Two weeks ago we had S's IEP Meeting. While it hasn't been the easiest year, he had been holding his own. He's learning to read and write and doing well. He was getting along with everyone. While he still gives me a hard time doing homework, he's able to complete it with me. I met with his fabulous teacher, Ms. C. regularly. She went above and beyond.
So I walked into the his IEP meeting two weeks ago, thinking that he would be in special ed again, with his current teacher (it is a Kindergarten and 1st grade class). This is what we discussed and if you have gone through the yearly IEP Meetings, you know that you pretty much get what you expect — or at least, that's been my experience.
The meeting started off pretty much how I thought, with the exception that his therapists kept saying how smart he was. That touched me, especially because when S was evaluated initially when he was 2 1/2, they said his IQ was very low. Like borderline retardation. Now I knew that wasn't the case, but it was heartbreaking to me and I chose to ignore that. To hear that everyone now knew that he was a smart kid, in spite of his focus and behavioral issues, was frankly amazing.
And then I heard this. "We recommend a ICT Class next year for S, with his own para."
An ICT Class in our school district is made up of special education kids and regular education kids, with two teachers (one special ed, one regular ed), and several paraprofessionals. My older son and my daughter have been in ICT classes since Kindergarten in our public school (and yes, they both have special needs too). The kids in the class don't know who is special ed and who is classified as regular ed and the support in the class is incredible. My little guy gets this next year — I am so thrilled. I actually spoke about this in my #nycvloggers vlog last week.
But then something happened the next day. I got a call that his teacher was removed from his class. I don’t know the reason and I don’t think it was her fault, but I am heartbroken. She was the reason that he has gone up. She was the reason that he’s writing. She’s the reason that he’s trying to read. She used music to get him interested in different subjects, for example, she used songs from Flocabulary to reinforce math concepts.
So while I am so happy about his class for next year, I am just devastated about losing his teacher.
As I predicted, he’s been going downhill since he left. And I have spoken to the administration. There has been a revolving door of subs in his classroom and he’s been angry. I've been angry. I am hoping that he can start going back upwards.
So excited for him and you, but so sad that he lost his teacher. Change is hard on young ones especially when it's someone who really understands them. I hope you get some consistency soon.