I'm hoping some of you with more experience in public schools can chime in about accommodations for standardized testing. At my private school, we do MAP testing (only 50 or so questions in each test) in reading and math. It's always a drag, but since it's computerized, it's not so terrible for the kids. Each test is supposed to take about an hour, but in my room we do 10 questions a day in each class for 5 days. Our accommodations are that all kids can take breaks when they need them, they get as much time as they need, and I can read the math test aloud. The other day I asked if I could give them a multiplication chart during the math test. The coordinator looked surprised, then said sure, as long as I note it in the final report. I tell the kids, who are all happy. A bunch of them can do the multiplication algorithm with big numbers, but they don't have facts memorized. They also understand when multiplication should be used in a word problem, but again, can't do the calculation without the chart. In the past it has REALLY been awful seeing them try to manually figure out things like 7x9 by adding. They CAN DO IT, but it takes FOREVER and sometimes that's only one part of a problem. Now coordinator says actually, sorry, she was wrong, can't use chart. Because 1) we didn't use it in the fall, so the "growth" we see by spring won't be valid, and 2) it's a norm-referenced test and they're being measured against their peers, so a chart will make the test invalid. I don't give a phooey about the growth being somewhat unreliable because they have the chart now and didn't before. I want to see what they can do NOW, with their charts. Their ability has skyrocketed this year! I also think that a chart will allow them to show what they know relative to their peers.... not artificially inflate their scores. There are only 50 questions, for pete's sake. Ugh. I'm heartbroken that I have to go back on my word and tell the kids they can't have the chart. I feel that the test is still valid with the chart, because it's a needed accommodation, just as much as a reader for math, or getting breaks. I was furious last night, and many kind-of-polite emails went back and forth. Now it seems as if I've lost for good. Am I wrong? Is a chart going to invalidate the test? More importantly, perhaps... should we give accommodations in class and then strip them away for standardized tests? What is the actual purpose of the tests? It doesn't do anything for me, the teacher. I can't even see the questions unless I hover over their shoulders while they take the stupid test. Maybe the school district (we have many district-funded students) uses the data to... do something? Maybe?

:grouphug:

After you get an evaluation, hopefully the school will be very accommodating about his language arts classes. It sounds as though they're already willing to work with you! Even before you get evaluations, you can ask for accommodations. I would search around and make a list of accommodations to request when you meet with the school. A few that come to my mind are: - Shorter writing assignments or writing assignments with more structure, for example, the teacher provides the topic sentence for each paragraph and he writes 3 details. - Audiobooks - Possibly shorter reading assignments - Use of a scribe for writing assignments and in class - Completing certain assessments orally instead of in writing There are more, but those are the ones that might be most helpful for him for the rest of this year.

I'm by far an expert, but I think a whole foods based diet is the way to go for anyone, if at all possible. The chemicals and food additives and overall strange things that go in packaged food these days are mind boggling. Take "natural flavors" for example... which are in SO many things, even organic juice! If it's so natural and healthy, why not just say what it is? If it were me, I'd start by cleaning out any packaged foods, and then buy real, honest foods. If you need packaged food for convenience, get stuff like instant oatmeal with no weird ingredients, cheese sticks, etc. No natural flavors. No soy lecithin... no "healthy" foods that have even the slightest suspect ingredients. I wouldn't focus on restricting calories right now, since you said it doesn't seem to make a difference anyway. Why not take a couple weeks to really try and nourish your body. Only eat things that have some kind of nutritional value. If that still doesn't work, a naturopath is a fantastic idea. There could be many food intolerances that you don't know about yet which cause inflammation + weight gain.

:grouphug: This stuff scares me, too. From what everyone is saying, you should be just fine.

:grouphug: This stuff scares me, too. From what everyone is saying, you should be just fine.

Could she have an auditory processing disorder? I work with special education students, and it's a common diagnosis at my school. Struggling to distinguish conversations from background noise is a red flag for that. https://www.additudemag.com/a-labor-to-listen-is-it-adhd-or-apd/

My DH says things like, "Where is that (random thing we threw out 7 years ago)?"

Elizabeth, were you able to re-introduce any foods after starting your rotation diet?

Ha, I'm not already certified although I have my M.Ed. I've been in a private school so far, and I haven't needed the certification. My DH is a math guy. I'm sure he can find something, possibly online. He's a big fan of the Adirondacks :-)

Well... at least it'll soon be over, hopefully, and you won't have to dread it any more. Hope you're feeling better soon!

Allergic to rice? Dang!

Sounds good to me! I don't mind small towns - in fact, love them! - as long as there's coffee and wifi :-)

I just submitted a couple job applications in Vermont (yay! excited and scared). There are many special education teaching jobs available there, so I may have a chance at getting one of them. One area that has a high need is Rutland, VT. I don't know much about the area, but I get the sense that Rutland is a bit rougher than some other places. Allowing myself to daydream about Vermont, are there any "nicer" towns that are within driving distance of Rutland? I guess maybe I'm a millennial (hope not though :)), but I'd like a coffee shop and a natural foods store. My husband is a skiier which is why Rutland could be appealing. I've also applied to schools in other towns, but I know more about them than I do about Rutland.

Oh dear :( Can you up your vitamin D and C?

I have a visual timer in my room and it is the best thing EVER. The kids settle down right away when I set the timer. They know that whatever activity they are doing has an END point, so they can keep it together for that long because it won't go on for an interminable amount of time. I have one like this: https://www.amazon.com/Time-Timer-Original-Optional-Management/dp/B000JF4250

All of this is AWESOME! Hooray! Has she read the Elephant and Piggie books? They're easy to read, hilarious (even for adults!) and best of all, there are a ton of them so she could read them for a long while.

There don't seem to be a lot of positives to this school, unless she really enjoys the others kids, her teachers, and things like gym, art, etc. Also, doing lots of afterschooling with a 1st grader would be really challenging.

This thread reminds me of a previous one about husbands who yell-puke :P Glad things are going better!

You can buy special socks that have two layers - so when your feet slide inside your shoes just a little, the two layers socks rub against each other instead of your feet rubbing on socks. My DH wore them for playing indoor soccer. Before that he got horrible blisters on his feet. Here's one example: https://www.amazon.com/Wrightsock-Anti-Blister-Double-Running-Quarter/dp/B005GXKOWU

Until you have a signed offer, you're free to interview anywhere you like. Until you have that written offer, you just don't know if it will actually happen. (I hope it does, congratulations!) I'd continue interviewing for the better position at your current work, but when the written offer for the other job comes, take that and move on. I'm not totally opposed to accepting a job and then turning it down later for a better offer, but it would have to be a much better offer. As far as handing over documentation to HR if you leave, I think you should! They should know about the problems and try to fix them. I don't think that's vindictive - you'll be helping the next person who has your job. Nobody should be forced to work in a hostile environment.

Research has been pointing to the conclusion that keeping kids at their "just right" spot (not to hard, not too easy) is not necessarily the best way to improve reading. For years everyone has been saying, keep them at the 'instructional' and not 'frustration' level, but as others have been saying, reading books you REALLY want to read, even if they are at the 'frustration' level, makes a difference. Supportive teaching of material that is "too hard" is possibly better than only doing 'instructional' level things. People's definitions of those terms vary, but I generally go with 95-100% accuracy is "independent," 90-95 is "instructional," and below 90% accuracy is "frustration. I'm NOT saying to never venture into the frustration zone - because if you're supporting him, motivation can overcome the negative effects of frustration. If you get Raz-Kids, you can search for "benchmark passages." These are one-page checks at each reading level. You have the kid read, time them, and then figure out how many words correct they read per minute, and also their accuracy. To determine accuracy, divide the words correctly read by the total number of words. (Ex. if they read 56 words correctly out of 87, do 56/87.) When you find a passage where he's just barely reading above 95% accuracy, I'd call that his independent reading level. The "instructional" level will be slightly above that. So, if he can read level E books independently, try working on level F or G. Words correct per minute are tricky. You can find norms online. A veteran teacher that I really trust says she aims for 100-110 words correct per minute as the goal.... you'd be very fluent at that speed. My students are generally reading at 65-75 words correct per minute. It's slow-ish, but not horrible. When they get above 80 words correct per minute they are going at a decent, but not speedy, rate. I highly recommend Raz-Kids. You get a lot of information and resources. Your kid gets a lot of cool books. It's a good value for the money :-)

I have a friend who has a PhD in computer science. His undergraduate majors were computer science and linguistics, and then he also has some certification in artificial intelligence. Right now he's working on improving voice recognition of certain difficult languages - so combining his linguistics background with computer science. He loves it! I wish I had any kind of computer science background. It would open up so many doors. We need more women in comp sci!

Thanks for asking, I think it's finally improving a little bit. Thank you all for the suggestions!

I'm so, so sorry for your family :grouphug: