"As the School Turns"... continuing the saga - talked with Head

[AimeeM]

Wait, what?  Please don't blame yourself!  If this school is promoting itself as school to help with dyslexia, WHY would you needed to have current assessments when enrolling?  I just had my son screened at our homeschool convention with our dyslexia association and they were able to do a fairly good assessment in an hour.  They did recommend that I take him to get the professional assessment afterwards, but it was a good starting point.  It measured reading level and other items.  

 

The first semester should not have taken that much time to figure out how to place her and what to teach her.  They should have a plan in place of how to place students and an assessment ready to give when enrolling or shortly after.   What OG reading program are they using with her?  They should have been able to figure out where she was currently at and where to get started.  

 

I have no clue what they're using. The head tutor uses her own eclectic mix with the students, as far as materials go - I don't know that they use a set program?

They aren't using a reading program with her specifically, because she initially tested high in reading. She is receiving support in writing, and right now that's it. <---- that's why I was honest with the Head yesterday when I mentioned the complete lack of progress, and he said he'd work in a way next year for her to receive the full OG tutoring daily, instead of just the "OG support" she's been getting?

Typing it out makes me even MORE confused :p

[mom2samlibby]

I have no clue what they're using. The head tutor uses her own eclectic mix with the students, as far as materials go - I don't know that they use a set program?

They aren't using a reading program with her specifically, because she initially tested high in reading. She is receiving support in writing, and right now that's it. <---- that's why I was honest with the Head yesterday when I mentioned the complete lack of progress, and he said he'd work in a way next year for her to receive the full OG tutoring daily, instead of just the "OG support" she's been getting?

Typing it out makes me even MORE confused :p

 

Even if she tested high in reading, I'm baffled that a school for dyslexics would not continue on with a daily reading program for a 12 year old.  She is at the age where she would hit a wall with reading because the words would be getting more difficult again.  

 

I know the Barton reading program (OG) is 10 levels and most, after the first two, take many months to a year to complete.  If she were using something like Barton there is no way she would be through a complete program.  

 

I'm so sorry.  It sounds like you have some decisions to make regarding this school.  :(  

[Jean in Newcastle]

I would assume that you had some testing done prior to enrollment or they wouldn't have accepted her in a school specifically for dyslexic children?

 

Either way, testing and placement in appropriate programs should not take an entire semester.  They sound horribly inefficient and with a student body of only 18 kids, that just isn't acceptable.  I would not spend one minute blaming yourself.  

[AimeeM]

I would assume that you had some testing done prior to enrollment or they wouldn't have accepted her in a school specifically for dyslexic children?

 

Either way, testing and placement in appropriate programs should not take an entire semester.  They sound horribly inefficient and with a student body of only 18 kids, that just isn't acceptable.  I would not spend one minute blaming yourself.  

 

:(

I know

[zoobie]

No, the school should've done its own leveling-type testing, and it should not have taken a semester. DD's tutor did her assessment in an hour (maybe two?), then presented a plan of attack. The mix of methods doesn't bother me, as our tutor pulls from several programs in which she is trained, but she has a coherent plan.

 

It sounds like the headmaster is a salesman with big ideas who has no idea what the heck he's doing.

[AimeeM]

No, the school should've done its own leveling-type testing, and it should not have taken a semester. DD's tutor did her assessment in an hour (maybe two?), then presented a plan of attack. The mix of methods doesn't bother me, as our tutor pulls from several programs in which she is trained, but she has a coherent plan.

 

It sounds like the headmaster is a salesman with big ideas who has no idea what the heck he's doing.

 

I didn't realize that's how it worked. I was under the impression that it took much longer to gain an assessment across all skill areas. Thank you - I have a clearer picture, from your own and other similar posts, of where we need to be, what needs to happen, and what is going wrong :(

 

A whole freakin' wasted year. A whole YEAR. Wasted. Gone. I can't give that back to her.

[zoobie]

No, not wasted. You said she made gains in social ways, and that's huge! I'd trade some academics for social outlets around here if I could find a good fit. Just the trip to Boston sounds fantastic for self-esteem and independence!

 

It would take more than an hour or two to assess every academic area. DD's tutor only works on reading, spelling, and a little writing. But every teacher has to assess where her students are at the beginning of the year. An ed psych eval would not tell them where she is on minute subject levels, so absolutely do not accept any blame for not having a "current" report.

 

:grouphug:

[Alessandra]

What can take a longish time is waiting for an appointment to be tested. But the actual tests are relatively short, for example half a day for a WISC, half a day for an achievement test, such as Woodcock Johnson. They can be done on one day or over two days. Then a specialized test or two may be administered, speech being a fairly common area tested. That would be for a complete eval (for someone that does not need OT, PT, psychiatric, genetic, etc).

 

Another consideration is that the place doing the testing has to have (buy, $$$$) the tests and have someone qualified to administer, score and interpret them. It is possible that a small school may not have invested in major assessments, such as Woodcock Johnson or the even more restrictive WISC.

 

However, there are numerous, less expensive tests that can be administered to gauge various aspects of reading, such as decoding, comprehension. For example, one subtest consists of sounding out nonsense words, as one indication of decoding level. Takes maybe 20 minutes? My dc were assessed multiple times throughout the year, as were non classified kids. Assessment gives the teacher an objective way of measuring progress and tailoring the program to the child.

[Halftime Hope]

My kids both had complete assessments with an educational diagnostician.  Because ds1 had processing speed issues, his FULL evaluation which should have taken 5 hours took almost 7, but that was a complete battery of tests that gave the ed. diagnostician a picture of where he was in every skill related to reading, composition, language competency, handwriting, math skills, problem-solving skills, etc.   Again, 7 hours with overtime included.  :-)

 

The local private school here that works with LD children tests in a morning.

 

Aimee, I sincerely hope we are helping and that you don't feel beaten up.  This information is shared to help you make good decisions for your kids.  All the best!

[zoobie]

For the school-level assessments, I was talking about tests teachers and trained tutors are qualified to give. The phonics assessment the tutor used for DD I think was from Wilson (she's certified in Wilson OG methodology). I can't remember the name of the reading fluency assessment that she used. There was a list of about 10 things she did to figure out where to start with tutoring.

 

A psycho-educational battery of tests is a totally different animal. That was spread over two days for my DD and administered by a person with a PhD in ed psych and specially trained to administer these exams. They wouldn't tell you where a child is on a day-to-day basis in various subjects though.

 

That full battery was what I thought Aimee was worried about not having and it hampering her DD's schoolwork, which wouldn't make sense to me. The placement-level assessments (which phonemes she's mastered, reading fluency, etc.) should be able to be done easily and quickly by the school and would not be the parents' responsibility at all.

 

(Just wanted to clarify bc doing the full battery in an hour would be crazypants! :) )

[OneStepAtATime]

Aimee, it looks like from your other thread you are considering homeschooling quite seriously for next year.  If you are, I would urge you not to stop seeking an OG system to help her.  Look at a system like Barton Reading and Spelling to remediate her reading and spelling and writing issues if you cannot find a really GOOD OG tutor.  We went through two "specialists" in dyslexia and realized they were NOT helping.  Their credentials were not actually indicative of their abilities.  We ended up having to do something I could implement on my own with little training.  Barton worked for me because it has training DVD's for the tutor and a very clearly laid out Teacher's Manual.  There are many other systems, though, that might help your daughter.  You might look at High Noon or Wilson, too.  In fact, High Noon coupled with ElizabethB's stuff might work well.

 

It sounds like your daughter had some great experiences and this year gave her some great social outlets. .  You should not feel badly about this year.  Irritated with the great sales pitch Headmaster who actually doesn't seem to have a very effective school, yes, but do NOT blame yourself or see this as a completely lost year.  Take a breather then move forward.  It will be o.k.

 

 I would urge you to do a lot of research.  Read the threads on the Learning Challenges Board.  Read the books that I mentioned upthread.  Check out the websites that I linked upthread.  Get up to speed on various ways to help your daughter so no one can sell you another bill of goods.  Your daughter will be o.k.  She is a bright girl lucky enough to have a wonderful mom who is trying to help her the best she can.  And that's huge.  :)

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

[AimeeM]

She actually made great progress with Apples and Pears before she went to the school, and she really enjoyed IEW for the short time we did it before she went. I'm hoping to continue with those programs - Apples and Pears especially was a huge hit.

 

I thank all of your for your kind, yet blunt, assessments. You are all correct in those assessments of the school - I'm not sure why I should believe it would change next year, and even if it DID, it doesn't make up for the lost academic year (you all are also right in that it was NOT a lost social year for her - she had a blast). I feel completely overwhelmed right now, and I'm not sure WHAT we're doing next year.

Aimee, it looks like from your other thread you are considering homeschooling quite seriously for next year.  If you are, I would urge you not to stop seeking an OG system to help her.  Look at a system like Barton Reading and Spelling to remediate her reading and spelling and writing issues if you cannot find a really GOOD OG tutor.  We went through two "specialists" in dyslexia and realized they were NOT helping.  Their credentials were not actually indicative of their abilities.  We ended up having to do something I could implement on my own with little training.  Barton worked for me because it has training DVD's for the tutor and a very clearly laid out Teacher's Manual.  There are many other systems, though, that might help your daughter.  You might look at High Noon or Wilson, too.  In fact, High Noon coupled with ElizabethB's stuff might work well.

 

It sounds like your daughter had some great experiences and this year gave her some great social outlets. .  You should not feel badly about this year.  Irritated with the great sales pitch Headmaster who actually doesn't seem to have a very effective school, yes, but do NOT blame yourself or see this as a completely lost year.  Take a breather then move forward.  It will be o.k.

 

 I would urge you to do a lot of research.  Read the threads on the Learning Challenges Board.  Read the books that I mentioned upthread.  Check out the websites that I linked upthread.  Get up to speed on various ways to help your daughter so no one can sell you another bill of goods.  Your daughter will be o.k.  She is a bright girl lucky enough to have a wonderful mom who is trying to help her the best she can.  And that's huge.   :)

 

:grouphug:  :grouphug:  :grouphug:

 

[OneStepAtATime]

I am so sorry things are so goofed up right now.  Apples and Pears and IEW sound great, if you choose to homeschool again. It sounds like your daughter would like to remain at the school.  But I would have serious concerns if it honestly took them months to come up with an effective plan and she has made little progress.  That is not your error at all.  It is theirs.  They are supposed to be a specialized school for kids with this specific learning difference.  They should have been able to come up with an effective plan the first week she was there and implemented it within a short time of starting.  And if it wasn't working they should have been able to reassess and determine what might need adjusting well before Christmas.  Certainly waiting until the end of the year, with you mentioning withdrawal is NOT acceptable IMHO.

 

 DD and DS were at the specialized school we sent our kids to for only a summer and the teachers had effective ideas on specific individual plans for both kids within a few days of arriving.   They sent updates every day to us by e-mail and had parent teacher conferences any time we wanted.  The teachers were very clear on what they were doing in the classroom and why.  If we could have kept them there for the regular school year I would have done it in a heartbeat because they were so in tune with each child.  No two children were on the exact same plan for accommodations and remediation and yet they were still able to operate as a team in their classrooms..  And the teachers were able to implement those plans immediately, not months into school.  These plans were not based on IEPs or 504s sent in by the parents.  They did on site reviews of each student and determined where a good starting place would be for each student in each subject.  There were far more students to deal with, too.   

 

Maybe you can make this school work but they truly sound far more incompetent than I would be comfortable with.  Maybe if you talk to the teachers and the Headmaster directly, perhaps have individual meetings and then a group meeting, to try and determine if the school could still work, that might help with the decision.    I know this is a difficult position for you to be in.  I hope you find a path that works for you and your daughter.  Best wishes.