Overcrowded class, strategies?
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| Sat, 05-05-2007 - 1:42pm |
As someone wrote on another thread, get yourself a nice snack and a beverage, this will be long! Heck, go ahead and get two!
I need some suggestions about how to move forward here. Some history, Eric (5, PDD-NOS) spent one year of pre-k in a great program called LEAP. There were 4 ASD boys, 4 NT role model kids, 1 autism specialist ESE teacher, and 2 paras. It was wonderful for him, he really grew socialy. He started this year there and was doing so well the teacher thought we should move him to another setting to prepare him for kinder. Here for kinder the options are inclusion, mainstream, or self-contained.
So in January he started in a co-teaching pre-k class. 20 kids, 8 ESE (mixed exceptionalities) one ESE teacher, one gen ed teacher, 1 para, 1 aide. Again, after a rocky start/transition, Eric thrived.
Our home school did not have the above classes for pre-k, so these were at a different school.
A few weeks ago we had a perfectly lovely IEP meeting. It is decided Eric will go into an inclusion kinder class with 18 kids in his home school, but in the "primary learning center" which is smaller, only k-1. The class would be taught by gen ed teacher. ESE teacher would come to class for 1/2 day to help during academics. One full time para. 8 ESE kids, again mixed exceptionalities. Eric would also be pulled out for a weekly social skills class for ASD kids. We were thrilled. Seemed perfect for Eric.
The other day we go to "tour" the inclusion classroom and the asst. principal meets us to ask if we have heard about the "changes." OF course we had not. Our county has mandated that no class can have more than 18 kids. But the school doesn't have the space for that. So they are putting together 2 kinder inclusion classes in one classroom. Further more, to do this, they are moving the kinder inclusion classes to the really large k-8 center. So now Eric will be in a class that essentially has 36 kids, 2 gen ed teachers. Of the 36, 16 will be ESE. ONE ese teacher will come in to service 16 kids for the academics, 1/2 day. NO AIDES unless a student has that in their IEP.
Meets the "letter" of the law, but certainly not the "intent."
Do you think we were over-reacting to be appalled? The asst. principal was sympathetic, told us we could rewrite Eric's IEP to get an aide, that he might need the resource room now. Etc. I don't blame anyone, they can't create classrooms out of thin air, but it seems really stupid to double up the inclusion classes. Recipe for disaster IMHO.
When we told his current teacher this, she was shocked and said if she knew this (she is at a different school, remember) she would not have signed the IEP or recommended this placement. There were reps from the home school, the ESE teacher of this year's inclusion class, but they apparently did not know about the change, or didn't say.
Current ESE teacher thinks we need to call another IEP to brainstorm. I plan to call the region autism specialist, who is wonderful and ask her about this new plan.
I don't know who the other ESE kids or there parents are, but they can't be happy about this either. If we could get together somehow, there might be strength in numbers. The new school does have a support group for the parents of kids with autism and I am going to see if I can go to their last meeting, event though Eric isn't a student there yet, to see what I can learn.
My question is, what do we ask for at the new IEP? Our main priority is smaller class size. If Eric were in the placement as first outlined, he wouldn't have needed an aide or the resource room. But in this mega-class scenario he probably will. I don't know if there is a regular kinder class that will have less than 36 kids. I think if there was, I'd go for that over this new plan.
Our state also has a voucher program, where if you can prove the system isn't meeting your child's needs you get $$$ for tuition at private schools that accept the voucher. It's easy to do this here, most everyone who applies gets it. But the problem is most of the private schools do not take ASD kids, some take very mild AS kids, but Eric needs more than that. So I don't really think that will help us, right now at least, maybe later.
Those of you in big cities with overcrowded schools, is this a problem and what do you do about it?
We have used an advocate in the past once before, but I'd like to try to work with the school officials first before it comes to that. But I will call the advocate if I have to.
Thoughts?
Katherine

Dear Katherine,
Horrors!!! NOT over-reacting, nope. Yes, (big overcrowded city response) this kinda thing is exactly why we ended up placing Malcolm from beginning in private special needs class for bright, non-aggressive children --- segregated, NOT IDEA least restrictive but there ARE no appropriate placements here in public schools. And here, the aides would get lost, the support therapists overloaded with cases and sent to the wrong schools, case after case of IEPs not being honored, a true and ongoing nightmares of many, many years. And this is all... illegal! It's enough to make you want to move to a tropical island (and bring a few good teachers.)
Have you thoroughly looked into private schools, talked with admissions directors about Eric? I sure would think about it. Have you considered getting a lawyer? Money cannot be a legal reason for this, maybe you should contest this? I would call for an immediate IEP meeting to protest and still demand a smaller classroom. 2 weeks after IEP meeting, crazy!
ALL your ideas are good ones, attending the support meeting, talking with autism specialist, I can't imagine about the aide because I know MY son wouldn't have done well in classroom of 36 kids aide or not aide, but I don't know Eric.
Man oh man, and it is getting to the end of the school year. Yuck. I hope others here have better advice for you. As we have had trouble this year with finding ds a new school, I am VERY sympathetic...
(((((HUGS)))))
Sara
visit my blog at www.onesickmother.com
OMG that is just one of those things isn't it.
Does the new class comply with his IEP? It doesn't sound like it does but if it was one of those things where you guys agreed on a school and all the specifics weren't spelled out it may to the letter.
If not then I would insist that they comply with the IEP as written whether it be by changing the classroom back or by finding an appropriate placement for him and paying for it. Often times the special ed programs are the first to be messed with in these situations. I understand it is tough on the district but our kids are the first to get the shaft (for instance Cait's closet sized green room class room between the gym and the band room).
Dave was in a class that was similar last year though better and it was tough on the typical kids during the time when there were 32 kids. What they did was have 16 kids come early (early bears) and 16 kids come later. The academics were done with just the 16 for the hour or 2 they were alone and then all the other stuff was done in a group of 32. That was crazy time and Dave had the worlds greatest teacher. She used A LOT of parent helpers for aides.
Renee
forget strategies, get him out of the mega-class.
Thank you everyone for your thoughts. It is helping me think about a plan.
Sara, I was thinking of you when I wrote my first post. I do not know everything about the private options, but there is a time-table to do the voucher and we would have to wait until next school year to do it, but that will give me time to research, depending on the outcome this year.
I know there are several very pricey prep schools that are not an option, we couldn't afford them even with the voucher tuition. There are two Montessori-style schools that have a special needs component. In theory I don't think Montessori would work for Eric, but I don't know how the special needs division is run and the teachers make a difference too. Might work if they were good and ASD knowleadgeable. I should probably check those. There a few ASD specific schools, but they do not seem to have many on the AS end of the spectrum and are not academically oriented, more adaptive skill oriented. Eric needs both, his academics are his strength, like Malcolm. We have a similar problem to you. There are also a number of smaller parent-run places that are very uneven in professionalism. I need to find out more.
In the meantime, we are calling a new IEP. I am also calling the advocate for advice, including some of the things Paula mentioned. I will probably end up hiring her again. I am not blaming it on the school and am being careful to say that it is the county/region, which is true. I do not think this istuation meets Eric's IEP. While his IEP does not say the exact number of students in the class, it says in at least 4 different places, "need for lower pupil to student ratio" it also has several mentions of "distractibility" and how "environmental distractions increase frustration, stress, and anxiety." I think there's enough there for our advocate to work with.
The thing is, it is not just Eric. Of the 36 kids in the class, 16 are ESE and I know the parents probably feel like I do. I wish there was a way I could find out who they are so we could work together on this. Plus, the typical kids don't get anythin out of this situation either.
Renee, I love your idea of extending the school day. If there truly are no rooms, as we have been led to believe, that seems like a good idea. I will definitely bring that one up. I will offer to volunteer too.
Debbie, I hear you. That's how I feel too, that's why the "throw him in the water and see if he can swim" and "throw him a line after he's already choking on water" POV to me is stupid. That's kind of the approach I feel they are unwittingly taking, not on purpose. I do think the school cares, just is a bit narrow-minded and thinking short-term and rules and reg only. I also want Eric to continue to like school. He has really loved his pre-k experiences and I want him to get off to a good start in kindy too. I am not going to just wait and see how it goes, but on the other hand I feel boxed in as to my options for Eric.
I've got calls out to everyone I know in the education universe here including the local CARD center that has a free IEP mediation service. I have a friend who works at the region level and also has an ASD son at this same school who might be able to give me "off the record" advice. I know Eric's current school IEP team, especially his ESE teacher are as upset as we are and willing to help. So at least there is that.
Sigh. Continue to send me any ideas. I appreciate everyone listening!
Katherine
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Dear Katherine,
I am not sure what is legal, but I do know that last year, in a westchester, NY district where a friend of mine was entering her child who had had preschool services into kindergarten, the district just changed their intergrated lindergarten class into the same model you described. The parent was told that they switched to the model because the teachers wanted it that way! My friend felt that it was inappropriate for her child and ended up choosing to declassify her son as he went into kindergarten, putting him in a regular class, and having a few services as a declassified student. The parent was (is) at peace with this plan, but was never satisfied with the explaination as to why they went to the model. But since she was satisfied with the plans for her own child (which is the most important thing) I never learned more about that zoo-like class.
Topic Switch: I have retained a lawyer for my son, who is in kindergarten moving to first grade. I am too early into the process to completely evaluate if it was worth the $$$ for him. However, I also have a toddler who just transitioned to preschooler, and his CPSE went very well. It seems to me that the lawyer, who is not retained for him, helped indirectly just by being known to be retained for his brother.
-Sidney