We had our IEP meeting this afternoon. Everything went well. Calvin will be starting at his new school after spring break (our spring break is next week). He'll be going to Institute for Effective Education, COOK education center. Hopefully he will start making great improvements and will enjoy school there!
It will probalby take a week or so to get transportation set up so we might have one crazy week of me having to drive 30 mintues to get him to school but I am hoping things will get set up quicker than that! His first day will actually be Tues after break so we do have one day to try to get a good start on transportation arrangements.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Thursday, March 29, 2012
Yay!
Calvin was accepted at the Cook school!
He had a great 1/2 day trial there this morning. He was very well behaved and excited to be there. The staff assures me that when he is no longer excited about school or well behaved they will be ready to deal with that! He is very excited about this school and knows that they are expecting him to start after spring break.
Our IEP is Friday (tomorrow) at 3pm where we will hopefully work out all the details and get everything signed and moving forward.
We have been so blessed that things have moved so smoothly and quickly.
He had a great 1/2 day trial there this morning. He was very well behaved and excited to be there. The staff assures me that when he is no longer excited about school or well behaved they will be ready to deal with that! He is very excited about this school and knows that they are expecting him to start after spring break.
Our IEP is Friday (tomorrow) at 3pm where we will hopefully work out all the details and get everything signed and moving forward.
We have been so blessed that things have moved so smoothly and quickly.
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Today - the final two schools
Two school visits today to our top two choices. We have seen 5 schools total and feel 2 would be really good for Calvin.
Springall and Cook school at the Institute for Effective Education (TIEE)
First visit was to take Dave to springall which he hadn't seen yet. We had a nice visit at the school. They currently have one elementary class but with the addition of a couple of new students starting right after spring break they will expand to two classes. Each class will have 7-8 kids. They have a nice campus and a good sense of community. I like the campus which has big fields and lots of open space. They have a big emphasis on sports. They do PE every day, rotating through the different sports each season and get the opportunity to play on sports teams throughout the year. They also have a golf program.
The second visit was an after school visit with TIEE with Calvin. It is a chance for him to see the school and also for them to do a quick academic assessment so that he can come for a 1/2 day trial and can be appropriately grouped for his classes. It was tough to get him to the school -- he was nervous to come to a new place and was tired and grouchy -- but dave did a good job talking to him and distracting him and keeping him in a good mood. Once we got there he was pretty agreeable. We met a couple of people and then the teachers took him to asses him for about 45 minutes. He said he had a good time and they said he was very cooperative. Calvin was super impressed with their video game room with wii, xbox, playstation and game cube!
Tomorrow he will go back to the school for his 1/2 day at school.
The setup at TIEE is a bit different. It is in an office building. The elementary classes are on the 1st floor. The kids are put in academic groups of 2-3 kids and they are in a small class for each academic class. For each hour, they rotate rooms and groups so that they are in the correct academic placement for each subject. one advantage to this is that they can progress academically faster than if they are in larger classes. It is also nice for attitude/behaviors because if they have a bad hour in one class they get a fresh start when they change classes. I personally could not stand to be inside all day like that but I think it would be fine for Calvin.
HOMEWORK: Springall - a packet each week Cook - will start with something small and work up to more
BEHAVIOR SYSTEM: springall - level system. daily behavior sheets with stars (green, red, yellow) Cook - the kids carry around behavior sheets that are for THEM -- so that they can see what they are working towards, rather than sending behavior sheets home to parents. Parents have weekly phone calls from teachers scheduled to go over progress/concerns
PE - both do PE daily
SCHOOL TIME - springall 7:30 am - 2pm. Cook 8:30-2:30, early release on Tues at 1pm
SCHOOL YEAR - springall - similar to regular school with extended summer for July. Cook- school year runs labor day to the end of july for all students.
We know for sure that Calvin has been "accepted" to Springall and we are still waiting to complete the process at the cook school before we make our final decision, as we do not know if they will "accept" Calvin into their program. It is possible we can do it this week (we have an IEP meeting on the calendar for 3pm Friday). Otherwise, we'll have to wait 'til after spring break.
Springall and Cook school at the Institute for Effective Education (TIEE)
First visit was to take Dave to springall which he hadn't seen yet. We had a nice visit at the school. They currently have one elementary class but with the addition of a couple of new students starting right after spring break they will expand to two classes. Each class will have 7-8 kids. They have a nice campus and a good sense of community. I like the campus which has big fields and lots of open space. They have a big emphasis on sports. They do PE every day, rotating through the different sports each season and get the opportunity to play on sports teams throughout the year. They also have a golf program.
The second visit was an after school visit with TIEE with Calvin. It is a chance for him to see the school and also for them to do a quick academic assessment so that he can come for a 1/2 day trial and can be appropriately grouped for his classes. It was tough to get him to the school -- he was nervous to come to a new place and was tired and grouchy -- but dave did a good job talking to him and distracting him and keeping him in a good mood. Once we got there he was pretty agreeable. We met a couple of people and then the teachers took him to asses him for about 45 minutes. He said he had a good time and they said he was very cooperative. Calvin was super impressed with their video game room with wii, xbox, playstation and game cube!
Tomorrow he will go back to the school for his 1/2 day at school.
The setup at TIEE is a bit different. It is in an office building. The elementary classes are on the 1st floor. The kids are put in academic groups of 2-3 kids and they are in a small class for each academic class. For each hour, they rotate rooms and groups so that they are in the correct academic placement for each subject. one advantage to this is that they can progress academically faster than if they are in larger classes. It is also nice for attitude/behaviors because if they have a bad hour in one class they get a fresh start when they change classes. I personally could not stand to be inside all day like that but I think it would be fine for Calvin.
HOMEWORK: Springall - a packet each week Cook - will start with something small and work up to more
BEHAVIOR SYSTEM: springall - level system. daily behavior sheets with stars (green, red, yellow) Cook - the kids carry around behavior sheets that are for THEM -- so that they can see what they are working towards, rather than sending behavior sheets home to parents. Parents have weekly phone calls from teachers scheduled to go over progress/concerns
PE - both do PE daily
SCHOOL TIME - springall 7:30 am - 2pm. Cook 8:30-2:30, early release on Tues at 1pm
SCHOOL YEAR - springall - similar to regular school with extended summer for July. Cook- school year runs labor day to the end of july for all students.
We know for sure that Calvin has been "accepted" to Springall and we are still waiting to complete the process at the cook school before we make our final decision, as we do not know if they will "accept" Calvin into their program. It is possible we can do it this week (we have an IEP meeting on the calendar for 3pm Friday). Otherwise, we'll have to wait 'til after spring break.
early morning . . . long day!
We usually take the TV cord out of the TV and keep it in our room at night so Calvin can't get up in the night and watch TV. Last night we forgot. Calvin got up at 4:30 and watched TV all morning 'til I came out of my room at 7:30 (I thought everyone was sleeping in so I took my sweet time getting ready!) It is going to be a long day!!!
Today we have 2 school visits. Of the 5 schools I have seen, we have narrowed it down to two schools. The first Dave hasn't seen yet, so I'm taking him there this morning. The second wants to meet Calvin so we are taking him there this afternoon. He will probably be in a NASTY mood so they will get a good look at the most difficult side of Calvin which I guess is good so they know if they can handle him or not.
Today we have 2 school visits. Of the 5 schools I have seen, we have narrowed it down to two schools. The first Dave hasn't seen yet, so I'm taking him there this morning. The second wants to meet Calvin so we are taking him there this afternoon. He will probably be in a NASTY mood so they will get a good look at the most difficult side of Calvin which I guess is good so they know if they can handle him or not.
Monday, March 26, 2012
report card
I don't think I have ever shared ALL the real details of what goes on with Calvin at school with anyone besides Dave and Dan - since they live with him they know what he's like. Plus we can all laugh together at some of the crazy stuff that goes on. Most everyone else is too horrified to handle the full truth!
Well, I am going to share some of the nitty gritty here today (for my records). I will copy verbatim some of Calvin's report card.
Since joining the SDC class in 11/28/2011 . . .
Calvin had 239 instances of profanity usage (verbal and written), 275 instances of distracting noises made during periods of instruction, 174 instances of throwing items, and 290 instances of hitting/kicking others. He ran out of class 12 times.
Academically, Calvin does fine, although he is not working to his potential because of the above behaviors and suspensions which cause him to miss school.
I would say that his behavior has probably gotten worse since he started this class and he doesn't seem to be making the improvements anyone would hope to have and that is why we'll be chaining schools. My hope is that a year from now those numbers will be in single digits.
Since we get a daily behavior report we knew all of this was going on and kind of had to chuckle at the fact that his teacher sat down and counted all of this up.
One of the differences we will see in the school we are hopefully moving to is that they do not send home as detailed behavior reports because as they said, "our teachers do not have time for copious notes." The man power required to take such detailed notes is man power that will be better used teaching and working with the kids - providing assistance and support minute to minute.
Well, I am going to share some of the nitty gritty here today (for my records). I will copy verbatim some of Calvin's report card.
Since joining the SDC class in 11/28/2011 . . .
Calvin had 239 instances of profanity usage (verbal and written), 275 instances of distracting noises made during periods of instruction, 174 instances of throwing items, and 290 instances of hitting/kicking others. He ran out of class 12 times.
Academically, Calvin does fine, although he is not working to his potential because of the above behaviors and suspensions which cause him to miss school.
I would say that his behavior has probably gotten worse since he started this class and he doesn't seem to be making the improvements anyone would hope to have and that is why we'll be chaining schools. My hope is that a year from now those numbers will be in single digits.
Since we get a daily behavior report we knew all of this was going on and kind of had to chuckle at the fact that his teacher sat down and counted all of this up.
One of the differences we will see in the school we are hopefully moving to is that they do not send home as detailed behavior reports because as they said, "our teachers do not have time for copious notes." The man power required to take such detailed notes is man power that will be better used teaching and working with the kids - providing assistance and support minute to minute.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
a small miracle -- we'll take 'em where we can
Last week Calvin had a head CT scan scheduled. The last time he had a scan of his head was shortly after surgery when he was around 1 or 2 years old. At that time they said everything looked good and he was free to go ahead with whatever activities/sports he wanted and that his head was solid!
We were supposed to follow up annually with a cranial facial surgeon which we did. Our first year in San Deigo we went to see Dr. Cohen at the cranial facial clinic here. he said that he would like to do a revision of the forehead...a very simple procedure to straighten out the brow and other remaining deformities of the head. Not having thought that a second surgery was in our future I didn't think it was necessary. We thought Calvin looked fine, and even though his head was a bit asymmetrical, nobody could really notice since he wore glasses. Dr. Cohen told us that it was fine, but that we could return to him if we ever changed our mind.
We figured that some day we would do the surgery but why make a kid go through surgery when it wasn't really necessary at the time.
Over the past year or two we have changed our thinking and are now leaning towards letting Dr. Cohen do the surgery he recommended to us years ago. There are several things that caused us to change. 1. Calvin started wanting and then wearing contacts. We knew once his glasses were out of the way, the assymetry of the face would be more visible. 2. Dr. Cohen is a great dr and we feel doing the surgery at Rady's with Dr. Cohen is a good thing. 3. We thought we shoudl do the revision before Calvin begins to care about how he looks and what others think of him. In this sense, the younger the better. I actually wish I had done this surgery already for this reason. Plus the younger the child, the less I think they will remember of the surgery.
Anyway, we went to Dr. Cohen to tell him we'd like to consider seriously the surgery. So, he ordered a head CT to so he can see how everything looks before planning the surgery.
Calvin is not always the most compliant of kids and even a compliant kid could struggle sticking their head in a noisy machine and being told to lay perfectly still (no breathing, either)!!! So, the order with a CT is general anestesia. Calvin's appt was for noon one day which meant that he could not eat any breakfast or morning snacks. This is a big deal for any kid, Calvin included and since he wakes up so early he really had to skip 3 meals (wee morning snack, breakfast and snack). He wined a few times but overall did pretty well.
The real miracle happened when Dave (bless him) took Calvin to the scan. Dave requested that they try the scan without anestesia first. I think that having Dave (a DR) make this request was taken more seriously than if I had made it, but who knows. In any case, they decided to try without the anestesia, which they really hate to use for a 30 second scan anyway. Calvin laid on the table and was PERFECT for this scan. It was amazing! I was so happy to hear about this.
Dave was very eager to look at the images! I will try to figure out how to cut out some pictures and post them here. Calvin's brain looks good but he has some definite abnormalities with his skull shape and also some areas of very thin skull and even some small holes. I will be interested to hear what Dr. Cohen has to say about it when we see him again in a couple of weeks.
We were supposed to follow up annually with a cranial facial surgeon which we did. Our first year in San Deigo we went to see Dr. Cohen at the cranial facial clinic here. he said that he would like to do a revision of the forehead...a very simple procedure to straighten out the brow and other remaining deformities of the head. Not having thought that a second surgery was in our future I didn't think it was necessary. We thought Calvin looked fine, and even though his head was a bit asymmetrical, nobody could really notice since he wore glasses. Dr. Cohen told us that it was fine, but that we could return to him if we ever changed our mind.
We figured that some day we would do the surgery but why make a kid go through surgery when it wasn't really necessary at the time.
Over the past year or two we have changed our thinking and are now leaning towards letting Dr. Cohen do the surgery he recommended to us years ago. There are several things that caused us to change. 1. Calvin started wanting and then wearing contacts. We knew once his glasses were out of the way, the assymetry of the face would be more visible. 2. Dr. Cohen is a great dr and we feel doing the surgery at Rady's with Dr. Cohen is a good thing. 3. We thought we shoudl do the revision before Calvin begins to care about how he looks and what others think of him. In this sense, the younger the better. I actually wish I had done this surgery already for this reason. Plus the younger the child, the less I think they will remember of the surgery.
Anyway, we went to Dr. Cohen to tell him we'd like to consider seriously the surgery. So, he ordered a head CT to so he can see how everything looks before planning the surgery.
Calvin is not always the most compliant of kids and even a compliant kid could struggle sticking their head in a noisy machine and being told to lay perfectly still (no breathing, either)!!! So, the order with a CT is general anestesia. Calvin's appt was for noon one day which meant that he could not eat any breakfast or morning snacks. This is a big deal for any kid, Calvin included and since he wakes up so early he really had to skip 3 meals (wee morning snack, breakfast and snack). He wined a few times but overall did pretty well.
The real miracle happened when Dave (bless him) took Calvin to the scan. Dave requested that they try the scan without anestesia first. I think that having Dave (a DR) make this request was taken more seriously than if I had made it, but who knows. In any case, they decided to try without the anestesia, which they really hate to use for a 30 second scan anyway. Calvin laid on the table and was PERFECT for this scan. It was amazing! I was so happy to hear about this.
Dave was very eager to look at the images! I will try to figure out how to cut out some pictures and post them here. Calvin's brain looks good but he has some definite abnormalities with his skull shape and also some areas of very thin skull and even some small holes. I will be interested to hear what Dr. Cohen has to say about it when we see him again in a couple of weeks.
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
Institute for Effective Education (TIEE)
TIEE has several different programs in San Diego. The one that will probably be the best fit for Calvin is at the Cook Education Center.
There they have classes in very small groups 2-4 kids who work based on ability level for each subject. They rotate from room to room for each subject and work with different kids and adults for each class so that they can work at the appropriate academic level for each subject.
They focus on positive behavior with lots of attention for doing the right thing.
Video games on campus!
Once a week all of the teachers meet to discuss each student. Goals/work, etc can be adjusted.
HW is assigned. For us it would probably start small as we build the habit and then increase to a little bit each day.
extra curricular/clubs: karate, yoga, sports, music, art
Big focus on working towards behavior that will work in the real world, rather than pull out for OT, therapy, etc. which can be difficult to apply in real life.
Research based behavior methods.
Once they receive a packet from the school district they will set up a time to meet Calvin and evaluate him. Then he will do a 1/2 day trial before they decide if they think they have a program that will meet his needs.
Once a month you can go in and watch videos of your kid to see how things are going.
Looks like the school year is 220 days going through july. Many of the schools have summer school as an option but it looks like for this school the school year is extended for all students. This is good, especially since we are starting the school so late in the year.
There they have classes in very small groups 2-4 kids who work based on ability level for each subject. They rotate from room to room for each subject and work with different kids and adults for each class so that they can work at the appropriate academic level for each subject.
They focus on positive behavior with lots of attention for doing the right thing.
Video games on campus!
Once a week all of the teachers meet to discuss each student. Goals/work, etc can be adjusted.
HW is assigned. For us it would probably start small as we build the habit and then increase to a little bit each day.
extra curricular/clubs: karate, yoga, sports, music, art
Big focus on working towards behavior that will work in the real world, rather than pull out for OT, therapy, etc. which can be difficult to apply in real life.
Research based behavior methods.
Once they receive a packet from the school district they will set up a time to meet Calvin and evaluate him. Then he will do a 1/2 day trial before they decide if they think they have a program that will meet his needs.
Once a month you can go in and watch videos of your kid to see how things are going.
Looks like the school year is 220 days going through july. Many of the schools have summer school as an option but it looks like for this school the school year is extended for all students. This is good, especially since we are starting the school so late in the year.
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
studying
Trying to learn all these acrynoms so that I can figure out what all these schools do and who they serve.
Two more school visits tomorrow!
Two more school visits tomorrow!
Saturday, March 17, 2012
dreams and decisions
Last night I dreamed about these two schools: Springall and SD Center for Children. I am thinking about them so much and trying to figure out which would be best for Calvin or if there is something that I will find at another school. I am going to tour 2 more schools next week and I think at that point I will be ready to make a decision as to where we should send Calvin.
We have already decided that we will send him to a non-public school. It makes me sad to have him leave Painted Rock. I love having him at the same school as Clare and I love having him close to home. I like that he can participate in chorus there. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent as we visit these other schools that Painted Rock does not have the support Calvin needs. There is a reason these other schools exist -- it is to help kids like Calvin! And, I think they are fairly successful at it. At Calvin's elementary school, he is in a special education classroom with staff trained to work with Calvin but when he escalates they have nobody to turn to for help. At these other schools they have the classroom teachers + lots of extra staff to take a kid out and work with them one on one or pull them into another room where they can have a break as needed. Nobody is annoyed or mad when a child melts down. It is expected that they will and the staff feels it is their job to help the child in the moment but also to teach the skills necessary to improve function in the future. This is a 100% change from the reaction of the painted rock staff who are frustrated, upset and feel they do not have time to help someone so difficult. It is not their job. I understand that. And that is why we will be making a change.
We have already decided that we will send him to a non-public school. It makes me sad to have him leave Painted Rock. I love having him at the same school as Clare and I love having him close to home. I like that he can participate in chorus there. However, it is becoming increasingly apparent as we visit these other schools that Painted Rock does not have the support Calvin needs. There is a reason these other schools exist -- it is to help kids like Calvin! And, I think they are fairly successful at it. At Calvin's elementary school, he is in a special education classroom with staff trained to work with Calvin but when he escalates they have nobody to turn to for help. At these other schools they have the classroom teachers + lots of extra staff to take a kid out and work with them one on one or pull them into another room where they can have a break as needed. Nobody is annoyed or mad when a child melts down. It is expected that they will and the staff feels it is their job to help the child in the moment but also to teach the skills necessary to improve function in the future. This is a 100% change from the reaction of the painted rock staff who are frustrated, upset and feel they do not have time to help someone so difficult. It is not their job. I understand that. And that is why we will be making a change.
Friday, March 16, 2012
San Diego Center for Children
30 minutes - off of Kerney Mesa Road
Director - Nancy Macnamera
Similar in structure to springall. Grade 2-4 together in a class with 1 teacher and 3 aids (possibly more if necessary for certain kids)
Specials:
-Technology each kid has a little mini computer to do homework on. They also have fancy computer screens that the entire class can use.
- music room -kids are pulled out for music class 2x/week plus on Thursday they have "blues thursday" where the entire school goes to the music room to play blues music for each other.
- OT is a big part of their school. They have OT worked into the curriculum. They also have OT staff there all the time and an OT trailer where kids can go if they need to cool down. There they can swing, play games, jump on a trampoline, etc. etc.
- the entire school is served hot lunch together every day
-there is a residential treatment facility on the same campus as the school.
- PE every day in the courtyard
-no bullying program "I stood up for someone" t-shirts given out to kids on a weekly basis
- field trips
-class has a pet guinea pig
Dave ended up being able to come and meet me there so he was able to see the school. He will probably need to go to Springall to check it out so he is able to compare the two schools.
Positive behavior support. Use a level system (bronze, silver, gold) -- most likely all schools do.
questions: what are school hours? Are there any parents I can talk to about the school.
Overall my impression is that this school has more "extras" than the other school. However, I think Springall might be more academic. The question is, how much would these "extras" really benefit Calvin and/or are they necessary for his success.
Director - Nancy Macnamera
Similar in structure to springall. Grade 2-4 together in a class with 1 teacher and 3 aids (possibly more if necessary for certain kids)
Specials:
-Technology each kid has a little mini computer to do homework on. They also have fancy computer screens that the entire class can use.
- music room -kids are pulled out for music class 2x/week plus on Thursday they have "blues thursday" where the entire school goes to the music room to play blues music for each other.
- OT is a big part of their school. They have OT worked into the curriculum. They also have OT staff there all the time and an OT trailer where kids can go if they need to cool down. There they can swing, play games, jump on a trampoline, etc. etc.
- the entire school is served hot lunch together every day
-there is a residential treatment facility on the same campus as the school.
- PE every day in the courtyard
-no bullying program "I stood up for someone" t-shirts given out to kids on a weekly basis
- field trips
-class has a pet guinea pig
Dave ended up being able to come and meet me there so he was able to see the school. He will probably need to go to Springall to check it out so he is able to compare the two schools.
Positive behavior support. Use a level system (bronze, silver, gold) -- most likely all schools do.
questions: what are school hours? Are there any parents I can talk to about the school.
Overall my impression is that this school has more "extras" than the other school. However, I think Springall might be more academic. The question is, how much would these "extras" really benefit Calvin and/or are they necessary for his success.
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Springall Academy
30 minute drive. 15 S 52E 125 S near lake murray
Director - Dr. Heather Dierlof, PhD
Associate Director - Lanae Aguilera, MA, PPS
-talked to a mom of a 4th grade student – robby – who has had a good experience at springall. Robby was in the ED class at painted rock for 2 years and then went to a day treatment program in oceanside before going to springall. He rides the bus for 30 mintues to get to school. She said the Poway/RB kids get picked up first and have a longer ride on the bus - probably an hour to hour and a half.
Took calvin with me on the visit. He walked into the office and called the associate director a bitch and punched the director. He said he wanted to go home. They did not care AT ALL. They simply said, “this is what we do. It doesn’t bother us at all.” Calvin ran out of the room and the director followed him so that I could have some time to talk to Lenae, the associate director. We talked about Calvin’s school experience so far. While we were talking I could hear Calvin honking the horn in my car.
After a few mintues, Calvin came back and said he wanted to go home right now. Then one of the ladies mentioned basketball and Calvin snaped out of it. At that point he willingly went with one of the adults to go check out the school and see what was going on around campus. Ha! He is crazy.
The school is similar in structure to the ED class Calvin is in now. They have green stars, yellow stars and red stars that they can earn for each hour of the day depending on behavior. They work in small groups for academics. They have the chance to go play basketball several times throughout the day – there is a basketball court right outside the door of their classroom.
School hours are 7:35am-2pm. They have time for breakfast at school after they arrive.
The school is 2-12 and the elementary school area is separated from the other school a bit. Kids get together after they have earned the privilege of sports or for other fun activities.
Each class has 10-12 kids. 1 teacher +3 aids. The elementary class has one big black athletic guy as a teacher who loves sports too. There is a second big black athletic guy that helps with another class.
They have a garden that they are all excited about.
Good atmosphere and friendly staff.
Cons: distance from home. Early start + bus time would mean leaving home at 6:30am or earlier depending on what we set up.
-not many extras such as music, art, etc. however, sports are big
-9 pages of homework sent home in a packet Monday -- due Friday.
springall questions: field trips?
How do I apply for funding to bring a music program to the school? SDCFC has lots of sponsors that give $$. If I come to springall I want to find a way to get more $ there.
Director - Dr. Heather Dierlof, PhD
Associate Director - Lanae Aguilera, MA, PPS
-talked to a mom of a 4th grade student – robby – who has had a good experience at springall. Robby was in the ED class at painted rock for 2 years and then went to a day treatment program in oceanside before going to springall. He rides the bus for 30 mintues to get to school. She said the Poway/RB kids get picked up first and have a longer ride on the bus - probably an hour to hour and a half.
Took calvin with me on the visit. He walked into the office and called the associate director a bitch and punched the director. He said he wanted to go home. They did not care AT ALL. They simply said, “this is what we do. It doesn’t bother us at all.” Calvin ran out of the room and the director followed him so that I could have some time to talk to Lenae, the associate director. We talked about Calvin’s school experience so far. While we were talking I could hear Calvin honking the horn in my car.
After a few mintues, Calvin came back and said he wanted to go home right now. Then one of the ladies mentioned basketball and Calvin snaped out of it. At that point he willingly went with one of the adults to go check out the school and see what was going on around campus. Ha! He is crazy.
The school is similar in structure to the ED class Calvin is in now. They have green stars, yellow stars and red stars that they can earn for each hour of the day depending on behavior. They work in small groups for academics. They have the chance to go play basketball several times throughout the day – there is a basketball court right outside the door of their classroom.
School hours are 7:35am-2pm. They have time for breakfast at school after they arrive.
The school is 2-12 and the elementary school area is separated from the other school a bit. Kids get together after they have earned the privilege of sports or for other fun activities.
Each class has 10-12 kids. 1 teacher +3 aids. The elementary class has one big black athletic guy as a teacher who loves sports too. There is a second big black athletic guy that helps with another class.
They have a garden that they are all excited about.
Good atmosphere and friendly staff.
Cons: distance from home. Early start + bus time would mean leaving home at 6:30am or earlier depending on what we set up.
-not many extras such as music, art, etc. however, sports are big
-9 pages of homework sent home in a packet Monday -- due Friday.
springall questions: field trips?
How do I apply for funding to bring a music program to the school? SDCFC has lots of sponsors that give $$. If I come to springall I want to find a way to get more $ there.
Why I started this blog
There is always a lot going on with Calvin. I have a hard time remembering as I look back if things were better or worse than they are now. I though if I write some things down it will help me track the progress (or lack thereof) and also serve as a record as I meet people and places.
Hopefully at some point I will be able look back at this time in our life and think - wow, that was tough, but we made it and things are better now. I suppose in the worse case scenario I will look back and say, look how easy it was back then . . .
Hopefully at some point I will be able look back at this time in our life and think - wow, that was tough, but we made it and things are better now. I suppose in the worse case scenario I will look back and say, look how easy it was back then . . .
One thing that is constant is change
After just 3 months in the ED special education class in Poway Unified School District at Painted Rock we are looking for other schooling options for Calvin.
The IEP team has submitted an application to two non-public schools: Springall ACademy and San Diego Center for Children. There is a district employee who looks at the children and then decides where they thing the best fit would be in terms of a non public school. I am going to visit these two schools and I will also visit a couple of other schools so that I have a better idea of what is out there that might suit Calvin's needs.
It is really weird to me that the school is offering to pay for private schooling for Calvin (at a cost of $30K/year) after such a short trial in the ED class. The only guesses I have are: either they are really scared I am about to sue them or they are really on top of things and see that he is not making good progress in his current class and want to expedite the process of getting him moving in the right direction. That or they just want to get rid of him. After all, even though it costs a ton of $ to send him away it is not their $ they are spending. . .
Anyway, whatever the case may be, we are on another journey to find placement for Calvin. Back in november we visited all of the special needs classes the district has that might work for him. OF those we saw the ED class was really the only feasible option and though I think he has been doing better there in terms of getting work done, he is not really making great improvements in behavior. So now our options are 1. leave him in this placement or 2. find another school.
I have mixed feelings about this venture. First, I am grateful we don't have to sue the district or pay $$$ to hire an educational advocate to take the next step. However, I am sad to see Calvin move further and further from the general education route and "regular" kids. It is also a difficult decision because I don't have any experience with any of these schools and feel such great pressure to do what would be best while I feel I am not equipped to do so.
When he moved to the ED class we were told that the usual discipline rules don't apply and that when Calvin escalates we won't be called and told to come get him. However, he has been suspended 5 days since starting the ED class so they are changing the rules a bit. I feel like their attitude has changed from, "we can work through this" to "we can't deal with this." With such an attitude Calvin is sure to fail so for this reason I feel added pressure to take him out of Painted Rock.
These special education schools had more highly trained support staff who are used to dealing with difficult kids. I hope we can find someplace where Calvin will thrive. He is such a smart and wonderful boy underneath his anger, tantrums and coping problems. He has such potential if we can help him find himself and develop his talents. I pray every day that as parents we will find the key to unlock his amazing potential. I am hopeful with each change that we make that we have found that magic jelleybean and then I am devastated when I see that there was no magic after all. Unfortunately there will not be a quick and easy solution, but I keep hoping that over time we will find success for him.
I also don't know if in hoping he will pass through these troubles if I am asking for a miracle or if it is a reasonalbe goal to help him work towards a more normal life. Either way, I cling to that hope as only a mother can and live one day at a time.
The IEP team has submitted an application to two non-public schools: Springall ACademy and San Diego Center for Children. There is a district employee who looks at the children and then decides where they thing the best fit would be in terms of a non public school. I am going to visit these two schools and I will also visit a couple of other schools so that I have a better idea of what is out there that might suit Calvin's needs.
It is really weird to me that the school is offering to pay for private schooling for Calvin (at a cost of $30K/year) after such a short trial in the ED class. The only guesses I have are: either they are really scared I am about to sue them or they are really on top of things and see that he is not making good progress in his current class and want to expedite the process of getting him moving in the right direction. That or they just want to get rid of him. After all, even though it costs a ton of $ to send him away it is not their $ they are spending. . .
Anyway, whatever the case may be, we are on another journey to find placement for Calvin. Back in november we visited all of the special needs classes the district has that might work for him. OF those we saw the ED class was really the only feasible option and though I think he has been doing better there in terms of getting work done, he is not really making great improvements in behavior. So now our options are 1. leave him in this placement or 2. find another school.
I have mixed feelings about this venture. First, I am grateful we don't have to sue the district or pay $$$ to hire an educational advocate to take the next step. However, I am sad to see Calvin move further and further from the general education route and "regular" kids. It is also a difficult decision because I don't have any experience with any of these schools and feel such great pressure to do what would be best while I feel I am not equipped to do so.
When he moved to the ED class we were told that the usual discipline rules don't apply and that when Calvin escalates we won't be called and told to come get him. However, he has been suspended 5 days since starting the ED class so they are changing the rules a bit. I feel like their attitude has changed from, "we can work through this" to "we can't deal with this." With such an attitude Calvin is sure to fail so for this reason I feel added pressure to take him out of Painted Rock.
These special education schools had more highly trained support staff who are used to dealing with difficult kids. I hope we can find someplace where Calvin will thrive. He is such a smart and wonderful boy underneath his anger, tantrums and coping problems. He has such potential if we can help him find himself and develop his talents. I pray every day that as parents we will find the key to unlock his amazing potential. I am hopeful with each change that we make that we have found that magic jelleybean and then I am devastated when I see that there was no magic after all. Unfortunately there will not be a quick and easy solution, but I keep hoping that over time we will find success for him.
I also don't know if in hoping he will pass through these troubles if I am asking for a miracle or if it is a reasonalbe goal to help him work towards a more normal life. Either way, I cling to that hope as only a mother can and live one day at a time.
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