imagine.more Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 I know some of you have very successfully transitioned your kids with special needs to public schools to access the vocational training and social opportunities and I'd love more info on how you went about doing that. DD14 is going into 8th grade and is reading pretty well now and making steady process in math. She was totally illiterate 3 years ago so I feel like this is a ton of progress. But, I just talked to the high school in our new county and they require Algebra I from ALL Eighth Grade students, unless they are in a self-contained SPED classroom. DD14 is definitely not ready for Algebra I. I mean, can they drag her through with tons of "accommodations" and get a passing grade? Maybe. But will she understand any of it and be able to move on to their required Geometry in 9th grade? Heck no! I really want her to be able to go to a school out of the home next year. I'm burnt out and DS7 really needs a much more rigorous curriculum and more attention from me. Plus I'd like DD to make some friends that are on her level and get used to coping more independently. So if you did a brick and mortar high school how did it go? What was your child's course of study? Did they just stay in the self-contained SPED classes all day or were they allowed to do partial SPED and partial general ed? Did they get a regular diploma? I feel like DD is in this no-man's land of not needing to be told how to buy potatoes at the grocery store but also not able to handle quadratic equations. Why is there nothing in between those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 What about a private school? Does it have to be that school or would she have options for votech, etc.? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lecka Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 It is about 2 months until the end of this school year. See what you can visit in the next two months. See who you can talk to. Can you network with anybody. I think you need to try to find out options NOW b/c you won't be able to actually see what different placements are like unless you go and visit now while school is still in. I would try to see what possible placements are and then talk to those teachers. It is really, really common ime to hear of blanket statements like "everyone takes Algebra in 8th grade" and then find out, it is not nearly as blanket as it sounds. So I would not take that to heart right now, no matter who told you. People who are not attending IEP meetings have no clue of what IEP goals kids have. They do know the general guidelines but may really be unaware of the many individual situations. Keep in mind also, privacy guidelines are very, very strict with school personnel. If you can go to any kind of parent group or network with a parent, you are not bound by the privacy guidelines the way a school is! It makes a big difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OneStepAtATime Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Agree with Lecka, there may be options the person you talked to was unaware of. Work on this now, while school is still in session. Find out what it would take to maybe have her in normal classes for everything but math. Maybe you could get approval to pull her out during her math class for one on one tutoring, either with you or with a tutor? And I also agree, look at other schools. See if there are other possibilities for school besides this school. :grouphug: :grouphug: :grouphug: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 (edited) Here,there are no options. You either take a full diploma load including algebra, chemistry, etc, OR you get a ",certificate of attendance". I'm disgusted that we have no options for our kids! My dd won't be able to do a regular diploma, but she can do a lot more & should get a better education & diploma than what my non verbal, infant level development child would get. School expects you to be able to do the full load (with resource room support) or nothing. Grrr. We do have half day vo tech programs, but not till 11/12 grade. They are not special Ed classes. (I just posted about this topic in the SN discussion group too) Edited March 29, 2016 by Hilltopmom 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imagine.more Posted March 29, 2016 Author Share Posted March 29, 2016 This is the public school for our new home and my DH makes very little so we have nothing left for private school. We barely have money for homeschooling for the next year or two. :( I totally agree about looking into this right now because you're right school is in session now so we can see what it's really like. The SPED director seemed to assume we were enrolling DD and just talked about requirements vs what they could offer DD. I think tomorrow I will call the counselor or someone to set up a school tour for a few weeks from now. Then I'll tell whoever schedules that about DD's special needs and ask to see and discuss various placement options 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heathermomster Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 A friend's 10th grader is enrolled through school online but attends the ps daily for the vocational classes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom28GreatKids Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 (edited) Is there a career center in the county? That may be something to check into. Also, I agree to do some checking. Just because they call it Algebra doesn't mean it is what you and I think of, kwim? Because of national mandates, the SE teachers I know have had to be rather creative in how they meet the standards. Hope you find something that works. Edited March 30, 2016 by Mom28GreatKids 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterPan Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 You already know this, but you should write and request they begin the IEP now. That way it's ready to go in the fall. Otherwise they'll spend the whole stupid school year wasted in the IEP process. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
imagine.more Posted March 29, 2016 Author Share Posted March 29, 2016 OhElizabeth, yes that is one big positive to this school...thd SPED director was all over starting the process immediately and wanted to guarantee that everything would be ready to go by august 15th, the first day of school for fall. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hilltopmom Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Re- private school.. If you happen to live in an area with private schools specifically for kids with LDs, your public school can pay for her to attend &'bus her there, it if they don't have an appropriate placement for her. They can also send her to a neighboring district if they can't meet her needs & you don't have any private schools that will work. They won't want to pay for this, btw;) but they have to provide a FAPE. We are about to start this process, I think. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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