So after all that happened with Char's principal calling me. I get an email from the building principal. Mr. Clasgens told me that he met with Char and that Char's English teacher will be setting a schedule with Char to stay after.
I replied to him by stating that the teacher already tried that and Char refused to stay after. I also asked why noting was done before when the teacher had been repeatedly emailing me the issue (with the principals being copied in). I also asked why they would not fail Char considering she deserves it for not doing the work. I asked why she was not assigned detention for not obeying a teacher. Funny thing is that I never got an answer to those questions. Shocking? Nope. The school is all about CYAing themselves.
Enough about Char, we are meeting with Jaimison's principal to figure out what services he will need. The odd thing is that he is also in the Gates-Chili District and we have had NO problem whatsoever about getting the school to test him (we did not even have to give them a letter requesting it). They did all the testing and set up a meeting all within a month. Now why can't the high school get their act together? Maybe they need to go back to elementary school.
Adios amigos!!!
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
March 23, 2011
It has been a while since I have last posted. Sorry to my fan. LOL. Had a pretty awesome weekend partying it up with my good friends Bethany, Arlene, Joyce and Gretta. March has now been officially dubbed the "Party Month".
As for the kids:
Char: We met with the Army recruiter and she is very interested in the Army. We did not see this coming and is a total 180 on the path Char was going down. We think that this will be the best thing for Char and we are supporting her 100%. She was a little upset this week when she told people about her choice, she was met with negative remarks. It hurt her that people that she thought had her back did not. Now we all made funny remarks and she is not upset with that, in fact she is laughing with us. She was upset that people were telling her that the Army would break her and she was not cut out for it. If she has an iota of my personality at all, that alone will make her sign up and prove them wrong. You go girl!
We met with Dr. DeMarle on the 21st. Char is in the 97% for her verbal learning. I looked at Char and said "I told you, you were smart. I am going to do the 'I told you so' dance now." Her math on the other hand is very lacking (which we knew). The bad news is that she has to probably work a million times harder, but I know she will get through it. The good news is I can stick to Gates Chili because they should have been aware of this (it does help that I kept on saying to them that she needed help in math). DUH!! Our next meeting with Dr. Demarle is on May 4 (insert Star Wars joke here) and the meeting with the school is on May 5th (Happy Cinco de Mayo!).
Toria: We are still waiting to see a doctor about her being tested for Asbergers. Good news is that we are getting closer. Bad news is we still don't have a doctor.
Jaimison: Well, it is baseball season right around the corner. He is signed up for T-ball again this year and is very excited about it. Jaime is going to be an Assistant Coach, so Jaimison is doubly excited. We are meeting with the school on the 28th for him as all his testing is done. All the teachers loved working with him. What a little charmer.
Now I am going to attempt to tackle the Gates Chili Code of Conduct. Now Gates had this brilliant idea of having a Code of Conduct. I do agree with them, but I am wondering if they follow their own rules. They also call this the Spartan Way and from the day you start at the district you are slapped silly with that phrase. Let's delve deeper into this subject:
Teachers, parents, kids, health, mental health personnel, school counselors, building administrators, superintendent, Board of Education, and sport/non-instructional staff/volunteers have to follow this Code of Conduct. Now not to brag, but I know Jaime and I follow it. Now Char, that is another issue, but that is totally understandable, not excusable, but understandable.
I am not saying this about all the teachers, but this go towards most of them.
Teachers are to "Maintain a climate of mutual respect and dignity, which will strengthen students’ self-concept, promote confidence to learn and collaboration of all parties that serve the child."
I would like to know when Char was treated with mutual respect and dignity to strengthen her self-concpect, etc. If they followed this rule then Char would not be where she is. Yes, this is not all on the teachers and the school, but they never helped her either.
They are to "Be prepared to teach and fulfill all professional responsibilities."
I will give them that one.
They are to "Demonstrate interest in teaching and concern for student achievement."
ROFL! Concern for student achievement!! How can you be concerned for student achievement when you ignore late/not handed in assignments? When are you concerned for their achievement when you REFUSE to fail them even though you know that is the right thing to do?
They are to "Know school policies and rules, and enforce them in a fair and consistent manner."
HA HA HA. Consistent manner - well they consistently ignore their polices and rules, so that is consistent and seems to be the norm for Gates. If you are consistently wrong/bad, then you are at least consistent.
They are to "Communicate to students and parents: Course objectives and requirements.
Marking/grading procedures. Assignment deadlines. Expectations for parents and students. Classroom disciplinary procedures."
Communication is not a strength of the teachers at Gates. As for the course objective and requirements not a real big concern. Marking/grading procedures, there is no consistent procedure for this. It all depends on the student and what they need to do to have them graduate. Assignment deadlines. How can you enforce deadlines when they are just suggestions? Expectations for the parents and students? Really? Go ahead and tell me what you expect of me, I will then tell you where to shove it. Classroom disciplinary procedures, what disciplinary procedures? Jaime and I have to tell them how to disclipine Char.
They are to "Communicate regularly with students, parents and other teachers concerning growth and achievement."
Again, I have to laugh. I don't think most of the teachers at Gates know how to use a phone or a computer in order to communicate. That would mean that they would have to do their job.
This one almost made me pee my pants. Teachers are to "Build good relationships with students and parents."
What the what? They actually had to put that down as a rule. Maybe the teachers need to brush up on the Spartan Way. Good relationship my ass!
Not to totally bore you, I am going to glance over the other people that are dealt with in this Code of Conduct. It is pretty much the same thing with some tweeking here and there. For the most part Gates does not follow their own rules. How can this school district expect the kids in this school to follow rules when they consistently (they love that word) refuse to follow or change the rules to suit their agenda?
I received an email from Char’s English teacher stating that she is in danger of failing English and not graduating (we have known this since about January). I emailed the teacher back as I noted that both Ms. Kern (the 12th grade principal) and Mr. Clasgens (the building principal) have been copied in all the emails between us. I asked the teacher what Mr. Clasgens and Ms. Kern have done regarding the prediciment we are in. (Both the teacher and I have been on Char’s case about this).
Then out of the blue I get a call from Ms. Kern. I wonder why that happened? To cover your butt? She wanted to have a conference call with the English teacher (which I did not know why as the English teacher has been doing her job). Well Ms. Kern could not even figure out how to put me on speakerphone (this is so adding to my frustration with this school district).
Ms. Kern proceeds to say that she is not sure what I want her to do about this. Really? (Yes, that word is going to come up a lot because I still cannot believe this is happening). Do I get your salary for telling you what to do? Anyway, I proceed to let her have it. I told her that she has done nothing to help Char at all. She has been a barrier to her. She then proceeds to say something about coming in and talking to her. I then said “Why? What are you going to do?” She said that she wants to talk to us about how to get Char to graduation. Isn’t it a little too late for that? I told her that it has been made crystal clear to me and Jaime that Char was going to graduate barring her actually doing no work at all. Ms. Kern wanted to know who said that to us. I said I did not have the name in front of me because I was at work (I knew that this blog was going to come in handy). I also asked why she needed to know and she said that she would like to talk to that person. I again said “what are you going to do?” She never did answer those questions.
I then proceeded to really let loose. I said how the school pretty much sucks and that the administration does nothing unless forced to do so. I said that Jaime and I are not going through her as she is ineffective as a principal and that we are going above and beyond her. I told her that I do not need her help as it is obvious she cannot follow through on things. She asked what she has not followed through on. I brought up the fact of the progress reports that Char was supposed to be getting since the first day of school. She said and this is a direct quote “I can’t make her do it”. WHAT?!?!?!?! What do you mean you cannot make her do it? Are you not the principal? I told her what about detention for not listening. Isn’t that insubordination?
At this point I was fed up with all the crap that was coming my way. I told Ms. Kern politely that this conversation was over and hung up. I did have work to do you know.
I am so tempted to send this blog to her. I can’t believe that people are actually that stupid when talking to people. Can you think before you speak?
Jaime and I talked about this and have decided that if Dr. Demarle is not present at meetings we are going to be recording it. If they will not let us, then we are not having a meeting. Also, we are no longer going to communicate with teachers unless it is through email. I want proof that they are not doing their job.
If you cannot tell, my opinion of Ms. Kern is really low. The only time she rears her head is when she has to cover her ass. I am so ticked that Toria will be having her as a principal for the next four years. The good news is that Jaimison will not have her unless she gets moved to another grade level as he is seven years behind Toria. Hopefully by that time she will either leave, get fired or retire. I don’t care how it happens, but she needs to go. Actually a lot of the staff at Gates needs to go. What is this school teaching our kids? That all you need to do is act like you know what you are doing? This whole district is a joke. I have no idea how the kids have not taken over as no one there likes to discipline any of them. You literally have to get into a fight in order to get in trouble. ARGH!
Here is a shout out to Rich, was this all you were expecting? Be careful of what you wish for.
As for the kids:
Char: We met with the Army recruiter and she is very interested in the Army. We did not see this coming and is a total 180 on the path Char was going down. We think that this will be the best thing for Char and we are supporting her 100%. She was a little upset this week when she told people about her choice, she was met with negative remarks. It hurt her that people that she thought had her back did not. Now we all made funny remarks and she is not upset with that, in fact she is laughing with us. She was upset that people were telling her that the Army would break her and she was not cut out for it. If she has an iota of my personality at all, that alone will make her sign up and prove them wrong. You go girl!
We met with Dr. DeMarle on the 21st. Char is in the 97% for her verbal learning. I looked at Char and said "I told you, you were smart. I am going to do the 'I told you so' dance now." Her math on the other hand is very lacking (which we knew). The bad news is that she has to probably work a million times harder, but I know she will get through it. The good news is I can stick to Gates Chili because they should have been aware of this (it does help that I kept on saying to them that she needed help in math). DUH!! Our next meeting with Dr. Demarle is on May 4 (insert Star Wars joke here) and the meeting with the school is on May 5th (Happy Cinco de Mayo!).
Toria: We are still waiting to see a doctor about her being tested for Asbergers. Good news is that we are getting closer. Bad news is we still don't have a doctor.
Jaimison: Well, it is baseball season right around the corner. He is signed up for T-ball again this year and is very excited about it. Jaime is going to be an Assistant Coach, so Jaimison is doubly excited. We are meeting with the school on the 28th for him as all his testing is done. All the teachers loved working with him. What a little charmer.
Now I am going to attempt to tackle the Gates Chili Code of Conduct. Now Gates had this brilliant idea of having a Code of Conduct. I do agree with them, but I am wondering if they follow their own rules. They also call this the Spartan Way and from the day you start at the district you are slapped silly with that phrase. Let's delve deeper into this subject:
Teachers, parents, kids, health, mental health personnel, school counselors, building administrators, superintendent, Board of Education, and sport/non-instructional staff/volunteers have to follow this Code of Conduct. Now not to brag, but I know Jaime and I follow it. Now Char, that is another issue, but that is totally understandable, not excusable, but understandable.
I am not saying this about all the teachers, but this go towards most of them.
Teachers are to "Maintain a climate of mutual respect and dignity, which will strengthen students’ self-concept, promote confidence to learn and collaboration of all parties that serve the child."
I would like to know when Char was treated with mutual respect and dignity to strengthen her self-concpect, etc. If they followed this rule then Char would not be where she is. Yes, this is not all on the teachers and the school, but they never helped her either.
They are to "Be prepared to teach and fulfill all professional responsibilities."
I will give them that one.
They are to "Demonstrate interest in teaching and concern for student achievement."
ROFL! Concern for student achievement!! How can you be concerned for student achievement when you ignore late/not handed in assignments? When are you concerned for their achievement when you REFUSE to fail them even though you know that is the right thing to do?
They are to "Know school policies and rules, and enforce them in a fair and consistent manner."
HA HA HA. Consistent manner - well they consistently ignore their polices and rules, so that is consistent and seems to be the norm for Gates. If you are consistently wrong/bad, then you are at least consistent.
They are to "Communicate to students and parents: Course objectives and requirements.
Marking/grading procedures. Assignment deadlines. Expectations for parents and students. Classroom disciplinary procedures."
Communication is not a strength of the teachers at Gates. As for the course objective and requirements not a real big concern. Marking/grading procedures, there is no consistent procedure for this. It all depends on the student and what they need to do to have them graduate. Assignment deadlines. How can you enforce deadlines when they are just suggestions? Expectations for the parents and students? Really? Go ahead and tell me what you expect of me, I will then tell you where to shove it. Classroom disciplinary procedures, what disciplinary procedures? Jaime and I have to tell them how to disclipine Char.
They are to "Communicate regularly with students, parents and other teachers concerning growth and achievement."
Again, I have to laugh. I don't think most of the teachers at Gates know how to use a phone or a computer in order to communicate. That would mean that they would have to do their job.
This one almost made me pee my pants. Teachers are to "Build good relationships with students and parents."
What the what? They actually had to put that down as a rule. Maybe the teachers need to brush up on the Spartan Way. Good relationship my ass!
Not to totally bore you, I am going to glance over the other people that are dealt with in this Code of Conduct. It is pretty much the same thing with some tweeking here and there. For the most part Gates does not follow their own rules. How can this school district expect the kids in this school to follow rules when they consistently (they love that word) refuse to follow or change the rules to suit their agenda?
I received an email from Char’s English teacher stating that she is in danger of failing English and not graduating (we have known this since about January). I emailed the teacher back as I noted that both Ms. Kern (the 12th grade principal) and Mr. Clasgens (the building principal) have been copied in all the emails between us. I asked the teacher what Mr. Clasgens and Ms. Kern have done regarding the prediciment we are in. (Both the teacher and I have been on Char’s case about this).
Then out of the blue I get a call from Ms. Kern. I wonder why that happened? To cover your butt? She wanted to have a conference call with the English teacher (which I did not know why as the English teacher has been doing her job). Well Ms. Kern could not even figure out how to put me on speakerphone (this is so adding to my frustration with this school district).
Ms. Kern proceeds to say that she is not sure what I want her to do about this. Really? (Yes, that word is going to come up a lot because I still cannot believe this is happening). Do I get your salary for telling you what to do? Anyway, I proceed to let her have it. I told her that she has done nothing to help Char at all. She has been a barrier to her. She then proceeds to say something about coming in and talking to her. I then said “Why? What are you going to do?” She said that she wants to talk to us about how to get Char to graduation. Isn’t it a little too late for that? I told her that it has been made crystal clear to me and Jaime that Char was going to graduate barring her actually doing no work at all. Ms. Kern wanted to know who said that to us. I said I did not have the name in front of me because I was at work (I knew that this blog was going to come in handy). I also asked why she needed to know and she said that she would like to talk to that person. I again said “what are you going to do?” She never did answer those questions.
I then proceeded to really let loose. I said how the school pretty much sucks and that the administration does nothing unless forced to do so. I said that Jaime and I are not going through her as she is ineffective as a principal and that we are going above and beyond her. I told her that I do not need her help as it is obvious she cannot follow through on things. She asked what she has not followed through on. I brought up the fact of the progress reports that Char was supposed to be getting since the first day of school. She said and this is a direct quote “I can’t make her do it”. WHAT?!?!?!?! What do you mean you cannot make her do it? Are you not the principal? I told her what about detention for not listening. Isn’t that insubordination?
At this point I was fed up with all the crap that was coming my way. I told Ms. Kern politely that this conversation was over and hung up. I did have work to do you know.
I am so tempted to send this blog to her. I can’t believe that people are actually that stupid when talking to people. Can you think before you speak?
Jaime and I talked about this and have decided that if Dr. Demarle is not present at meetings we are going to be recording it. If they will not let us, then we are not having a meeting. Also, we are no longer going to communicate with teachers unless it is through email. I want proof that they are not doing their job.
If you cannot tell, my opinion of Ms. Kern is really low. The only time she rears her head is when she has to cover her ass. I am so ticked that Toria will be having her as a principal for the next four years. The good news is that Jaimison will not have her unless she gets moved to another grade level as he is seven years behind Toria. Hopefully by that time she will either leave, get fired or retire. I don’t care how it happens, but she needs to go. Actually a lot of the staff at Gates needs to go. What is this school teaching our kids? That all you need to do is act like you know what you are doing? This whole district is a joke. I have no idea how the kids have not taken over as no one there likes to discipline any of them. You literally have to get into a fight in order to get in trouble. ARGH!
Here is a shout out to Rich, was this all you were expecting? Be careful of what you wish for.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
March 15, 2011
BEWARE OF THE IDES OF MARCH!!!!!
Today was actually not too shabby. But I need to go back to yesterday. Char went for her testing. That's about it. LOL. We get the results next Monday.
Nothing else has really happened. Tomorrow the recruiter comes, then Thursday is Boy Scouts and then PARTY WEEKEND!!!!
I know I said I was going to do the whole Spartan Way stuff, but I just did not have time. One of these days it will get done.
Off to do homework with Jaimison.
Today was actually not too shabby. But I need to go back to yesterday. Char went for her testing. That's about it. LOL. We get the results next Monday.
Nothing else has really happened. Tomorrow the recruiter comes, then Thursday is Boy Scouts and then PARTY WEEKEND!!!!
I know I said I was going to do the whole Spartan Way stuff, but I just did not have time. One of these days it will get done.
Off to do homework with Jaimison.
Saturday, March 12, 2011
March 11, 2011
Where did this week go? It was one crazy one.
We met with Char's school's psychologist (enter comment here). We did a general intake to start the testing process. Thought it would be about 45 minutes, but it lasted 2 hours! Boy is that girl complicated!!! The good news is that she should be tested relatively soon (like within the next two weeks). Bad news is that we do not meet with the Committee on Special Education until May. That is mainly because of getting the testing done (they added two more tests - shocking I know) and Spring Break.
We received a letter from the school as we need to sign an authorization for the meeting. No biggie. Upon reading the letter, I got really ticked. This school is so full of shit. There was one paragraph that really set me off. The paragraph states:
WHAT!!!!! There has been no remediation programs accommodations in anything. When they use a form letter they really need to be aware of what it says. Yes, a letter will be going out to the school requesting what they have done for Char. This is so ridiculous.
Later that evening (Thursday) we went with Char to a Career Exploration night at the school. Funny thing is Char (and a teacher directing us from the school) did not know where the rooms were. Really Char? Have you not been in this school for four years?
Char looked at X-ray Technician (did not interest her, but think it might be a good fit for Toria) and the Army. Yes, you read that right the Army. We have a recruiter coming to our house on Wednesday. If she does join the Army, God help the Army. LOL.
Toria is doing really well. She is still her crazy self, but her attitude and behavior have been really good. She raised money for the Veteran Outreach and did a walk today. She hung out with a couple of friends there while we went and did some shopping. Yes, you read it right, FRIENDS!!!! Hopefully we are turning a corner with her.
Jaimison is Jaimison. He received all his testing at school and we are waiting for the next step. He doesn't believe that his sister wants to be in the Army and when asked if he wanted to join he said no because he wants to be a police officer. Jaime and I tried to explain that they have police officers in the Army and he said no they only have soldiers. Gotta love that kid.
The next blog (if I have time and do not totally blow up from writing it) is going to be how Gates-Chili do not follow their own Spartan Way philosophy. While at the school I read a poster with some key points on it and had to laugh. Stay tuned. . . .
We met with Char's school's psychologist (enter comment here). We did a general intake to start the testing process. Thought it would be about 45 minutes, but it lasted 2 hours! Boy is that girl complicated!!! The good news is that she should be tested relatively soon (like within the next two weeks). Bad news is that we do not meet with the Committee on Special Education until May. That is mainly because of getting the testing done (they added two more tests - shocking I know) and Spring Break.
We received a letter from the school as we need to sign an authorization for the meeting. No biggie. Upon reading the letter, I got really ticked. This school is so full of shit. There was one paragraph that really set me off. The paragraph states:
This referral is usually initiated because, even with educational supports such as remediation programs accommodations in teaching methods and curriculum materials, your child is experiencing significant educational difficulties.
WHAT!!!!! There has been no remediation programs accommodations in anything. When they use a form letter they really need to be aware of what it says. Yes, a letter will be going out to the school requesting what they have done for Char. This is so ridiculous.
Later that evening (Thursday) we went with Char to a Career Exploration night at the school. Funny thing is Char (and a teacher directing us from the school) did not know where the rooms were. Really Char? Have you not been in this school for four years?
Char looked at X-ray Technician (did not interest her, but think it might be a good fit for Toria) and the Army. Yes, you read that right the Army. We have a recruiter coming to our house on Wednesday. If she does join the Army, God help the Army. LOL.
Toria is doing really well. She is still her crazy self, but her attitude and behavior have been really good. She raised money for the Veteran Outreach and did a walk today. She hung out with a couple of friends there while we went and did some shopping. Yes, you read it right, FRIENDS!!!! Hopefully we are turning a corner with her.
Jaimison is Jaimison. He received all his testing at school and we are waiting for the next step. He doesn't believe that his sister wants to be in the Army and when asked if he wanted to join he said no because he wants to be a police officer. Jaime and I tried to explain that they have police officers in the Army and he said no they only have soldiers. Gotta love that kid.
The next blog (if I have time and do not totally blow up from writing it) is going to be how Gates-Chili do not follow their own Spartan Way philosophy. While at the school I read a poster with some key points on it and had to laugh. Stay tuned. . . .
Monday, March 7, 2011
March 7, 2010
Not too much happened today. The school asked us on Thursday if we would be willing to sign a medical release to get Char's records. Well the psychologist did not know where they were so she said she would fax it to me. I have received nothing.
I took matters into my own hands and requested the paperwork from Dr. Sullo. Thirty-eight pages! What the what! I faxed that to the psychologist along with a HIPAA release. Now we wait. We have another appointment on Thursday. Lovely!
Totally off the subject (as I don't want to get ticked off more than normal on a Monday). Jaime and I have decided to leave Community Christian Church. We have felt for a while that the church is not going in the direction that we wanted to go in. We have decided to join Henrietta UCC (HUCC). We have been going there for about a month now and are loving it. The kids are really enjoying their Sunday School class. I am hoping that we can get the youth from CCC to join events at HUCC.
This weekend was not too eventful (thank GOD!) except for Zachary's birthday party. Thanks Zach, Bethany and Arlene for inviting us.
Don't forget that Ash Wednesday is on. . . um . . . WEDNESDAY!!! For you Catholics no meat on Wednesday or Friday (yes, I am taking over for mom. LOL). What am I giving up this year? Giving up stuff. LOL. Can't wait for the Ash Wednesday services at HUCC. They have been talking it up and it sounds really cool. You bring a candle to light for a love one and then you sum up your sins in one word and write it on a piece of paper. They then burn those papers to make the ash.
That's it for now. Thanks for everyone who read this. Don't forget to give me feedback, good or bad.
:)
I took matters into my own hands and requested the paperwork from Dr. Sullo. Thirty-eight pages! What the what! I faxed that to the psychologist along with a HIPAA release. Now we wait. We have another appointment on Thursday. Lovely!
Totally off the subject (as I don't want to get ticked off more than normal on a Monday). Jaime and I have decided to leave Community Christian Church. We have felt for a while that the church is not going in the direction that we wanted to go in. We have decided to join Henrietta UCC (HUCC). We have been going there for about a month now and are loving it. The kids are really enjoying their Sunday School class. I am hoping that we can get the youth from CCC to join events at HUCC.
This weekend was not too eventful (thank GOD!) except for Zachary's birthday party. Thanks Zach, Bethany and Arlene for inviting us.
Don't forget that Ash Wednesday is on. . . um . . . WEDNESDAY!!! For you Catholics no meat on Wednesday or Friday (yes, I am taking over for mom. LOL). What am I giving up this year? Giving up stuff. LOL. Can't wait for the Ash Wednesday services at HUCC. They have been talking it up and it sounds really cool. You bring a candle to light for a love one and then you sum up your sins in one word and write it on a piece of paper. They then burn those papers to make the ash.
That's it for now. Thanks for everyone who read this. Don't forget to give me feedback, good or bad.
:)
Thursday, March 3, 2011
March 3, 2011
I have been toying with the idea of starting a blog. I can thank my brother-in-law, Jay, for that. He has a blog (Jay's Blog of Doom) that I follow. I never knew what I would talk about until now.
I have three kids, Char, Toria and Jaimison. This blog is going to be about them among other things. A chronicle of what is happening in their lives so that friends and relatives can find out information and lets me rant a little. Also, we have having issues with the school district that they are in so this will also serve as my memory.
So lets start with Char:
We are getting Char tested to see if she has any learning disabilities. We are going with our own doctor and tests, but need to have the school do some testing too in order to get her services that she needs when she goes to college.
We went to see Char's doctor on March 1, 2011. Previously he had asked us to send a letter requesting that the school district test Char. Through some issues on our end the school did not get the letter until February 28, 2011. Ok. So this meant that they would have 60 days from that date to test her. Sounds pretty logical and straight forward right? You, my friend, are so wrong.
Char's doctor told us that the school would need to get a authorization to test Char. Jaime called the school on March 2, 2011 and requested the authorization. Char's guidance counselor (Mr. Denninger) flatly refused to give us the form. He informed Jaime that Char is going to graduate so there is no reason to test her. Um, really have you looked at her grades? Jaime then called The Empire Justice League and the district office.
On to March 3, 2011 (this is where the fun begins). Jaime received a call back from the district office (Mr. O'Brien). Mr. O'Brien told Jaime the same thing, that they were not going to give us the authorization form and that Char will graduate. By this time we had an appointment with Mr. Denninger to discuss why he was not going to give us the authorization.
The meeting with Denninger. We arrive and lo and behold the school psychologist is there. Denninger starts off by calling me Su. Well I quickly corrected him. I am not his friend, he will call me Mrs. Grimes (even though I hate being called that, at this point I just wanted to be bitchy). Jaime takes the rains and totally calls them out on how they cannot deny us our right to have our daughter tested. Jaime by this point has already talked to the regional office and they agreed with us. The psychologist proceeds to say that she does not even know our daughter (then why the hell are you there) and that her grades are consistent (consistently crappy, but I guess that is ok with Gates as long as they are consistent). Jaime keeps on calling them out and point out how they are so wrong. I was so proud to be his wife. :) I then pointed out how the school has failed Char. I also pointed out that Char was supposed to fail Peer Leadership because she did not hand in seven peer journals. But then when the third marking period started she was in Peer Leadership II. How did that happen Mr. Denninger? Did not have an answer for that one.
At the end of the meeting we did get the authorization. What the testing will say is another thing. I am not holding my breath. Thank God we are getting our own testing. Stay tuned.
As for Toria:
We have had a great six weeks with Toria without Steve around. Are we surprised? NOPE! We are looking into getting Toria tested for Asperger's syndrome. After doing some research we have come to the conclusion that she hits almost all of the symptoms. We are just trying to find a doctor that does not have a nine month to a year waiting list.
Jaimison, Jaimsion, Jaimsion:
Jaimison got his testing done with Dr. DeMarle and was found to have a learning problem with the hallmarks of dyslexia. Neil Armstrong is getting him tested this week (how come the elementary school had no problem when we asked for the testing?). He is doing extra work at home.
I guess that is all for now. Thanks for listening to me rant :)
I have three kids, Char, Toria and Jaimison. This blog is going to be about them among other things. A chronicle of what is happening in their lives so that friends and relatives can find out information and lets me rant a little. Also, we have having issues with the school district that they are in so this will also serve as my memory.
So lets start with Char:
We are getting Char tested to see if she has any learning disabilities. We are going with our own doctor and tests, but need to have the school do some testing too in order to get her services that she needs when she goes to college.
We went to see Char's doctor on March 1, 2011. Previously he had asked us to send a letter requesting that the school district test Char. Through some issues on our end the school did not get the letter until February 28, 2011. Ok. So this meant that they would have 60 days from that date to test her. Sounds pretty logical and straight forward right? You, my friend, are so wrong.
Char's doctor told us that the school would need to get a authorization to test Char. Jaime called the school on March 2, 2011 and requested the authorization. Char's guidance counselor (Mr. Denninger) flatly refused to give us the form. He informed Jaime that Char is going to graduate so there is no reason to test her. Um, really have you looked at her grades? Jaime then called The Empire Justice League and the district office.
On to March 3, 2011 (this is where the fun begins). Jaime received a call back from the district office (Mr. O'Brien). Mr. O'Brien told Jaime the same thing, that they were not going to give us the authorization form and that Char will graduate. By this time we had an appointment with Mr. Denninger to discuss why he was not going to give us the authorization.
The meeting with Denninger. We arrive and lo and behold the school psychologist is there. Denninger starts off by calling me Su. Well I quickly corrected him. I am not his friend, he will call me Mrs. Grimes (even though I hate being called that, at this point I just wanted to be bitchy). Jaime takes the rains and totally calls them out on how they cannot deny us our right to have our daughter tested. Jaime by this point has already talked to the regional office and they agreed with us. The psychologist proceeds to say that she does not even know our daughter (then why the hell are you there) and that her grades are consistent (consistently crappy, but I guess that is ok with Gates as long as they are consistent). Jaime keeps on calling them out and point out how they are so wrong. I was so proud to be his wife. :) I then pointed out how the school has failed Char. I also pointed out that Char was supposed to fail Peer Leadership because she did not hand in seven peer journals. But then when the third marking period started she was in Peer Leadership II. How did that happen Mr. Denninger? Did not have an answer for that one.
At the end of the meeting we did get the authorization. What the testing will say is another thing. I am not holding my breath. Thank God we are getting our own testing. Stay tuned.
As for Toria:
We have had a great six weeks with Toria without Steve around. Are we surprised? NOPE! We are looking into getting Toria tested for Asperger's syndrome. After doing some research we have come to the conclusion that she hits almost all of the symptoms. We are just trying to find a doctor that does not have a nine month to a year waiting list.
Jaimison, Jaimsion, Jaimsion:
Jaimison got his testing done with Dr. DeMarle and was found to have a learning problem with the hallmarks of dyslexia. Neil Armstrong is getting him tested this week (how come the elementary school had no problem when we asked for the testing?). He is doing extra work at home.
I guess that is all for now. Thanks for listening to me rant :)
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