School Meeting

I am a bit behind on posting. Chris and I met with everyone at the school last Thursday. I really think it was a good meeting.

Mr.H, the principal, seems to be awesome. He really cares about the kids and it is easy to see. His attitude is that, while we want to provide assistance to make all children successful, we do not want to provide too much in the way of assistance, so that we make a child dependent on it. I don't know if I worded that exactly right, but I think you can get the gist.

I completely agree with that. Some of the recommendations in the psychologist's report were a little much, I feel. Plus, she was coming from a place where she does not know our school's math curriculum and what she saw as Will not being capable of 5th grade math, was really just an example of Will not having been taught how to do it, yet. Yes, he has major math issues, but the kid could not add mixed fractions because he has never been taught that!

Miss P was there and again, it is so easy to tell how much she cares about the kids. She was very excited to show us that Will had earned an A on his math test that week. He missed one problem and when she showed us why, it was just a typical "Will" mistake. It was a word problem and he pretty much just copied the second number wrong. He got that he needed to subtract, which was good. He just wrote $25.00- $12.00 instead of $25.00- $12.50. He did the math correctly, he just wrote it down wrong, and I guess did not doublecheck it. According to Dr. M, she suggests he be given credit for it because he got the concept correct and did the math correct, he just did not copy it down correctly. I don't really agree with that.

How else is he going to learn? Or is she saying he won't learn. That is just a part of who he is and he is going to miss things like that. So, if he gets the gist of it and performs the functions correctly then he should be given credit. I have mixed feelings, I guess. They certainly are not going to do that for him in high school, maybe not even in middle school. I feel like if we don't make him see where those mistakes are happening and we don't get him in the habit of double checking his work, then those mistakes will continue. Right? But, if the bottom line is that we want him to understand the concept of the problem he is working on, then he demonstrated that he did, maybe he should be given credit. That is a tough one...

So, Mrs. S, the counselor, wanted to know what we will be doing about the ADD and the anxiety. I don't know why, but I felt like she was asking what drugs we will be giving him. Of course, that is not what she said, but I took it that way. I told her that we were going to try other things first, that Will is not a behavior problem, which Miss P. had started the meeting out by saying as well. So, Mrs. S. then asked what tips the psychologist had given us to deal with ADD and the anxiety. I told her I would talk to her about that. Maybe she wasn't fishing for med info, but it felt like it.

Mr. P, the school psychologist, was there, too and he spoke a little about the speech/language pathologist of the school and that any testing they would do would indeed only be in regards to how any impairment might affect Will's school work. But, Mr. H. and Mr. P. agreed to ask her to observe Will in the classroom and share any observations she might have. We are going to stick with that for now and see where that goes.

There are a lot of great options for math help at LIS. There is a group called the Fact Finders Club that meets every morning before school on the 5th grade floor. IT is led by two intervention specialists and they drill the kids on their math facts. They track what they are working on and where they need more assistance and they work them through it. It does not cut into class time or anything. Will started that this morning. I'll be anxious to hear how it goes!

They also offer 'morning intervention' three times a week. I can drop Will off at 7:15 and he goes to the art room. There are 5th grade teachers in there, always a math teacher, plus reading, science and social studies. He can work on homework or just get some extra practice or whatever the teacher sees fit. Miss P. does it every other Tuesday, so we are going to start that tomorrow. My goal is to have him go every Tues and Thurs morning.

Will seems committed to these ideas, which I was really unsure about. I hope it goes well for him, so that it does not turn into a fight. I think it will really help him fill in some of his gaps and prepare him better to learn the new 5th grade curriculum as it is introduced. There is also a 'Math Lab' offered after school, beginning in another week or so. That is another option. I guess we will see how this other stuff goes first and then decide if we need additional help. A tutor is always an option, too.

So, the bottom-line from our meeting. I feel like we are off to a very good start. I am thrilled we did the testing and have shared it with his teachers. I think it will greatly help them help Will throughout this year. Everyone knows now, somewhat, what we are dealing with and can give him the assistance he needs and the encouragement he needs. We are no longer in the dark.

Next step: Visual Processing Evaluation tomorrow.