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planning for a meeting asking for accommodations


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I'm considering having my older kids (13, 10, & 8 ) go to a private school next year.  The school uses A.C.E. which is a workbook curriculum that's reading intensive.  My older two have done through Barton 8 and the 8 YO is in the middle of Barton 7 with a tutor.  13 YO is a pretty good reader, and the other two are decent readers (better than some of the kids who go to the school! some undiagnosed dyslexia maybe??)  Anyway, I'd like to set up a meeting with the head of the school and request some accommodations, specifically asking that my kids can skip the spelling curriculum since they've done/are doing Barton, and asking that their work be graded by a teacher instead of them self-grading it as students are typically required to do (then the work is re-checked by a teacher afterwards).   I'm looking for short videos and/or printed material that would support what I'm asking for--something on why typical spelling curriculums don't work for dyslexics and why it's not reasonable to expect them to be good spellers after Barton, and something on dyslexics and attention to detail or proofreading. 

I think it's pretty unlikely that the school will be willing to offer any accommodations, but I'd at least like to ask and see.  Public school is not an option and all the private schools around here use A.C.E. so it's this or continue homeschooling.

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Typically you have to have documentation stating the disabilities and what accommodations should be offered to level the playing field for a learner with disabilities.  Do your students learn best by reading and then answering written questions?  Is the teacher basically a proctor in the room to be sure they complete a workbook assignment? 

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If a cs doesn't take public funds, they have zero obligation. Schools use ACE or Abeka video school because they don't have the funds for proper teachers. It sounds like you already recognize the curriculum is a poor fit. The things I've been told about it are pretty terrible. You would do IMMENSELY better to homeschool. 

If you need an open and go, highly structured option to make life go better, Abeka video school can work. Don't do it for everything. Pick 3 subjects and do the LA yourself, something like that. Their LA is fine too, but maybe do that with them yourself given that it's a disability area.

My friends who have many kids (not me, haha) do typically find some kind of backbone like that, even if their kids have some disabilities. The backbone (Abeka video, BJU video, whatever) gets them 80% of the way there and then they pull out or tweak for the disability. 

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So, a lot of how ACE works or doesn't is about the environment, etc. How supportive the monitors are able to be. That said, a lot of schools that do ACE have some vibes that would NOT work for our family. I know people who did super well with ACE (in fields that require advanced degrees, started college early, etc.) and some who do not.

I think the thing to remember is that they aren't compelled by law to do anything, so be sure you think they aren't just agreeing to things in order to up their enrollment but count on you not being picky. 

understood.org might have what you are looking for. It's intended to help parents understand the issues and advocate for them. 

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I know they have no obligation to provide accomodations.  My kids don't have formal diagnoses and they aren't likely to as DH isn't interested in them.  I doubt a piece of paper from a neuropsych with recommendations is going to make any difference to the school anyway.  The church we go to runs the school so I know the people who run it pretty well (small church). 

Maybe I just won't bother.  The more I think about it the more ridiculous it seems for me to even ask (not that what I'd ask for is ridiculous, but I think that's how they'd see it).  I think I'd get some polite non-committal responses about how if my kids struggle they'll see what they can do. 

I just need life in general to be easier.  It's summer, we're doing no school, and I am still in total burnout mode.  The only way I see of feeling less burned out is to have less kids around all day, and the only way to do that is to send some to school.

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1 minute ago, caedmyn said:

Maybe I just won't bother.  The more I think about it the more ridiculous it seems for me to even ask (not that what I'd ask for is ridiculous, but I think that's how they'd see it).  I think I'd get some polite non-committal responses about how if my kids struggle they'll see what they can do. 

Or worse yet they'll go into judging mode, sigh. Btdt. Most dangerous thing you can do is ask for HELP in some churches. Not every church. But in the churches I've attended, yes. Then they start piping up with the things they've been thinking all along about you and opinions and on and on. 

3 minutes ago, caedmyn said:

I just need life in general to be easier. 

It totally makes sense. Fwiw, I think the woman's vote has to count at least as much as the man's in marriage with homeschooling. It cannot be that he decides everything and vetoes, vetoes, vetoes. Figure out what you think is right and make it happen.

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10 hours ago, caedmyn said:

I just need life in general to be easier.  It's summer, we're doing no school, and I am still in total burnout mode.  The only way I see of feeling less burned out is to have less kids around all day, and the only way to do that is to send some to school.

I think sending some to school is a fantastic idea. Life needs to get easier.

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17 hours ago, caedmyn said:

I know they have no obligation to provide accomodations.  My kids don't have formal diagnoses and they aren't likely to as DH isn't interested in them.  I doubt a piece of paper from a neuropsych with recommendations is going to make any difference to the school anyway.  The church we go to runs the school so I know the people who run it pretty well (small church). 

Maybe I just won't bother.  The more I think about it the more ridiculous it seems for me to even ask (not that what I'd ask for is ridiculous, but I think that's how they'd see it).  I think I'd get some polite non-committal responses about how if my kids struggle they'll see what they can do. 

I just need life in general to be easier.  It's summer, we're doing no school, and I am still in total burnout mode.  The only way I see of feeling less burned out is to have less kids around all day, and the only way to do that is to send some to school.

I think it's worth a try, honestly. If you think the environment is positive, and you are in total burnout, then getting a year off is going to be positive. It gives you a year to regroup.

I don't know if public school is on the table where you are or a different Christian school or a charter school...

17 hours ago, PeterPan said:

Or worse yet they'll go into judging mode, sigh. Btdt. Most dangerous thing you can do is ask for HELP in some churches. Not every church. But in the churches I've attended, yes. Then they start piping up with the things they've been thinking all along about you and opinions and on and on. 

It totally makes sense. Fwiw, I think the woman's vote has to count at least as much as the man's in marriage with homeschooling. It cannot be that he decides everything and vetoes, vetoes, vetoes. Figure out what you think is right and make it happen.

1st bolded, BTDT.

2nd, agreed.

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I have found surprisingly qualified people through Care.com, so that would be a place to try for the tutors Heather is talking about. Sometimes people are licensed teachers but have reasons they're not working in a school. I found one recently who had moved into the area, was a licensed teacher (maybe an intervention specialist, I forget), and she only wanted around $30-40 an hour. In our area that's a STEAL. And yes, she had spent the school year teaching one boy with autism at home for his homeschooling. 

So Heather's actually right on that, that if you shift the dollars there might be someone. And that's how I find people like that, through Care.com. Also, it's sad, but teachers are paid low enough that main teachers and school workers will work more hours in the evenings. So you might find you can get a worker from say 3-5pm to come in and bang out your LA and math with a bunch of kids. I know multiple school professionals doing this. You may have to pay $50+ an hour, but they're gonna come in and bring it. They have the skill and they need the $$.

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This school only charges cost of materials so it is very inexpensive (teachers are all volunteer).  We are looking at hiring someone to watch the younger kids in the mornings while I teach the older ones next year, so that would be a help.  My 2 kids that are still doing Barton are both working with an online tutor for their reading lessons.  The older 3 will all be doing Teaching Textbooks for math next year so I won't have to do much with that.

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3 hours ago, caedmyn said:

This school only charges cost of materials so it is very inexpensive (teachers are all volunteer).  

Wow! Are the teachers people whose kids are attending? So, I don't know homeschool and private school laws in your state, but is this a hybrid option? I am not sure if your plan to hire help with the littles is because you are ditching the private school plan, or if you intend to school some kids anyway or all the school-age kids part-time...

If they aren't legally responsible to educate your kids from A-Z, maybe they wouldn't mind doing fewer subjects (no spelling), and the added work of checking the kids' work vs. the kids checking their work could be spun as a way to avoid extra work in the long-run. Just a thought.

I am glad to hear that you have some other options you are considering, such as hiring help, etc. It would be well-deserved help for you!!! 

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