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!
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
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
FAQ ~ NOVA LOTTERY
http://www.broward.k12.fl.us/educationalprograms/pdf/NovaSchoolsFAQs09v2.pdf
Posts
2 comments:
What a disgrace! It's disgusting the length the school districts will go to keep our children, whom have Down Syndrome, segregated. It's appalling the lies they tell parents and the circles they force us to dance around to get the services and supports our children need to be successful in a fully included classroom. They don't want our children... they don't believe in or children. It's up to the parents no matter how nice the school, to make sure they are really 'teaching' our children and not just babysitting them. Letting them get away with silly and/or bad behaviors because they have "Down Syndrome." If you ignore the child, or treat them as "retards" of course they will act differently. Any child who is ignored or has no one who believes in them will sit stagnant.
I'm still waiting for Angelina's Paraprofessional. I'm still waiting for them to begin working on Angelina's goals in her IEP document.
We work SO HARD on those IEP's... When we have good stuff in them... they don't even read them! When the schools have good stuff in them, it's the bible.
Sad.
And that's why we need you Nancy. Because without you and all the other advocates (the good ones) our children would be locked up in institutions and forgotten if it were up to society.
How does one go about applying for the Nova schools lottery? We moved from NYC about 10 months ago and recently found out about it.
Post a Comment