to receive ESE supports and services attend these kinds of places, if they won't provide to them such basic supports such as OT-PT-ST therapies? Does this make any sense?!

After I was able to "learn the ropes" of just what these IEP meetings were suppose to accomplish....which from the parent perspective is to get us all stressed out and turn us down for our Child to NOT receive anything other than just being able to 'attend their Develpmental Preschool'....nothing more than that...they do not want to provide the very therapies we parents know our Child needs!


After her first 6 months I was finally able to secure all her OT-PT-ST supports and services that I knew in my heart she absolutely needed! I have graduated not only as my daughters first teacher but now I was my daughters BEST ADVOCATE! At the time I didn't know I would go on to teach n release many other parents to learn the ropes of what to expect at an IEP and how to help parents be their Child's best advocate for life! Thank you Broward County Schools for making me the advocate I am today! I tell people that I attend the 'University of Broward' for my Advocacy skills! Broward County is the 6th largest school district in the nation!

The Early Intervention program for 3 years had no problem providing my daughter with LOTS of OT-PT-ST to help her 'develope', yet her DEVELOPMENTAL PRESCHOOL provided me with the biggest fight for her to receive just ONE HALF HOUR of any therapy! It took me close to 6 MONTHS of going to yet another IEP "team" meeting to discuss her need for therapies and whatever else she needed at the time! My husband would attend some of those meetings with me, but in the end, this was 'my mom job' as he needed to continue to work and make the money for our family to be able to pay our bills, so as a mom, this was my new job, to make sure my daughter was being provided with what she needed to be successful in school and ultimately in life!


My daughter is now in the 4th grade and doing beautifully. Over the years I receive phone calls regularly from parents that are also raising children with Down syndrome and other unique learning challenges, but mostly families with Down syndrome contact me needing help with school issues, IEP's and inclusion. Many parents are going thru the same thing as I did back so many years ago...when my daugher was new to the Part B program, starting at 3 years old, when they get to start attending 'school'...and usually it's a DEVELOPMENTAL PRESCHOOL or sometimes they attend a 3-5 year old program that is in a classroom at the neighborhood elementary school. I thought my daughter was too young, too little, and so not ready for the big campus.


The stories....oh my goodness the stories I have heard...each phone call paints the same picture....different family, different Child, different school, same type of story! I could write a book just on the different 'things' I have heard parents tell me of their experiences having their Child attend a DEVELOPMENTAL PRESCHOOL. Some are good stories...others are not good stories.

If we as parents are trusting those at these IEP "team" meetings to the care of our most precious Children, why are parents voices not being heard at these IEP meetings for what they know their Child needs and why our Children are not being provided with the most basic supports and therapies that they hopefully had been provided with during their Early Intervention years? Parents need to be provided with trainings on what to expect at an IEP meeting and other things pertaining to raising a Child with Special Needs. Many times parents go into these important IEP meetings not realizing just how important 'the decisions' that are being made and written into those IEP documents. The DEVELOPMENTAL PRESCHOOLS should be providing parents with so many resources and trainings and helping them get connected with disability specific support groups, anything that will help empower parents to help advocate for their Child to receive the supports and services their Child needs. Are these schools connecting parents with the other parents and helping them find local disability specific support and advocacy groups? Are they providing parent trainings to help parents understand 'the next step'? I hope so, but bet not...over the 11 years I have been 'in the business' of helping families....not one referral has ever come from a 'developmental preschool'....that tells me something.....resources are not always being provided to the families that need help.


DEVELOPMENTAL PRESCHOOLS ~ some are absolutely fantastic and do a great job, while others seem to be a 'closed door society' that keep the parents shut off from being an active and involved parent volunteer in their Childs school. UCP had an open door policy and I was able to volunteer everyday, I got to know the daily routine and the other teachers and all the wonderful therapist, the friendships with the other mom's and interacting and getting to know the other Children and taking pictures of the fun activities! It was a wonderful time for me as a mom, it was a fun learning time for my daughter! My daughter had a great time at UCP, she had teachers that really cared about her growing 'developmentally', the teachers and therapist really did a nice job at UCP for my precious little girl! (THANK YOU!)


I hope that no matter which DEVELOPMENTAL PRESCHOOL your Child attends that it's a good experience and your Child grows in leaps and bounds. I know there are lots of 'stressors' for parents when they have to attend one of 'those IEP meetings'....believe me...that is where I started my journey of learning to be my daughters BEST advocate. The short time she spent at UCP was a wonderful time that I will always cherish the memories and the fun we both had and the pictures her teacher made of her there will always flood me with the love I had for her teacher for doing all she did, to help my daughter be successful. My daughters 'school foundation' started at a really wonderful DEVELOPMENTAL PRESCHOOL and then she went off to her neighborhood Elementary school at 4 years old. It was called: the PLACE Program (Preschool Learning and Classroom Experience. Today it maybe called something else and each county has their own name for their 3-5 year old ESE program.) she attended that for 2 years because her birthday falls after September 1st and was 5 years old for just 1 month once she finally did start Kindergarten. She has been at that same school ever since!


If you would like to share your story of your experiences of your Child attending a DEVELOPMENTAL PRESCHOOL, I would love to post them here to share with others. Either email me at: nancy.harris@dsadvocate.com or post your story as a comment to this posting.

Dust off last years IEP.....

School is about to start up soon....too soon for some, not soon enough for others! Time to get your WISH LIST updated on the things you want to make sure GO RIGHT for your Child this coming school year!

Close your eyes and start typing out what you know your Child can and should be able to do in a year from now....with help from teachers and school of course! This is my annual ritual I do for my daughter, I ponder on what my hopes and dreams are for her to be able to accomplish in a school year. I take from those and try to get them inserted as her new updated IEP goals for the coming year.

Creating 'the plan'....the plan of action so that what did or did not happen last year doesn't happen all over again if it wasn't the right things. A new school year is before us, a clean slate to start on. Who will her teacher be, still don't know, how will it be now that her school will be doing the new 'departmentalizing' of all 3rd to 5th graders, all changing classes every hour just like in middle school. How is this going to work out for my little girl that could possibly have 'transition problems'....but then again...maybe she will do just fine. How will all the different teachers accommodate her in each of their classrooms? So many concerns for a little girl that already has a hard enough time 'keeping up' let alone needing to change gears with a different teacher every hour! How will each of the teachers teach her? Will she be in the back of each of the classrooms with her aide doing all the 'teaching'? That is not what inclusion is suppose to look like. I so hope all of the teachers embrace my little girl and her unique learning style and will allow for good collaboration between all of us involved.

So get out those IEPs and look them over, cross out with a big black marker the goals that are not ACADEMICALLY strong enough to help your Child learn how to READ and do MATH and all the other academically sound standards that you know your Child should and could be able to do a year from now. Get back to basics and make sure your Childs IEP goals TEACH ACADEMICS this year!

Collabortion and communication is the key to a successful school year for sure! Looking forward to a new school year and leaving last years behind.....!

Schools try to make progress while addressing special-needs students

The Gainesville school system is appealing the analyses of two special-needs students who were evaluated by the alternate assessment, Macken said. If the state Department of Education grants just one of the appeals, Gainesville Middle will be granted AYP status in the second determination to be made this fall.

Kathy Culver, Hall’s special education director, said she’s hopeful the state will adopt a third assessment for students with mild disabilities. She said the test is on the horizon and would more closely match the intellectual capability of that "2 percent group."
"We all want to be measured on what’s appropriate for us," she said.

*click link below to read full article:
Schools try to make progress while addressing special-needs students

Daughter of Murdered 'Super Parents'...

Daughter of Murdered 'Super Parents'...

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Blatant Socially Accepted Discrimination @ SUMMER READING CAMP?

Blatant Socially Accepted Discrimination @ SUMMER READING CAMP?

Blatant Socially Accepted Discrimination
3rd Grade Reading Camp June 22 - July 24, 2009
Riversand Elementary School - Broward School District FLORIDA

*Yesterday I received a phone call from Mariah's 3rd grade reading camp teacher, his name is Mr.R. He has such a nice strong friendly articulate voice and was glad to meet me, asked me if I was still planning having Mariah attend the 3rd grade reading camp. To be honest I completely had forgotten and hadn't logged the date and times into my fancy iPhone calendar to remind me! Of course I was still planning on Mariah attending the 3rd grade reading camp I told him...we talked on the phone a bit as I had lots of questions for him. He has this wonderful booming voice that just makes you want to sit and listen to him, as I was listening to him on the phone, I was envisioning how my daughter would like him and how his strong voice was going to be a positive influence on her for the few short weeks that this 3rd grade reading camp is for. He has that kind of "wonderful story telling voice" that would make anyone want to sit and listen to him read them a story!

After a little bit of a conversation on what the reading program is about and how it is presented to the students, I just knew this was going to be a positive experience for my daughter. I told him about the Headsprout reading program www.headsprout.com Mariah has been using since the 1st grade at home and how she has been accessing the Odyssey program aka the Compass Learning Odyssey Online Program her entire 3rd grade year. http://compasslearningodyssey.broward.k12.fl.us/childu/index.html I also mentioned that her ESY was just a 'home packet' this summer, instead of her attending the Extended School Year program aka ESY. Telling him how she is very computer literate and enjoys using several computer and online reading programs that documents her academic progress. He was thrilled to hear how involved I have been in working with my Child and at one point even suggested that maybe she didn't need to attend the reading camp! Oh...no...she WANTS to attend school and meet new 'friends' and go to a new school for the summer....I was flattered he thought that I was 'doing all I can' to help my daughter learn to read..that's when I asked him if he knew she had Down syndrome..."no", he said he did not know that...well of course he didn't...that doesn't need to be written all over her paperwork to attend! He didn't seem to be too overly concerned about it, so we moved on with our conversation. Brain Pop Jr. is another wonderful online program that Mariah really likes too. www.brainpopjr.com

I gave him some more information on the home reading programs Mariah has been using. Told him I would send in a few of her little books that can be printed out from the Headsprout program just so he could see and get an idea on what she is using. I asked him for his email so he could be sent email updates after she completes a lesson, he agreed and gave me his email. He said it would be good and was looking forward to meeting Mariah in the morning at school. I told Mariah about her going to school in the morning, she was happy and excited about meeting her new teacher and making some new friends.

Mariah and I woke up wayyyyy too early for a 'summer vacation day'....the alarm went off at 6:15AM. The coffee was brewing, we both got dressed, brushed our teeth, combed our hair and I poured my cup of coffee and out the door we skedaddled into the wet overcast morning to the car...looks like a long raining day today! Mariah was very excited to be going a different way in the car and to a "new school". I told her this was the school that her brother James went to and her Aunt Barbie did too! That made her so happy to know her brother James went to this same school! The things that make her smile!

We were one of the first to be out front of the school so early! A lady came out and even commented how early a few of us were and directed me to go to the office since today was her first day. We went to the office, met the nice office ladies and had a nice chit chat with them and were directed to go to the cafeteria for the breakfast. We didn't get any 'slip of yellow paper' with her name or teacher info on it at that time, but now know in hindsight that's what I was suppose to receive from those nice office ladies.

We went to the cafeteria and got in the breakfast line, she put the few breakfast items on her tray, of course I had to let the kitchen staff know that she can't have milk, so she got the dry cereal, applesauce and biscuits with jelly. We found our way to the table and met some of the other students and enjoyed some conversation. Mariah was quiet and slowly was eating her breakfast, when she was done she threw her stuff away and then went to sit at the table that had her teacher's name on it...we looked for Mr.R's name card on a table and sat down with the other students.

Other parents were waiting with some of their Children until it was time for them to go to class, so I stuck around and waited too. Mariah was so excited to be there and sat waiting like everyone else...a little anxious for the start of a new 'school day'! Everyone was just waiting for 7:45AM...then I saw a previous years ESY Principal Ms.L, she recognized me too and said, hi to me from across the room and then the same lady that met us outside the school when we first got there, came up to the table that Mariah was sitting at and started talking to Ms.L and said something like why was Mariah sitting there isn't she suppose to be in Ms.T's class, not Mr. R's class? I spoke to Mr.R and knew who the teacher that was assigned to her was and it was NOT Ms.T! This was all so odd the way this person was talking about which teacher Mariah was suppose to have!...I even said to her, "no she's not in Ms.T's class...she's in Mr.R's classroom, we spoke on the phone yesterday!" She strongly stated that I needed to "step outside' with her.......what??? I needed to step outside with her?! This sounded like she was looking to fight with me by the tone of her voice and the stern look on her face!Ok....I followed these two women just outside the cafeteria doors and the discussion went like this....The lady that was a tad stern with me, started telling me in a confrontational tone that my daughter was suppose to be in Ms.T's ESY classroom! Ms.L was standing right next to this lady that I had no idea who she was, but she obviously was a person in authority...I am guessing now that maybe she the summer school Principal??...there was no introduction or shaking of hands....like when I met Mr.R for the first time in the front office a moment ago...no decent polite respect for one adult to another....she was trying to pull the rug out from under my daughters right to ATTEND THE 3rd GRADE READING CAMP...right now and right here!!

There was an intense exchange of words from this person that I still had no idea who she was or why she was acting so out of line and somewhat mad about the fact that Mariah was in Mr.R's reading camp classroom! She said several times something about Mariah's reading level and what is BEST FOR THE CHILD...and what was her reading level? That is where I looked at Ms.L, who I do know and she is somewhat familiar with my daughter, but does NOT know my daughters reading levels or anything about her other than she is a student with Down syndrome that attended an ESY school that she was the Principal of a few years back...neither one of these women know my daughter at all....and yet here I am on our first day of 3rd GRADE READING CAMP and I now part of a conversation that sounds just a tad confrontational to me in the fact that she is 'in the wrong program' and that "we" needed to do what was going to be in the "best interest of her".....absolutely...I agreed and absolutely want what's best for Mariah more than these two will ever know!!!...Gosh....I didn't know I would have to wake up so early only to be met with such a 'resistant combative person' over my daughter attending A 3RD GRADE READING CAMP?!

The person that was being confrontational to me, finally told me, "SHE IS THE Principal of THIS program and if she NEEDS to be IN ESY than that is where she will be attending!".....I calmly said that my daughters ESY "program" is a HOME PACKET that included the Odyssey computer program and that it is NOT written on her IEP that she attend an ESY 'site', but just a 'home packet'....which is the computer academic program. I had to remind "this Principal"...who I still did not know her name....I had to remind her that it was an IEP team decision that she have a "home packet' for ESY this year. I asked her, "why was she being so confrontational with me on this", she said she didn't believe she was!! Is this how professional Principals 'meet' parents on the first & second day of school? She was so rude and disrespectful to me as another adult and especially as a parent bringing my child to school for the first time to attend the 3rd Grade Reading CAMP over the summer! We did talk about her IEP and what it says about her 'attending ESY'....I mentioned that if my daughter was put into the ESY program and not be part of the READING CAMP that I would file for a DUE PROCESS because what she was saying was wrong and I wasn't going to stand there and be BULLIED BY HER either! Mariah was signed up to attend the READING CAMP not ESY this year!

I had to walk away from this woman before I lost my composure as she was already showing towards me....I was shaking inside and had to feel good about leaving my precious little girl on this campus, to know that she was going to be safe and in the class she was suppose to be in! I walked away from 'this person' down the hallway a little bit and prayed a little prayer that I could stay calm and think clear. I turned around and went to go back into the cafeteria to stay with my daughter till it was time for her to go to class...all the other parents were still there...and I would be too!

I asked "the Principal" what was her name and she told me, "Ms. T". I reached out my hand to shake her hand and introduce myself...to start on a different foot? I dunno...don't think her 'mind-set' will ever change...as she seems to have the 'majority mind-set' of what many Principals and many General Education teachers still have today....I'd like to call it: BLATANT SOCIALLY ACCEPTED DISCRIMINATION!

Because my daughter has Down syndrome...she was being SINGLED OUT by this PRINCIPAL to NOT be part of the 3rd Grade Reading Camp today!!!...because why? She certainly didn't know my daughter AT ALL or her abilities...she certainly has never laid eyes on her IEP...her IEP was not part of this 3rd Grade Reading Camp! BECAUSE MY DAUGHTER "HAS THE LOOK"....SHE WANTED HER TO GO TO THE "SPECIAL ED CLASSROOM" WHICH WAS NOT PART OF THE 3RD GRADE READING CAMP PROGRAM!After I reached out to shake her hand, I asked what is her name, she told me, "T". I asked her what was the READING PROGRAM they would be using in the ESY Program? She said she didn't know anything about ESY!!! (...and she has been standing there saying that's where my daughter is suppose to be and she doesn't know anything about what curriculum they use in ESY for reading?!) She earlier had asked me 'what level' was my daughter in reading and my reply was that she was, "BELOW GRADE LEVEL" that's why she's here for the reading camp! I asked, "if all these students were reading on grade level?" "Of course they're not...that's why they are all here attending this reading program!" "...well that is why my daughter is here too!" "...and what was the reading program they would be using?"..."a district approved reading program"...I asked, "if I could see how the program works so that I can have a better idea on what would be BEST for my Child...." She said, "I could observe anytime." I will absolutely be coming for a few visits to see how this wonderful "district approved reading program is being delivered to MY GIRL"...also just to make sure she is in the correct classroom with Mr.R!

Why do some school administrators have to act the way they do because of their own outdated thinking? Ok...so now what....how is a mother suppose to feel at this point? It's not even 7:30AM in the morning and I have already been asked to, "step outside"....almost sounded and felt like a bar room brawl was about to happen to me!...the way she asked me to "step outside"! Dang...what is with people anymore...where is the decent human respect for one another? My daughter and myself didn't do anything to be 'singled out' and be treated with such BLATANT DISCRIMINATION to have my daughter attend the 3rd GRADE READING CAMP!!! She is allowed to be there like any other Child!!...SO WHAT SHE HAS DOWN SYNDROME!!! SO WHAT!!???

My daughter was so excited to GO TO SCHOOL today! I was excited for her and to have her be part of a wonderful READING PROGRAM with a new teacher that had called and talked to me on the phone the night before...he's the new teacher that I was looking forward to meeting and getting to know. He's the teacher with the wonderful voice...he's a teacher that has been teaching for years and enjoys teaching Children how to read! He had already told me it was a small group of about 7 students that showed up on the first day and he was looking forward to meeting my daughter. He knows I am working with her at home and she is using the Odyssey computer program...he even said to me...."you seem to be pretty involved with helping her, maybe your daughter doesn't need to attend the program, since you are doing so much with her at home already."... Mariah loves going to school and being around new people, she likes to make new friends. She wants and needs all the extra help she can get, especially in regards to reading....all academics really...as she needs all the opportunities available to her to help her be her personal best!

Mariah loves books, she is learning to read and reading simple stories independently. She just needs those in the teaching profession to BELIEVE IN HER and provide her with whatever it takes to help her move to the next level........to automatically say that a person is suppose to be in a certain classroom because of 'how they look'...or because of a certain type of disability...is wrong and society...our schools are a 'society'....our Principals and teachers are part of that school society....they need to STOP THE BLATANT SOCIALLY ACCEPTED DISCRIMINATION that continues to happen everyday...student after student....MY CHILD HAS A RIGHT TO BE....a right to be taught how to read, a right to be included in general education classrooms, a right to attend whatever program everyone else attends, a right to participate in extracurricular programs and clubs, a right to a FREE AND APPROPRIATE PUBLIC EDUCATION and more than anything a right to be RESPECTED!!!Show some respect to not only my daughter....but to all those parents that are raising beautiful Children that 'need a little extra' BELIEF in them that they CAN DO...what everyone else can do...just give em the chance and be respectful of their RIGHTS!I picked up Mariah at noon, she was standing next to Mr.R her wonderful summer reading camp teacher! He is friendly, nice and more than anything...he is respectful! I like that in a teacher especially!

Thank you Mr.R for making Mariah HaPpY today!!...by INCLUDING her in your class today...she LOVES her new class, her new teacher and her new school...for the summer!

Tuesday June 23rd, 2009Nancy Linley-HarrisParent and Inclusion Advocate for my daughter Mariah

*Actual names of those involved in my stories are changed, the name of the school I change to be a made up school name. I do post the name of the district the story took place. I can use my own daughters name, because she is my daughter and this is her BLOG. Please post comments if you have a similar story or can relate, would love to know what you think! If you have a similar story that you would like to see posted to my BLOG send me an email at: podsangels@bellsouth.net

Walking OUT of the IEP meeting!!!!

Yup...getting up and WALKING OUT!!!...if you're feeling the disconnect and you KNOW your PARENT INPUT isn't being heard by the IEP 'team'....(btw...the word team...does that mean opposite sides and 2 different teams?...or all on the 'same team' working together???)....then by all means try to salvage what you can of 'the IEP document' that is good and DISAGREE with what you do not believe to be right! GET UP AND LEAVE!

Yes they can continue to finish creating THEIR document..because at that point if parents aren't being 'heard' and their input isn't being considered important..then why be part of something that isn't what you believe to be in the best interest of YOUR CHILD?!

I was given a little GOLD NUGGET PIECE OF ADVICE from a dear friend when I was just learning 'the ropes' of advocating for my daughter when she was just a little iddy biddy CUTE 3 year old...did I say little iddy biddy? She was severely delayed in her COMMUNICATION SKILLS...and all I wanted was some 'speech therapy' for my little iddy biddy. That is all I wanted at that time, after all when she was receiving EARLY INTERVENTION THERAPIES...she had been receiving ST 4 hours a week, she was also receiving OT 3 times a week and PT 2 times a week! *Today...a child will be lucky to receive 'something' once a month!!!!! Yup times sure have changed in 9-10 years time! When my daughter went 'under the umbrella of DOE at 3 years old...SHE GOT NOTHING!!!! Nadda...ziltz...N O T H I N G!!...was I upset?...was I livid?...was I concerned for my daughters progess? ABSOLUTELY!!

...what was THE GOLD NUGGET PIECE OF ADVICE?....
If you are involved in putting together your son or daughters IEP..and things are going smoothly and just going along nicely, no problems keep it going and finish it. But if there comes a time during the meeting if you feel you are overwhelmed with the amount of 'new information' you have to take in at these often times very intimidating IEP meetings for parents new to the system aka newbies then its ok to ask to take a break and ask for the DRAFT of what has been accomplished 'so far'...and CONTINUE IT AT ANOTHER DATE and TIME. IT'S OK TO SAY...time out and let's finish this up next week or whenever is good for everyone.

What IF, you start to feel YOUR PARENT INPUT IS NOT BEING CONSIDERED and your voice isn't being heard and your concerns aren't being taken into consideration on the decisions being made at these meetings...then you can say; "I'd like to STOP THE MEETING RIGHT NOW"...which means screech...the meeting STOPS DEAD COLD and everything is CANCELLED ERASED like a meeting was never held! So all the 'hard work' everyone has done up to that point is like it all never happened and the original IEP document is still in place!

I have used this several times, have shared this little gold nugget with others I have met over the years...it works like magic every time!

Today....the parent I was helping today, felt that no matter what...his concerns were, he was not being heard and he felt 'bullied' to just GO ALONG WITH WHAT "THE TEAM" was FORCEABLY going to do NO MATTER what!! The principal in this case and in MOST cases...takes a stand on just how and where they want 'those students' to receive ESE Services and the entire 'team' absolutely has to do what that principal DICTATES! Bottom line...it is never a COLLABORATIVE TEAM DECISION...but a PRE DECIDED DECISION that is made by 'the Administrator'...THE BOSS of all those sitting around the IEP TEAM TABLE!

Does this sound like one of your IEP 'team' meetings? Don't be too alarmed...it is happening across the nation! EVERY DAY...decisions are being made about OUR CHILDREN'S EDUCATION that is really not about 'the Child' at all and many of y0u are learning that it is also not about what YOU WANT FOR YOUR CHILD...it's about how that Principal wants to 'run their business' of running YOUR CHILD'S SCHOOL...your tax dollars, state and federal dollars....yup...it's all about THE MONEY!...and of course the school 'grade'!

If you have to...GET UP AND WALK OUT! The message that sends is: we are NOT AGREEING here and I'm not going to sit here and be part of this nonsense any longer! Be prepared to file for a Due Process!

Mediation can be a fair and easy way to work out the kinks of not agreeing. STATE MEDIATION....don't ever do a local conflict resolution, that just does NOT make sense to me how anyone that gets paid by the very district you are in disagreement with can be fair and a good mediator! Don't do it! Find out the difference in the two and understand why it could never be a fair 'mediation' process to help iron out differences.

YEAH....'a dad' did it today...he had enough and WALKED OUT! Proud of you 'dad'!

See Wrightslaw for more advocacy 'training'!
www.wrightslaw.com