So it looks like school fight round three. Our 12 year old with the anxiety problems has been on home-based instruction for much of the year. He started the sixth grade like any other sixth grader, but his on-going anxiety issues just escalated, prompting his psychologist to find him medically unable to attend school. So the school has been sending a teacher to him. As we continued through the year, and the continued inability to find an agreed upon solution to how to help him went into a mediation with the school district. We all formulated a process we could live with, and it was all good…for a month. He got his speech services, and a modified curriculum. His Doctor was working with him on ways to cope, so he could ease back into school, with the Special Education Director’s understanding that getting him into one class this year for even an observation period, would be a challenge, and would happen this year if we were lucky. However the school staff doesn’t appear to hold the same view. They have continued to push, and with each small step demand a bigger one. So they provided the whole Extended School year, and today their plan to have him back this year. Now finally they want to talk to his doctor, after almost four months of us asking them too, and scheduled a meeting to “go over” their schedule, and to think this all occurred after I sent a rather lengthy email to the school, and basically pointed out where they are violating the mediation agreement. Much of this is due to the assistant principal, who is very honestly mean, and rude. So as I approached this with the school, I also wrote a letter to the Director Of Special Education, who responded today, and will be getting herself involved again. So now we are sort of stuck in the middle again. Now I was the proponent of sending the boys back to the school system, so I am generally held responsible for the good, the bad, and the ugly.
To me the whole thing boils down to the following:
Us (wanting John back in school while learning to deal with his condition) vs. The Middle School (who doesn’t want to deal with this odd situation) vs. The School District (who wants to have him in school successfully). So I guess the question boils down to who is the best advocate for John?
Now don’t get me wrong, I have a lot of respect and admiration for teachers. They do so much to help shape and grow young minds. In this case it is bureaucracy at it’s finest. So I am not sure if this meeting will happen, as the Director Of Special Education told us to differ anything to her if the school seemed uncooperative, but we also have to work with the school. Again it’s a matter of what best for John. Is it really helpful to have him pushed back in the door in order to fail, before he’s ready, or take it slow and allow him to succeed. His grades are doing well right now, and he is learning to deal with the world around him. Whats the rush? Today is one of those days I don’t know what to do next.
~Another Day
