Finally Some Answers!

Here is the email I got from Mrs. F (After contacting the SpEd Director, who ordered her to answer my questions):

"Good morning Mrs. C, 

I apologize for my hasty reply to your email. This morning, I reread it, and I realize I misunderstood the information you wanted from me. My apologies. I read your email while I was working at my night time job at --- School, and gave (what I thought) was the information you needed." 

 I just wanted to add something in... I smell BS.... What she thought was that she should cover her @$$!!! Anyways, back to her email now...

"I know you had a chance to observe the Middle School ILC program earlier in the school year, but I will provide you a quick snapshot before I answer your specific questions. This program serves students who need social-emotional support in order to be successful in school. There are students in the program who are substantially separate, partially included in the general education classrooms, and fully included in the general education classrooms. Students who are assigned to my class all day have one class period in the middle school tutorial room. It is a small group and taught by two special education teachers. We do have Level system incentives. Students are awarded points on a Point Sheet for successfully performing daily behavioral tasks: one point is awarded for each task accomplished. Some general behavior task are as follows: Complete Assigned Task, Speaking Appropriately, Following Directions, Positive Adult Interaction, Respecting Property, and Positive Peer Interaction. The student is responsible for handing their teacher the Point Sheet, and the teacher awards points based on the performance of the student for each academic class. A student can earn 30 points by accomplishing these tasks. There is also an Individual goal set by the teacher and is focused on the student's individual needs. A student can earn an additional 10 points per day (2 per class) by reaching their daily goal for each class. The incentives include chips (given at the end of the day), juice (given at the end of the day), Pokémon cards, homework passes, and I am always open to individual incentives that would motivate a student. These incentives are decided on by the student, myself, and the parent. I have had such incentives as a container of raspberry mustard and a Littlest Pet Shop figurine."

Another pause with my thoughts... I love the sounds of this program. Honeybunches needs that very small group and having two teachers sounds good. What sounds even better for him is the level system. He's so drawn into the one they do in his current program that he does it with us at home too. He does our star charts. He even tells the teachers when they make mistakes putting him at higher levels than he should be. Those are mostly the same things they are working at currently in his class. That consistency would help with the huge transitions that are going to happen for him. He's a very reward driven child, so having those incentives would work well for him, as his current class does them too.

"A schedule of each class is posted by me on the whiteboard and checked off as we go along. As an example, today’s agenda for Skills class looked like this:

Pledge of Allegiance

Moment of Silence

Announcements – (School’s and then ILC’s)

Do Now (this is the daily activator which students write in their notebooks)

Ratios and Proportions (the class work of the day)

5- Minute break

"We do have a Time Out space in the classroom if a student feels over stimulated. It is a bean bag in the corner of my room. It is nicknamed The Blue Potato because the kids say it reminds them of a potato. The kids assure me it is very comfortable. I will take their word for it because I have never actually sat in it. Some kids like to wear headphones and listen to music a bit if they are overwhelmed. Most of my kids like this option. Some students like to take a walk if they are feeling overwhelmed. There are two paraprofessionals that work in the classroom with me, so someone is usually available to walk with a student. In the rare instances that both paraprofessionals are busy, we take a walk as a group. If a student wants to be alone and walk, there is a pass they can carry in the hall. Two minutes for a walk alone is the guideline, realizing that some students need to walk longer. (Honeybunches) will also have access to both his guidance counselor and an adjustment counselor."

Okay... Another time out for my thoughts: I would not call that a "Time out space" compared to the built in padded room which is in his current classroom. I wonder how easy "The blue potato" can rip apart lol? Music is overstimulating for him, so her idea would not work. Taking a walk, might be okay if they get to it before it's too late. It's good to know there are two aides who work in her class... So far it sounds like two teachers and two aides. I am a little terrified about the part that says if a student wants to be alone and walk, there is a pass they can carry in hall. Um... No thanks!!! He might end up walking out one of the doors. 

"Does (Honeybunches) like to listen to music? If so, the headphones and music might be an option for him. He might like to sit in the beanbag and listen to music on headphones. We have Chrome books that can play music. Does he like to walk when upset? Some students like to get out of the classroom and stretch their legs for a bit. With aggression, I usually offer a quiet space or a walk for a student to regulate. I have never worked with restraint so I am not sure how that would look in my classroom. That would have to be a conversation for me, you, (Honeybunches), and administration to have at some point if the Team decides this is the correct placement for him. I have had students who do not want to go to lunch or assemblies. Assemblies are often unpopular with my students because of the loud noise. I usually offer options for this student such as staying in the classroom with a paraprofessional. This is a popular option. Reading in the library with a paraprofessional is also another popular option. During lunch time, the student is welcome to stay in M01 with me. I’ve eaten lunch with students in my room many times. If the student has hot lunch, we go to the caf first to get his/her lunch and then we return the tray to the caf once lunch is over. All students have UA classes at Mahar. If a student does not want to go to a UA, then the student can stay in M01. I contact the UA teacher and ask if the student can do the work in my classroom. Then I and the student (or sometimes a paraprofessional) collects the work to do in M01. We then make sure the work gets to the proper UA teacher. This is what I do in the event of a child having a challenging day. If the student routinely doesn’t want to go to a particular UA class, I call the student’s guidance counselor to discuss options. It looks differently with each student. Sometimes a student wants the added support a paraprofessional in the classroom brings. Sometimes they would rather do the work in M01. I do differentiate classroom instruction to meet the needs of the students. I use pretests to establish where a child is academically, and I tailor instruction accordingly. I have the support of the paraprofessionals to implement different levels of instruction in my classroom.

Yes, I have experience with students who have Autism and/or Bipolar. This is my third year working as a full-time Special Education teacher. I also have two years working as a long-term substitute in a variety of Special Education classrooms."

I am concerned that she's only been working as a Special Ed Teacher for three years. I wonder if Honeybunches would break her and make her quit? He always tests new people, but for her it would be a test of if she really likes her job and how much she'll last through. I just find that lack of experience concerning in many ways...

"I am a proponent of frequent home/school communication. I know it is important for parents to have information regarding their child’s school day.I have several parents with whom I communicate on a regular basis. The details on this can be worked out as we plan for Honeybunches' transition. Please don’t let my too-quick email response last night make you think that I don’t encourage communication with parents. That is not the case. I look at the teacher/student/parent unit as a team. Communication is super important. The transition to middle school can be challenging. There are a lot of changes a sixth grader has to face. School, teachers, classes. I’m sure once he gets settled at (Middle school), he will enjoy whichever program he’s placed in. There are many supports in place to help him get acclimated."

All I have to say to that part is HAHAHAHAHAHA!!! I was laughing inside about all of it. I have different thoughts of her beliefs in parent teacher communication. I think it's more along the lines of covering her butt first and telling parents what they need to know 2nd! Also the part about Honeybunches enjoying whichever program he's placed in made me laugh too, but that was a more laugh instead of cry moment. He's been at his current school for almost seven years. He'll be out of his comfort zone. I know he's not going to "Enjoy" that!

"Sorry this email is so long, thanks for taking the time to read it. I think I answered all of your questions. If not, please shoot me another email and I’ll explain about the ILC program more. I look forward to your next (Middle school) visit. Is there any way that we could meet (Honeybunches) before he transitions to Mahar? I would love a chance to meet him in person...."

So there we have it... Her non-voluntary email explaining her program and answering my questions. It's frustrating to know she only did it because her boss ordered her to do it. Like I said, if I could pick a teacher I'd pick the other one. Teachers can come and go... So does that mean I should pick a program based on it's aspects then? If so, I think this one would give him more comfort because it is closest to the one he is in now. It's so hard to know what is best for him, because they are both different. His doctors all have told me he'll need help with life skills when he gets to high school, which is what the other program, Mrs. C's class does a lot of focus on. By focusing mostly on Life Skills, would I be selling him short academically and cognitively? At this point, I am about to tell the school district my thoughts but let them pick which placement they believe will be best for him. I was all set. I had it all figured out that Mrs. C's would be best for him.... Before learning more about the ILC. Now IDK what to do. Why can't decisions be easier? I am honestly scared to make the wrong one. At least if the school district makes it and it's wrong I won't feel so bad. I would not be as hard on myself. I could even be mad at them instead since it would be their fault lol. At this point, I think I'll just let go and let God... And the school district make this decision (But I will have my opinions and thoughts known). In the end, it's always the school district's choice what classroom a child goes into. I've been blessed they let me be as involved as I have been. I can honestly see why they make those decisions 99.9% of the time. It's not as easy as it seems, especially when it's a whole new school.

Disliking the Unknown

Sometimes it is so hard to know what is best. It's hard to decide between what placement will be best for Honeybunches next year.  If I could chose by teacher, I'd pick the program for children with intellectual disabilities I talked about here. Just to re-cap a bit, the teacher in that program was very open talking freely to me about her experiences, theories, methods, etc. She does a lot of work on feelings, makes sure her children have other "Safe people" in the building in case she's not there, does a lot of work on life skills, goes with the flow of things, had a lot of experience with children who have both Autism and Bipolar from previous work at a residential treatment center and more.  One negative about her classroom is that she does not use rewards, except what she called natural life ones such as playing games and giving praise. Honeybunches is a very reward driven child. From my 1st impression of that teacher, I loved her. I could see her and Honeybunches having a good relationship.  On the down side, she has 3-6 children in her class.  All that means though, is that on the worst case scenerio he'd need a 1:1 aide.

On Thursday evening I wrote to the teacher of the ILC (Integrated Learning Center) which is the class at the middle school that his current class is based off of. I wrote the teacher this email:

 

"Hi Mrs. F...",

I met you briefly when I observed your classroom a couple months ago regarding my son -- (Who will be in 7th grade in the Fall; has Autism and Bipolar along with a borderline IQ; and has been in a substantially separate room since Kindergarten). Although I plan on observing both (Your and Mrs. C's) classrooms again in February or March, I also have some questions. With my son being as complex as he is (With a mix of cognitive, emotional and behavioral concerns), it's clear (To me and administration) that neither classroom will be a perfect fit. We'll have to try whichever one seems better, add in extensive accommodations needed and go from there. 

 In his current placement, his classroom has a "Time out space" which I've been told nothing like that exists within (Middle school). He has times when life becomes too much for him and he needs time somewhere that he can tune everything out and regulate. How would you accommodate that?

 How do you each deal with aggression (For example, beginning with throwing chairs, but escalating to kicking, punching, hitting, scratching and spitting) directed toward you and other staff members who might work in your rooms? His current plan utilizes his classroom's time out space and restraint when needed to keep him and others safe.

How do you deal with a child who refuses to go to lunch or assemblies (Likely due to being overstimulated sensory-wise) or UAs? (Especially when if made to go to things that are overstimulating, the child has a tendency to get aggressive as the fight or flight response becomes activated.) Do all children in your class have to go out to UAs? Have any ever been within your class for the entire day (Except lunch)?

From what I seen when observing your classroom, my  main concern would be my son being lost academically and cognitively. He has various delays in many areas. During your classroom instruction on the day I visited, the words you used seemed to be way above his level which I could see easily frustrating him.  Do you individualize that based on the children's needs in your classroom?

I am interested in hearing more information about how your level system works.  Could you explain that to me more or send me information about it?

Do you have experience with children who have Autism and/or Bipolar?

What do you think about frequent home-school communication?
My son is on medications which help control his Bipolar and keep his mood stable. (His Autism, is another story, because that still affects his everyday life and most likely always will.) When he was six, he was placed in a psychiatric hospitalization for two weeks where they did a med wash and got him stable. The psychiatrist he's been seeing for the past several years has been awesome with changing things before they get to that point. Part of the reason why I believe home-school communication is important, is because it can help me document his moods on mood charts and inform his psychiatrist so she can make changes if necessary before things get too severe. By doing so, we've been successful in preventing him from needing another hospitalization. 

My son can be so caring and sweet, but struggles with changes and understanding a lot about life.  I know that he'll likely struggle with whichever placement the IEP team picks for him next year, because he even struggles with little ones (For example, the new OT and PT people this year who he's tested more than once). Next year, he'll be out of his comfort zone at Dexter Park where he's been for seven years and flip flopped between only two teachers throughout those years. 

Thanks...."

The response I got:

"Thank you for your letter. I am forwarding it to my supervisor who is better qualified to address your various concerns."

My response to her response:

 "Are you the teacher in the ILC or did I email this to the wrong person? I was hoping to get your answers, not the administrations. Sorry if I asked things too complicated. I am not interested in hearing how your supervisor would deal with these situations."

 

Her next response:

"I am the teacher who works in the Midddle School ILC. Ms. C works in the Bridge Program."

My next response:

"Please tell your supervisor to disregard my email.  I'll get the administration answers at a meeting towards the end of this school year as far as how things are at -- in general.  I was asking you for your answers and your experience to help me decide if your classroom would be a good fit for my son. I guess I'll go with what I've gotten and will get from observations instead. Thanks for your time. 

Her next response:

"My supervisor is the head of the Special Education Department for -----. I am sure she would be delighted to help. I will tell her, however, that she should disregard the forwarded email."

 

Next, I wrote back to her letting her know I am very familiar with the Special Education Director, since I've been the Chairperson of the district's Special Education Parent's Advisory Council for the past several years. From there, I forwarded the email communications between me and the ILC teacher to the SpEd Director, myself. In part, my email to her said how I emailed Mrs. F asking a few questions to help me determine what placement would be a better fit for Honeybunches, how she refused to answer any of my questions, that I was not asking how the school in general deals with things or their policies but wanted to know specific things from the teacher to help me know which placement would be best. I told her, I will learn about the middle school's policies and how the school as a whole can accommodate him at our meeting at the end of the school year once his placement was finalized. I told her that while I was leaning towards Mrs. C's class being a better placement for him, I wanted more information from Mrs. F to come to a conclusion. I asked if that school had a policy against answering questions from parents. 

 

The SpEd Director wrote me back that next morning. She said: "Thank you for sharing the email you sent to Mrs. F, her reply and the concern that you did not receive an answer to your questions. I spoke with Mrs. F this morning and she will be emailing you back either this afternoon or tomorrow with the information you requested. This is going to be a big transition for (Honeybunches) and the more information we all have the better we will be able to make good decisions regarding programming and supports...Thank you for including me on this email thread..."

 

In my next post, I am going to write what I learned about Mrs. F, since this one is long enough already lol. For now, I will say I did NOT have a good 1st impression of her by the way she would not answer any questions I asked her. That really made me dislike her... ALOT!