Parent Involvement is VITAL!

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