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What is with BROWARD ESE DEPARTMENT and pushing their agenda to do what is now being called, "BEST PRACTICES" ~ not a real policy in writing anywhere.....but a 'suggested best practice' ~ if your child's ANNUAL IEP is November 1st or before Nov. 1st, it is suggested...oops I mean it is being FORCED on you that you WILL HAVE TO HAVE AN ANNUAL IEP in May before your child matriculates into the next school level, as my daughter Mariah is going on into the 6th grade to Middle School!
.......but what about the fact in writing that I have been REQUESTING AN INTERiM IEP since like March maybe even late Feb~ yes in many written emails to several of my need and my request to have an interim....all fell on deaf ears or wasn't considered because there was never a RESPONSE to my requesting an interim. With no communication pertaining to when a meeting time would be scheduled ~ NOW TODAY I am all set to have my much awaited interim iep meeting......I have waited long enough! With 5 1/2 school days left of this school year ~ I was all set to have a good meeting with her IEP Team! The time for me to have my meeting today was very accommodating to have it start at 9AM and run till 3PM if we needed. Unheard of by today's standard's, since several of my friends now are only being allowed 30 minutes to an hour to hold their IEP meetings! It was going to be a good day...all was good this morning.
The classroom/meeting room was PERFECT ~ absolutely perfectly set up to be able to work together as a collaborative TEAM! The student desks and chairs were set up in a perfect SEMI-CIRCLE with the projection ready for viewing the electronic Ez-IEP on the white board on the wall. Mariah's IEP TEAM was all sitting around waiting for me to arrive, all nice and relaxed and waiting as I walked in. Just how LONG HAD THEY ALL BEEN SITTING THERE?? Were they sitting there PRE-Discussing anything about my meeting BEFORE I arrived? I wonder as this also seems to be common practice here in Broward, where parents are always the last ones to enter the meeting. I walked in with my 2 advocates, we picked chairs to sit in and I quickly set up my laptop and recorder, pulling out all my paperwork & notes ready to start the meeting. Wait a minute.....I had advocates with me! Why? ~ I AM THE ADVOCATE!
Why did I bring 2 advocates with me today?
...because we all need to take an advocate now and again. Today I didn't want any funny-funny stuff being pulled on me alone, especially with my daughter moving on into middle school. I wanted to make sure Mariah's IEP document stayed SOLID as I felt it was. Mariah's IEP is a darn good one, a well written IEP today, which expires the end of September. This is another reason why I like to set up an interim IEP at the end of every school year to prepare and plan for the first few months of the upcoming new school year, with all new teachers. To me that is the 'best practice' that I have always done over the years.
This morning what happened to me should never have happened...to me or to anyone! ....and it's a 'best practice' thing? Best Practice for WHO? Certainly not for me and or for my daughter's benefit!
I am sickened that a Program Specialist or a "compliance specialist" as they are now sometimes called here in Broward County and even the ESE Specialist, how these people are so quick to suggest and basically force you to FILE for a Due Process Hearing ~ if you don't like what is being done at that moment in our IEP meetings, this is the push! This seems to be our districts quick-fix and the answer to doing things THEIR WAY!! Well heck, Broward public schools has some pretty pricey lawyers don't ya think?? .....and this is all done in the BEST INTEREST of my daughter ~ really??!
FORCING ME to agree that this particular IEP meeting was now going to be Mariah's ANNUAL IEP is how the ESE employee side of Mariah's IEP was going to PUSH ME into moving ahead with this meeting. This was mostly coming from a program specialist that I don't think she even knows what color my daughters eyes are or how long her hair is now! ~ How dare all the ESE EMPLOYEES in attendance of this meeting force and make my daughters teacher-of-the-year and therapists be forced to have to SIT & WATCH and be now be part of AIR GETTING SO THICK like a DARK STORM CLOUD coming over all of us! All done with such a strong sense of, don't know what words to use here to describe the feeling in the air........certainly nothing but W R O N G going on!!! It was all very wrong indeed~!! This was not what I was hoping to accomplish today at my daughter's meeting!
I came prepared to update & make sure things would be in place to run smoothly for her starting in the Fall at her new Middle school. She was accepted in a MAGNET PROGRAM!! The S.T.E.M. Magnet Program!!!! I came prepared to be part of meeting I had been requesting since March - I documented all over the signed PPF that I was NOT agreeing to this meeting being an ANNUAL as had been 'suggested' - guess our district makes up their own "best practices" aka Broward made-up rules (no written policies have ever been provided when I asked) - my school ESE Specialist - Mariah's wonderful Wilson Reading ESE Teacher - and a District ESE "WIND-UP ROBOT" speaking to me like she had a scratch in the CD or like a broken record repeating the same sentences in her monotone voice. She was SENT and sitting there only to strong-arm and BULLY me at my meeting! Sitting there only to force me to agree and turn it into an ANNUAL IEP. Everyone knew in all of my previous emails that I had always been requesting and wanting to hold an interim meeting, since March! What was the BIG DEAL ~ Why now was there this PUSH TO FORCE this meeting to be an ANNUAL IEP? I felt Mariah's IEP was still good to go. She was still working on some pretty solid academic goals that still I felt needed to be carried over into Middle school.
There was no one in attendance from her Middle school, to provide input or information pertaining to the magnet program curriculum. The S.T.E.M. Director from the Middle school was going to be stepping into the meeting a little later.
How can one person that doesn't even KNOW MY DAUGHTER put such spin & create such a negative force on how a meeting WILL NOW MOVE FORWARD and GO? I announced that I wanted to STOP the meeting! I stood up and started gathering all my things ~ She stated, "THEY WILL STILL GO AHEAD WITHOUT ME!" She sounded like a broken record with no emotions to what she was creating all by herself like a ROBOT with a skip in the recording! Really??!! How is this in the BEST INTEREST for my daughter's education and for Mariah going into a new Middle School? WHO or where was this person getting her ORDERS FROM?
This is not how I saw my daughter's interim IEP meeting going this morning when I woke up after so little sleep preparing for a productive meeting for Mariah's educational supports for next year in Middle school.
This was to be Mariah's LAST IEP Team meeting at Stephen Foster Elementary ~ going to this same school since she was 4 years old! She will be 14 years old in September. Thanks for my "going away meeting" I have anticipated for way too long! ~ I have a gut-feeling that this has to do with the new principal in some way. Considering he enjoyed censoring each and everyone of my emails this entire school year! Yes ~ I said ALL of my emails were censored by my school principal this year. Can't wait to see what MESS this will bring!
Thanks for the end-of-the-year PaRtY!! Stephen Foster Elementary School has been good to my daughter! Most of Mariah's teachers were awesome and workable and wonderful to work & talk with and really cared that Mariah was successfully educated and gained higher level skills! There have been a few teachers that certainly have alot to be desired in the stand-off attitude towards me over the years. Some teachers just don't have it in them to work collaboratively with involved, concerned parents like me. But for the most part Mariah has always had WONDERFUL TEACHERS THAT CARED ABOUT MARIAH LEARNING & worked collaboratively with me.
Stephen Foster Elementary has served my daughter well ~ never dreamed or thought her final IEP meeting would be like this one. A total SLAP IN THE FACE to me as her parent and her advocate for her education! I was FORCED OUT OF MY DAUGHTER'S Interim IEP today! They carried on and 'said' they would go ahead and turn it into an ANNUAL IEP without me, if I left! I'm so sorry collaboration didn't take place today and my school didn't want to provide me an opportunity to take a look at the supports and services my girl will be needing on her first day of 6th grade in the Fall! Oh well at least this IEP document wasn't out of compliance because of the 'date' of the annual being held past the annual date.........this time! Her next required annual review will occur on or before: September 22nd, 2012. Mariah still needed time to work on and master some pretty solid IEP goals I had in her document.
I am not a happy camper today! Should I be? Would you be?
Mariah ~ things will be OK ~ you watch things will be OK once your mom fills out a few papers ~ it's like making a phone call.........to the police!
I can not sit back and pretend all is well with how I was treated and forced 'to file' as it was suggested I do from the program specialist this morning. I will not be filing a DUE PROCESS.
Those that are unfamiliar with the IEP process or what just happened to me today at my IEP meeting or what the heck I am upset and unhappy about.......it's about my CIVIL RIGHTS! It's about Mariah and what will be best for her as she leaves her elementary school and goes on into Middle School into the S.T.E.M. Magnet Program in the Fall.
*This is not a reflection on how grateful I am to Mariah's many teachers over the years and therapists that have helped Mariah get to where she is academically today. I'm just sorry we all are now part of what seems like the systematic nonsense and ESE Parent bullying that I have seen happen at many many IEP meetings here in Broward!! What WAS that? ~ What was it that happened so quickly this morning???......grrrrhhh!!!
NOT HAPPY WITH THE "SUGGESTED BEST PRACTICE" IDEA or "the recourse I can take if I'm not agreeing" to 'THE IEP TEAM DECISION!!
I WANT MY DAUGHTER'S INTERIM IEP TO BE A "START OVER" or a "CANCEL ERASE".....can we do that?
NOPE~!!
"THEY HELD THE IEP WITHOUT ME!!!"
....and FORCED me to agree to make it her ANNUAL IEP, which I didn't think was needed at all! She has a well written IEP with solid goals that still need to be worked on.
........and I'm very much involved with my daughter's education and I'm a Special Ed Advocate for others & for my daughter especially! Have to be!
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THANKS!
http://www.washington.edu/doit/Video/
University of Washington
GREAT VIDEO'S about INCLUSION!!!
Check out this website http://www.washington.edu/doit/Stem/about.html
AccessSTEM implements evidence-based practices to increase the numbers of individuals with disabilities moving through critical junctures to STEM careers.
Interventions: Students with disabilities participate in mentoring and peer support communities, job shadows, informational interviews, internships, leadership events, and other best practices that support STEM education and career transitions.
There is so much support in written word out there to help teachers and administrators with the IDEA of including students like my daughter Mariah into Gen. Ed classrooms and those with any number of disabilities. I speak up most often for individuals with DOWN SYNDROME mainly, because that is what I know best and I know for a fact individuals with Down syndrome are systematically pre-judged and too many have an automatic low expectation of their abilities. I know this for a fact ~ I live it ~ my friends live it!
We want more for them and the next generation!
HIGH EXPECTATIONS ~ Is that too much to ask for them in all they do in school and everyday?
TEACH MY Peeps with Down sydrome and expect MORE from them! PUSH THEM to their potential!
When will there be PEER BUDDIES in every school?
I am so glad this school year is 'winding down' ~ I have served my school district well this year ~ I have advocated strongly for what I believe in, sitting on way too many Parent Advisories! (6 total) I will do it all again next school year ~ focusing more on 1 very important "independent" young girl with Down syndrome entering Middle school! My daughter is moving on into the 6th grade. Middle school is a big transition for any student, especially for a student with a disability. My daughter is one lucky girl to have me as her advocate mom!!!
Parent involvement is vital in raising educated children with disabilities more so and ESPECIALLY if your child has Down syndrome! Students with Down syndrome still today in 2012 ~ are being left out and discriminated against so blatantly by not allowing students with Down syndrome to be included and sitting in 'regular' classrooms with non-disabled students. Many schools still are not doing such a hot job of educating our children with disabilities and especially our students with Down syndrome!! Yes there are many schools & teachers doing an awesome job, but for the most part, it takes a persistent advocate parent to make sure our children are truly being educated today, that includes students without any disability as well too!
When I visit schools and I continue to see students with a specific disability type still being separated and segregated, it gets to the core of my being! [aka clustering] When I see fellow Down syndrome young people continue to only be with other students that have the same extra chromosome or grouped in classrooms that are only for students with disabilities hits me right to my core! I have seen with my own eyes that "those students" are moved around the campus so there is absolutely no opportunity or minimal opportunity for them to be included in the society of school campus life, as the rest of the student population are able to do so naturally.
Many students with disabilities are still being hidden away from society! If it is allowed to happen in our schools, it will continue outside of school. Schools are little societies, how are we accept and include those with disabilities in our schools today teach and reflect how we expect our young people and future generations to treat those that may look or act a little differently. Being accepted, included and having high expectations to be successful, contributing members of society starts in our schools with fellow classmates, teachers and district administrators, and yes that means our principals too!. It's that simple!
Students with Down syndrome and any other number of disabilities absolutely need extra academic help and support, no doubt about it! This is why there is extra FUNDING attached to those special needs students, updated at every annual IEP meeting through the students MATRIX number, the higher the MATRIX number the higher the extra funding provided to help educate and take care of them while attending school. Do you know what your child's MATRIX number is and just how much money that actually means for your child's school? Ask the principal and find out now your child's MATRIX money is being spent each school year. Learn all you can about what is a Matrix and how much of your child's MATRIX funds are helping your child. ASK & KNOW all you can.
Teachers today are trained to TEACH ~ they became teachers because they love to teach. That includes teaching a diverse group of students and that includes students with all sorts of learning styles, all sorts of nationalities and all colors of the rainbow, let's not forget to include students with disabilities in that diverse population of students in today's classrooms with general education teachers that went into the profession to teach.
Many students today have ADHD, Autism, CP, Down syndrome and any number of other possible disabilities ~ a diverse group of learners. These students need an open minded teacher that is flexible and willing to think outside-of-the-box and include them in more general education classrooms. Absolutely they may need extra help academically, socially, emotionally, physically. More than anything they need to be treated with respect and provided a quality education alongside their non-disabled classmates! This does not always mean in a separate classroom filled just for students with disabilities. All students learn from one another, everyone needs peer roll models. While I do agree in offering choices to everyone, I do not agree that just because of a persons 'extra needs' that they all should to be taught separately in classrooms away from the general school population and moved around the campus in-between regular class change times. This is 2012 not 1960!!
That's what I believe. No matter what, most students with any number of syndromes, conditions, learning styles and academic issues, everyone needs to feel they are accepted and they are valued! Everyone wants be accepted by others and liked. Everyone wants to be included in things everyone else is doing. Self-esteem is affected when someone is left out, when someone is the last to be picked, when they are excluded from normal school & campus activities. Most student take for granted that there will always be someone that wants to sit with us at lunch time, but our students with disabilities are sitting alone every lunch hour or only with other students with disabilities in the lunch room. This IS happening today at most schools across the country. How can it be good to warehouse students with certain kinds of disabilities into cluster classrooms without any real opportunity to be part of the school community and campus life? Everyone wants to have friends, we all need friends to feel valued.
How can the majority of IEP teams, say students are being included during lunch time, hall walking & recess when all those "special" students walk in between classes & sit only with the exact same students they have been sitting in separated and segregated classrooms all day long with? How can anyone say students with disabilities are being included when for the most part they are not provided any opportunities to form friendships with their neighborhood non-disabled peers while attending school because they are with other classmates that have disabilities only?
How can it be good to continue to treat a group of individuals [and their parents] like their education doesn't matter, pushing too many of them to be on the Special Diploma track, which is basically not working towards a High School Diploma. Parents of Special needs students parents want to be involved in their son or daughters education by volunteering, but many times their parent involvement isn't needed or wanted at our schools.
School site based management aka as our school principals need to get-out-of-the-way and change their mind-set and open their school doors to the most dedicated, concerned involved parents ever! Parents of special needs children are being turned away and told NO to 'parent involvement' more today than ever! I hear from parents all the time about this, I have experienced this personally myself over the years.
Parents of individuals with Down syndrome, CP, ADHD, Autism ~ GET INVOLVED AND STAY INVOLVED! Your child's education depends on it! Don't settle for segregated ~ disability only classrooms. Demand accountability from everyone that teaches and works with your child. Volunteer and have lunch with your child ~ often! Your parent involvement is VITAL!
Schools need to change their mind-set and accept students with all disabilities into the general population and into the 'regular' classrooms. Parents get involved and stay involved with volunteering and helping our schools in any activity. Schools need parents to continue to volunteer. Parent involvement is VITAL for the success of all students!
Here is a recent post on PNJ - Pensacola News Journal http://www.pnj.com/article/20120429/NEWS01/304290021
Comments to this above news article are a good read too!
http://www.pnj.com/comments/article/20120429/NEWS01/304290021/Viewpoint-Integrating-ESE-students-will-mean-success-all
Good customer service ~ What does it mean to each of us? What does good customer service in our Public schools mean to us?
I know for me it means the people that greets me first in a school are friendly and nice. That would be the front office person and the one that picks up and answers the school phone.
Good customer service in a school means all staff LOOK AT YOU and maybe say "hi" to you, even though they aren't even your child's teacher. When on a school campus and most of the ADULT STAFF 'act' like they don't see you like that you are not even there, that is not good customer service! It has always amazed me how so many adult administration, teachers and staff can all act so stand offish and unfriendly. If this is what you are experiencing at your school...you are not alone. This is becoming the norm in many public schools.
Good customer service is about treating Parents as Partners in Education. It's about working together as a community and as a collaborative team, to help educate all our children, our future generation!
When a parent wants to be involved, accept them as partners and give them something to do, especially if they have certain talents for things and they have 'signed up' to be called to volunteer. Allow all kinds of parents into the 'inner circle' of volunteering within our schools. Too many parents are being made to feel they are not wanted on our school campuses anymore. Special Ed Parents especially are being shut out from being on the campus at all sometimes. *Only a special ed parent that has experienced this will agree that this is exactly what is happening more and more....at many schools.
The reason families make decisions to leave the Public School system is because they are being made to feel not welcomed anymore. Parents are not valued as equal partners in our child's education. Parents are tired of the closed doors and the silent treatment from 'site based management' where the principal rules over our schools like a dictatorship.
I used to see our previous principal, Mr. Cassaw just about each and every time I visited the school to have lunch with my children. He always made it a point to say hello and even sat with us on the outside picnic tables and shared a little friendly chat. Nice man that can come out of their office to greet parents and give them some of his time and be interested enough to even get to know the parents of his students at the school. Thank you Mr. Cassaw for being a respected leader of Stephen Foster. Your leadership is missed by this involved parent. Hope you are enjoying the fishing!
Principals are the ones that set the tone of our schools. If the parents are feeling unhappy due to the 'tone' of the campus then the teachers and staff are unhappy as well! If their is an unspoken 'rule' to not be friendly to the parents or don't talk to them unless you have to ~ those are the attitudes of administration. Site based management IS THE PROBLEM most of the time!
I am with heavy heart writing this post, because it is how my wonderful little elementary school; Stephen Foster Elementary school has become lately....many teachers and staff are absolutely the BEST but they are few. For the most part after 11 years at the same school, it is sad to say it has lousy customer service. My daughter's school has become so unfriendly, stand-offish, almost snobbish...a few of the teachers are. Some staff have never had a collaborative conversation with me and they could have and should have in those 11 years. It is sad to know that the school I believed in for so many years has become just another Public school that isn't welcoming parents like they should. ....all parents....especially the pro-active parents raising a child with Special needs. In conversations with others, I have listened to several parents , parents of a gifted students, parents that speak another language, parents of Special needs child and from my own experiences as well. The common feelings are common that....there is a disconnect and the communication is not there.
~ Partner with Parents and open the doors to the positive possibilities of what any and all the parents can provide to the "family-like-community" within our school. Teachers and staff....be friendly and say hi to us even if you don't have our child in your class. We appreciate all of you and what you do for our children throughout the school year.
We want our school back!
Why do some schools only allow for just an 1 HOUR & 15 minutes to have an ANNUAL IEP meeting that also needs to include the Matriculation into Kindergarten and now also a Reevaluation Plan meeting???
*That's right all that NEEDED to be covered in just a ONE HOUR & 15 MINUTE IEP MEETING! Who are they kidding?
How can anyone even think so much can be covered and worked on "collaboratively" in an hour & 15 minutes?
BROWARD ESE DEPARTMENT ~ WHY & HOW DO ESE SPECIALIST CONTINUE TO GET AWAY WITH DOING THIS TO FAMILIES YEAR AFTER YEAR?
Pure deliberate nonsense I say!
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