Are we being counseled out?
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Anonymous
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Last fall, DD broke her leg at school. Obviously this was pretty traumatic and time consuming as far as doctor's appointments. She's in PT now.
We just received an email stating that her tardies and early dismissals are becoming a problem, and admin has requested a meeting. I completely understand she needs to be in school. However... 1. Pre-school PT isn't an option. School starts at 8:30, PT clinic opens at 8. 2. School goes until 3 pm. By the time I pick her up and drive her to the clinic, we're limited to 4pm appointments. I don't need to tell you how hard THOSE are to get! 3. She broke her leg at school after being pushed off a piece of playground equipment. So, how concerned should we be that they're going to push us out? We've already signed next year's contract. |
Anonymous
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Honestly, they probably need to hear everything you just said. They might have some alternative options for you.
If they give you a hard time, find a disabilities rights advocate to help you navigate. How much longer do you anticipate them needing PT? |
Anonymous
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I would come to the meeting asking if they had any recommendations on how to get your DD the services she needs for recovery from the accident that occurred at school.
Do they have any resources to support PT during the school day? Ask them if they have recommendations to support her. Counseling out typically occurs before contracts are signed. |
Anonymous
| Find a new PT place. This is the DMV, not rural America. We're dealing with this post surgery with my teen, and while the first appts were at odd times, when I booked far enough out, I got 5pm, 5:30 and 5:45 appts. There are clinics with evening hours. |
Anonymous
We're no longer in the DMV. There's one PT place who takes peds in our small city (on the other side of town from school), and they close at 5! |
Anonymous
This is a good idea. Thanks. |
Anonymous
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I wouldn't assume that. Do you otherwise have contentious relations with the admin/teachers? The accident happening at school doesn't matter, unless you are treating the whole situation like the school should not trouble you in any way since you feel like it is their fault. That kind of attitude would absolutely put you at odds with them,
Also, I get it about traffic and 4pm appointments. It sucks. My child has a weekly therapy appointment at 3:30pm and it is 30 mins away from school, so I have to pick kid up 15 mins early right before carpool once weekly. It stinks and being 3 mins late can mean getting caught in the the 3pm traffic wave and then make us 10+ mins late to the therapy appointment. It blows. It sounds like your DD does not have a regular PT schedule, with some appointments in the morning and some in the afternoons. That IS disruptive, to both the child, the teacher, and sometimes the entire class, depending on the kid and the dynamics. I would suggest working with the PT to get a very regular schedule. How many times weekly does she go? How much have you communicated with the school about her needs? If they don't have all the info, I would bet they are thinking you are slacking and just coming late some mornings and blaming it on PT, as I would bet they are thinking multiple PT appointments weekly 6 months after an accident seems strange. If it is totally warranted, get a note from the doctor and PT. Bring it to the meeting. See what they have to say. |
Anonymous
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Your points are important to raise with the school. I don't think they are preparing to counsel you out if you already signed next year's contract. My guess is they want to discuss whether there are ways your child can better balance getting full instruction time with attending PT.
Do you only have one option for PT? The place I went to has hours from 7 AM to 7 PM. It may would be worth looking into switching to a different PT. I'm not sure if locale and reason for the accident are relevant to whether your child is falling behind due to missed school, unless you are expecting more leeway because the injury happened at school. Also, this post is likely very identifying. |
Anonymous
I think we gave them a ton of grace, considering they let the middle schoolers on the equipment with no supervision because "they're old enough." Well, yeah, they're old enough not to fall off. They can still misbehave. Anyway, there were no threats of lawsuits or whatever - we even signed a new contract. She does have a regular PT schedule (once a week at this point - accident was in late November), but it was the school's suggestion that we start staggering so she didn't miss the same class every week. I was on board with that, but maybe it was the wrong solution? It sounds like their issue is with her leaving at all, though. |
Anonymous
We left the DMV a few years ago, so probably not. |
Anonymous
| You tell the PT office she needs the latest appointment of the day. They will work with you. I would not have my kid missing school weekly in middle school. Ridiculous. |
Anonymous
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What would supervision have changed? I know firsthand that children can accidentally get injured on a playground under the nose of an adult.
It sounds like you have grievances with the school over this regardless of the present meeting. May be best to separate and have your child start fresh somewhere else. That's what a classmate of mine did back in the day after getting injured at one of the elite DC private schools through her own fault. |
Anonymous
Then why are you posting here about this issue? Everyone responding assumes DMV area, which would moot any issue of early/late PT appointments. |
Anonymous
"Through her own fault" is much different than "was pushed." |
Anonymous
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