I woke up knowing on the 18th of March we had the IEP conference for Logan. I was excited because we would know what the OT found and if he qualified for in school OT or if we were going to have to find him one in town.
The meeting went well and like always for a paperless system there was a ton of things to sign and a ton of needless paper work to make the county happy. The informed me that Logan did qualify and that he would receive OT once a week and be tested at the end of the school year to see if he would needed for next year. The also let us know that they were in contact with the school he is zoned for and they do know all of his needs and where he is at in his education. We were also told they were doing testing for placement but they were waiting on us to sign off on it to start. Being the protective mother hen that I am, I got mad that they were wasting time by waiting.
So going into mom mode I had to explain to them if they would just send the papers home with Logan when they need to be signed they would have them back the very next day and they could go ahead and start the testing and then at the next IEP we could be ready to discuss all that needs to happen with him. Of course the school guidance counselor has to say well we have to do it by the book and by the way the county wants it. I let her know there are times where I can't just drop things and run to the school every time they need have a meeting for me to sign a paper. And what a even bigger waste of time for them to call all of these people away from their jobs to sit in here to watch me sign 3 pieces of paper when I can do it at home and return them just as quickly. They agreed with me finally so I am hoping that they won't waste time anymore. I was also informed by Logan's teacher that depending on the testing we will know where he will be placed. The goal for the year was to mainstream him next year. But seeing how he is having issues retaining information and not where they thought he would be he may be held back in Pre-K for another year.
Now that isn't an issue for me. But for whatever reason the school and the county is having issues with it. As of right now Logan is 2 heads taller then every kids in his class and is the oldest kid in the class.He turned 5 in February and the other kids are still only 4. If they hold him back he will be 5.5 turning 6 when school starts back and that will make him 2 yrs older then the kids and of course even bigger then he is now. Which has some parents worried.
Also they are worried now with a new studies that have come out that kids that are held back in early education have a higher drop out rate. And with having a learning disability the number is even higher. I had to tell his teacher that "look I don't hold anyone here at this school responsible for what decisions my son makes when he is 15-18yrs old. That it is my job as his mom to make sure that the school is acting in Logan's best interest and that if holding him back will help him in the long run then we are going to do just that. I am not going to let him fall through the cracks just because of some study that only applies to parents of kids who never were involved from day one." Some how they seem to forget when doing these studies that it's not the kids fault or the schools fault that the kid dropped out. It is the PARENTS FAULT!! As parents we took on the job of the kids, the kids need guidance and they need us to instruct them on what to do and when to do it. And if all just throw our hands up and not get involved when the kids are at school then no one is holding each other responsible for what is going on in the school system. As parents we are our kids first advocate, we are the only voice that will ever be heard by any other adult involved in their lives. Whether it be with a failing school system or a failing government system.
Now I am working on keeping Logan at his present school for the rest of elementary. I have been given the heads up by the county to go ahead and register him the first day of early registration for Kindergarten at the new school but to quickly go to the principal and ask for the special pupil form so that I can run it to the school he attends now. With that form I will have to talk with his principal and see if I can get her to sign off on him staying at his school. But I promise you if she doesn't sign off on it I will be going to her boss. As I informed his teacher everyone has a boss and I will be keeping Logan at Rideout. And she smiled and said she knew with out a doubt that I was the kind of mom that would always be involved from day one. I love his teachers and all the hard work they do from the kids.
Stay tuned as this keeps going....I am sure there will be many more post on this as I don't think it will be an easy task to keep him at Rideout with all the budget cuts.
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