YOU GUYS! DO YOU HEAR THOSE SOUNDS?
It's the sound of a host of angels singing "Hallelujah". It's the sound of a million people applauding. It's the sound of rainbows in my classroom and unicorns running free through the fields. It's the sound of my feet as I jump up and down with excitement.
Because that meeting I was telling you about in my previous post? That meeting went well. So well, in fact, that "Jose" is finally going to get the help he needs by going to a behavior unit on a different campus. He's scheduled to leave the last week in March, right after we get back from Spring Break.
We met with the psychologist (who is a different person than the incompetent "behavior specialist" who's been out here a few times already). She took one look at the stack of documentation I'd been keeping since September (all 24 pages!) and her eyes widened. She said most schools barely hand her two pages. She flipped through it. She went through his official file. She listened to our list of failed interventions. She formally recommended him for a behavior unit.
And I was so excited, it was all I could do to stop myself from peeing my pants. She even said that we should have called her directly a long time ago (but let's not focus on that: better he gets the help late rather than never). The principal even complimented me on my excellent documentation because we couldn't have made our case without it. And my colleagues asked me when we were going to go out and celebrate!
My face hurts from smiling.
7 comments:
HURRAY HURRAY HURRAY!!! I feel your joy and relief! Love you, Mom
HURRAY HURRAY HURRAY!! I feel your joy and relief!! Love you, Mom
That's great news!
Congrats!!
Do you think some (or all) of his behavior could be linked to communication struggles? If he is 10 and still in a self-contained oral classroom, he is clearly severely language delayed. Is he frustrated by his lack of fluent, easy, accessible language?
Miss Kat's Parents,
You asked an excellent question! With students who are learning to be oral, there can often be behavior problems as a result of the language delay. In "Jose's" case, however, he is quite high functioning in terms of his communication. He is mainstreamed all day except for two hours of pull-out reading remediation. His primary disability is also "emotionally impaired" which was playing a major role in his behavior.
So in his case, going to a behavior unit where he can work on his aggression and gain needed social skills is going to be a much better placement for him. He will still get support from a speech-language pathologist as well as a teacher trained in oral methods for his other needs.
Yay. Hopefully life will be easier. It is so hard to have kids in inappropriate placements!
~JO
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