I sent this email to my son's special ed teacher...

[LNC]

deleted

[DoppeltGemoppelt]

I do not think your letter is rude. You need to be in touch with the school constantly in order to have them work with your son. Be the squeaky wheel!!!

 

I work as a paraprofessional with special Ed students. I love them all dearly, but I KNOW that we are failing these kids miserably!!! I feel awful about it and wish I could do something. NCLB has left the children, who cannot do simple addition, using a calculator instead; this way they are no longer "left behind". This is only one aspect of math, but I could go on and on...

 

If any of these children were mine, I would take them home immediately! Remember: Just because the other children SEEM to be making progress, it isn't necessarily true. On paper the school needs to make it look this way. If your son truly loves his friends at school, your best bet is to talk to his one-on-one outside the school setting and tell her exactly how he or she could be helping your son.

 

Sorry thing are going so bad!!! I hope a little insight helps.

[Desert Rat]

I don't think it's rude at all, LNC. I would think he would appreciate the background and feedback. Nothing you said was accusing him of failure, just the opposite.

 

:grouphug: I can hear your frustration and your love for your son.

[DawnM]

It is informative. However, I would opt for face to face interaction over an email.

 

Question: Is there any reason he has to repeat 9th grade and not advance with his peers? My thinking is that one year may not make that much of a difference when it comes to cognitive ability and if not, why not just let him go up with his friends?

 

I have somewhat the same issue. I homeschool though and my son isn't quite as severe.

 

My son is behind academically. He technically is 9th grade, but academically is probably around a 7th grade level in many subjects, and below that in reading and writing. I wanted him to be 8th grade this year instead of 9th but he would have to be in a different group in our co-op and it would be more difficult for some other activities. I have decided that putting him in 8th or 9th doesn't ultimately matter as he won't magically "get it" if I give him another year.

 

Dawn

[Elizabeth in MN]

As an outsider looking in and not knowing everything I have a few observations. The letter needs to be tightened up a bit. You need to clearly state that you're worried about the backward slide your son seems to be doing in the classroom. It's good to emphasis that you don't blame the current teacher. It'd be great to attach copies of the test results he had from before, when his performance was higher, and the most recent test results. Personally, I'd step away from comparing him to his friends and classmates. Keep the focus on him.

[Catwoman]

I thought you were incredibly polite. The only thing I might have added was a request for a face-to-face meeting with the teacher, to discuss the issues in person. Otherwise, I thought it was excellent.

[SKL]

I do not think you were rude. I think it might have been more effective if, after a brief intro, you simply listed your son's test scores / reading levels over time. Then tell the teacher you would like her help to figure out the problem and fix it. And finally note that you intend for your son to be in x class next year and you want to work together with teacher to make sure he is as well prepared as possible.

 

I also agree with having a face-to-face. But I think it's often a good idea to first email written factual info and your main points of concern / main goals. Personally I do not express / organize my thoughts well in a face-to-face discussion. You also want to give the teacher a chance to ponder your points before the meeting.

 

My only concern is that if your teacher is like my kid's, s/he won't read your email anyway. :/

[LNC]

Thanks for the kind words and replies.

 

A couple responses to questions. Students with mental disabilities are entitled to public education until age 21 (bc of his bday cutoff he will actually go until 22). He will have to repeat grades at some point as he did in 5th grade already.

 

We just had his iep and went over his test scores from many years past. Every year without fail, an earnest OT asks exactly I do with him at home. I should do daily handwriting and typing. Mentions reading practice. All the things they do not do in 8 hours of school time and I do daily. Very irritating.

 

He replied in a nice email. I could go in to talk face to face - but he is the head basketball coach after school and I homeschool during school hours. After that email - there is nothing left to say anyway. Thanks again everyone!