Summer School and Writing Labs - When the IEP Isn't Enough

[lizzywednesday]

DD has been struggling intensely in ELA this year.

I don't know if it's the fact that 6th grade ELA was a double-period and 7th isn't or if she's taking advantage of the Special Ed teacher in her integrated classroom ("integrated" in this case means there are kids who need IEP and 504 Plan accommodations as well as kids who don't) or if she's just being a stubborn teenager or what.

But, bottom line, it looks like she will fail ELA for the year.

I have been meeting and emailing with her teachers all year; I have been in near-constant contact with her case manager; I have just asked (AGAIN) for a Writing Lab, as well as summer school because taking two ELA courses at once in 8th grade would absolutely break her.

On the district website, they have summer school info from 2022 ... and not only is it all online but it's also $$$ and neither of that will work for us.

Sent an email to her case manager; she's OOO today (fine, NBD) and asked again about writing lab & who I need to write to in order to get one at the middle school.

But, holy crap, this shouldn't be so hard!

Anyone have any advice about getting in-person summer school set up? What about writing lab? Tutoring? The only caveat is that it absolutely cannot be online.

[georgiegirl]

Ask if she qualifies for ESY services.

Does she have ELA goals on her IEP? If so and she is failing ELA, I assume she’s qualify for ESY

[DualvansMommy]

Has she always struggled with ELA or it is just this year? If it’s been ongoing issue beyond current grade, what does her IEP say?

She’s 5th grade and about to go in 6th grade or 6th grade currently? What grade does middle school start for kids in your district? I’ll say this for my oldest son, he started middle school this past September and ELA was a subject he struggled and staying on top of it. Part of it is time management due to lots of changes from dealing with new structure of middle school, expectations etc. also that he doesn’t enjoy his double period ELA and teacher herself too. Around Xmas time he was slipping, so school started offering resource period daily instead just once a week which helped some. He improved and now just for 3rd marking period, he slipped again so his school is offering small group tutoring 2x a week for 10 weeks.

We signed him up for that and it’s 3rd week so far. Grades went up significantly.

Any chance you can do private tutoring? I would call the guidance office Monday and ask about summer school tutoring.


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[lizzywednesday]

Ask if she qualifies for ESY services.

I'll rephrase when I finally connect with her case manager, then.

Does she have ELA goals on her IEP? If so and she is failing ELA, I assume she’s qualify for ESY

Yes, she has ELA goals on her IEP. She's not meeting them; she was on track to improve, but MP2 and MP3 were absolute disasters.

[lizzywednesday]

Has she always struggled with ELA or it is just this year? If it’s been ongoing issue beyond current grade, what does her IEP say?

IEP has accommodations for breaking assignments into their component parts, allows her to use speech-to-text plugin/software, allows her extra time (if needed), etc., so achieving the core competencies for ELA should not be a problem if the teachers are implementing the accommodations.

Of course, DD also has to cooperate with them and she has been a real pain in the rear this year - throwing fits, refusing to work, crying, etc. - so IDK what the heck is going on.

She’s 5th grade and about to go in 6th grade or 6th grade currently? What grade does middle school start for kids in your district? I’ll say this for my oldest son, he started middle school this past September and ELA was a subject he struggled and staying on top of it. Part of it is time management due to lots of changes from dealing with new structure of middle school, expectations etc. also that he doesn’t enjoy his double period ELA and teacher herself too. Around Xmas time he was slipping, so school started offering resource period daily instead just once a week which helped some. He improved and now just for 3rd marking period, he slipped again so his school is offering small group tutoring 2x a week for 10 weeks.

Middle school here is 6/7/8. She's in 7th going into 8th.

She has always struggled with ELA because she struggles with expressive language and, due to ADHD, executive function skills like ... planning an essay.

It would be AMAZING if the school district would offer tutoring at school because she'd already be on site (etc) but they don't. There're high schoolers who offer it at the local library, but I don't know that that's enough for DD. She needs adults with educational degrees evaluating what's blocking her mentally, not a sweet high schooler looking to get volunteer experience, KWIM?

...

Any chance you can do private tutoring? I would call the guidance office Monday and ask about summer school tutoring.

I have a friend from high school who teaches middle school ELA and who does tutoring on the side, but she lives too far to help us regularly. I think she and DD would be a good fit for each other, but obviously she's not an option due to distance.

We're in a weird place financially; DH is simultaneously b!tching about the cost of my recent birthday dinner but also he wants to buy a camper van, so no idea if he'd pay for anything.

[sariana]

Disclaimer: I'm a former English teacher (still in education).

You say you've been meeting with the teacher all year. Has the teacher offered alternative ways for your DD to show competency? If writing is difficult, can she give an oral response? Or a visual representation? What skills have been assessed, and in what ways is she being assessed? Just essays? Tests? Class participation?

Unfortunately some teachers are just not a good fit for some students. It sounds as though your DD needs a class that offers a multitude of ways to access the content and a variety of ways to show understanding of the standards. Many teachers follow a set path and do not provide alternative means for students to show growth.

I agree with PP that you should ask about ESY and/or regular summer school PAID FOR BY THE DISTRICT. One advantage to "remedial" (sorry for using that word) summer school is that ideally the teacher will craft a course knowing that the students enrolled did not find success in their traditional classes during the year. So the teacher(s) should be prepared to offer a different approach for those students. But that's in an ideal world, so...

You should reiterate to the school that it is their legal responsibility to provide a "FREE and APPROPRIATE Public Education" to your DD, and they need to find a method that works. The financial responsibility is on them.

[hillview]

has she been tested for language based learning disabilities?

[lizzywednesday]

Disclaimer: I'm a former English teacher (still in education).

You say you've been meeting with the teacher all year. Has the teacher offered alternative ways for your DD to show competency? If writing is difficult, can she give an oral response? Or a visual representation? What skills have been assessed, and in what ways is she being assessed? Just essays? Tests? Class participation?

Assessments are multiple-choice tests (vocabulary follow-ups) and essays as well as class participation; I don't know what else, but I never thought to ask.

DD has accommodations in her IEP that allow her to use verbal composition (speech-to-text) for written assignments, but she has been refusing to use it. Also in her IEP are accommodations to break assignments up into smaller chunks, meet for 1:1 assistance during independent work time, and

She has also used crying, slamming her Chromebook shut, and other avoidance tactics to not begin assignments ... and refusal to work at all in class has been a constant theme. This year alone, she has blamed another classmate for not using any of her interventions, which is ... A Choice ... and an excuse.

She has always struggled with getting her thoughts down on the page; it doesn't seem to matter who the teacher is.

Unfortunately some teachers are just not a good fit for some students. It sounds as though your DD needs a class that offers a multitude of ways to access the content and a variety of ways to show understanding of the standards. Many teachers follow a set path and do not provide alternative means for students to show growth.

The thing is, this is already in her IEP.

She's in "integrated" classes which means there's a General Ed teacher and a Special Ed teacher who monitor the class, make themselves available for assistance, and teach lessons.

Her failures this year have nothing to do with a lack of ability and everything to do with a lack of accepting the accommodations and supports that are in place for her; my frustration stems from asking, probably not in the right words, for a WRITING LAB so that she learns different strategies that work with the way her brain works to get started on assignments, learn how to keep objectives at the front of her mind, and learn how to do the hard stuff so that she's not screaming, crying, hurling herself down on the classroom floor, running away, or slamming her computer closed and refusing to work.

She does the same kinds of things at home when she doesn't get her way; DH gives in to keep the peace, which I see as not backing me up.

I'm exhausted - emotionally and physically - but I'm a lot more likely to follow through on loss of privilege and device confiscation, or what "grounded" means. He's ... a softie and she knows how to manipulate him.

I agree with PP that you should ask about ESY and/or regular summer school PAID FOR BY THE DISTRICT. One advantage to "remedial" (sorry for using that word) summer school is that ideally the teacher will craft a course knowing that the students enrolled did not find success in their traditional classes during the year. So the teacher(s) should be prepared to offer a different approach for those students. But that's in an ideal world, so...

You should reiterate to the school that it is their legal responsibility to provide a "FREE and APPROPRIATE Public Education" to your DD, and they need to find a method that works. The financial responsibility is on them.

We may end up pulling her out of the local public and putting her into a specialized school (on the district's dime) after this.

I'll have to ask my SIL for help with that because she went on a JOURNEY for the same kind of thing with my nephew AT (he's 2E - AuDHD and beyond genius level intelligence, with a dash of old-fashioned anxiety) but his current school is a way better fit for him than even the public school was.

[lizzywednesday]

has she been tested for language based learning disabilities?

Other than an expressive speech delay, no, but I've read in a few places that expressive speech delay can also impact the same areas of the brain used in writing, which, added to the ADHD, is a bunch of executive function deficits in the middle of a bigger issue.

Needless to say, it's never crossed my mind that she might have something else, but I've also been more focused on getting her accommodations for her ADHD in the past couple of years that it rather crowded everything else out.

[hillview]

Other than an expressive speech delay, no, but I've read in a few places that expressive speech delay can also impact the same areas of the brain used in writing, which, added to the ADHD, is a bunch of executive function deficits in the middle of a bigger issue.

Needless to say, it's never crossed my mind that she might have something else, but I've also been more focused on getting her accommodations for her ADHD in the past couple of years that it rather crowded everything else out.

I feel for you. Both mine have unique needs. I found a complete neuropsych helped but they are not cheap to have done -- schools will do some (not all) of this testing. It sounds like she has a lot going on. I found focusing on 1-2 things (with DS2) was at times all I could do. DS2 is in mainstream school and pulling a 2.5 GPA freshman year -- up from a 2.0 last tri -- so middling but successful; he was at one point doing OT, SLP, Tutoring, and therapy. He has none of that now. Hang in there and take care of yourself. You are doing a lot.