Seeking parents of children with DS/SN who attend Woodrow Wilson High Schoool

[Anonymous]

Blunt again,

This is tricky. On one hand, you're absolutely right, a kid who is able to handle an inclusive co-taught science class, isn't in their LRE if they're in a self-contained science class.

On the other hand, the way that the DCPS special ed drop downs are written, when you create an IEP you have the following options for specialized instruction.

Math "in general ed", Math "out of gen ed"
Reading "in general ed", Reading "out of gen ed"
Writing "in general ed", Writing "out of gen ed"
Specialized Instruction (e.g. with no subject specified) "in general ed", Specialized instruction "out of gen ed"

There are no options for science, social studies, technology, world language, or the arts.

The result is, that if you write an IEP thinking that your child will get Math and Resource out of general ed, and English, Science and Social Studies in gen ed, the resource will be written in a way that lets them substitute a Science or Social Studies class instead, and you will have little recourse. Similarly they can administer the hours you intended for Social Studies in P.E, and still be within the letter of the law.

Furthermore, DCPS feels that in order for specialized instruction to be delivered, all that has to happen is for instruction to be modified by a special ed teacher. That special ed teacher doesn't have to actually be present. Now, in theory I agree with this, in the sense that if a special ed teacher is co-teaching a reading class (just an example) and she's pulling her kids in dyads or small groups, and then sending them back to independent work with modified worksheets, a book that's related to the lesson she just taught, and perhaps a modified task list or behavior checklist to monitor their behavior, then yes, I'd argue that they're getting specialized instruction the whole time, even when they're not at her table. However, DCPS takes this way too far. They'll argue that if a special ed teacher gave the general ed teacher some general suggestions such as "get her the textbook on tape" or "have another student give her notes", that's specialized instruction even if the special educator never steps foot in the room, or adapts the materials.

Now, you could probably get an attorney, and could probably argue that your daughter is being deprived of her right to LRE. But then what? Generally when families win at hearing in DC, they look for private school placement, but if you're arguing that you want her in an inclusive class, then you probably aren't going to be happy with a private school where 100% of the kids have IEP's, and even if you would be happy, you'd have trouble convincing a hearing officer that the solution to LRE is to move her to a more restrictive placement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was just told by Wilson that [b]there is no inclusion in science and history classes across the district (only in math and English),[b] so that all students with an IEP must take those subjects in a self-contained classroom. My understanding of LRE is that if a student gains academic benefit from being in a regular class with accommodations (i.e., special ed teacher support), than that is the correct LRE placement. Has anyone dealt with this issue?

Hi--call me "Blunt #2"

I'm also a special education, but more familiar with Fairfax County. My concern is bolded above: in my interpretation of the law and the basic rules of a good IEP, there should never be a statement made of that nature ("we don't provide inclusion here", etc). If a child is participating in a reasonable amount of the general education curriculum (unless they are significantly below grade level--as in 3-5 years below their peers), and they have the behavioral and task-related skills to be successful in a gen. ed. environment, they should have access to that setting, even if only for part of the lesson or for certain activities and even if they require support to be successful. I know schools often struggle when they have kids at many different grade levels with very different needs--it becomes a staffing and scheduling challenge, even in public schools with excellent sped teams and great results. I don't know what sped services typically look like at Wilson--it could be that your daughter might be the only one in her situation, (needing support across settings and subjects), which means the school would have to figure out how they could staff her hours in those different locations. Ideally they work with their resources to put the support schedule together for the student--they should not be requiring the student to fit into their available support model.

I know, I am preaching to the choir here, and sounding Pollyanna-ish, but wanted to try to give you some additional language if you needed it. I am a DCPS parent, but have never worked in DCPS so I probably sound very naive as to what "should" be happening.

To speak on the school's behalf and from my own experience as a teacher of kids with a variety of special needs, there are situations where a self-contained setting can be more effective for some kids in some areas, particularly as the content becomes more challenging and complex. Students in self-contained settings get more teacher attention, more opportunities to respond, and often feel more comfortable making mistakes or taking risks. As long as your daughter has access to social peers and more typical learning environments in other parts of her daily school experience, I don't see that it would inappropriate for her to work on science and soc. studies in a smaller group setting with a special ed. teacher.

I hope it works out for your daughter as she makes this exciting transition to high school!

[Anonymous]

As the mother of a young adult daughter with DS, I would like to chime in and note that the years in public education with FREE Services go by very quickly, and the mistake which can be made is to only focus on one or two domain areas - namely academic and social. It is equally important for you to look at the vocational options and tracks so that your daughter will be prepared for the world of work after high school. There ought to be the opportunity to be included in classes related to working, too.

By the Post High years, I would also ask what the Post HIgh or Transition Programs look like as then there should definitely be a focus on assessment, different work environment placements and training opportunities with any direct support fading over time. Additionally, independent living and community living skills need to be focused upon and expanded in different settings to demonstrate the skills one has acquired.

When I talk to parents of a teenager, I pose the following questions:

1- What will my young adult son or daughter be doing - working in a competitive environment (part-time or full-time), volunteering (part-time or full-time) or participating in a center-based, supported work program or adult activity program (part-time or full-time) during the regular work day of the parents?

2- What are the criteria to be successful in the one or perhaps combined work week program? Or what barriers might keep my son or daughter from being successful including:

- Needing direct one-too-one or ability to function independently or on a certain client to staff ratio.
- Lacking the soft "work place" skills such as being on time, focusing on a task, endurance to stay on the job, following workplace rules, seeking out assistance as needed, accepting criticism etc.
- Issues related to communication skills, behavioral skills etc.
- Funding for any job assessment, placement, training and follow-along services; funding for any supported work setting or adult day program.

3- How will my young adult son or daughter get to and from any of the above settings with regular and safe transportation?

4- How long can my son or daughter stay at home safely alone?

5- What will my son or daughter do in terms of social, sports and other personal interests in free time, especially on the weekends?

***The key to me is to think about these "lifetime" goals while your son or daughter is still in public education, especially between the years of 14 - 21in the choices that you make just as carefully as you decide about what academic classes to take in which setting and what lunch time supports might be needed. Parents may complain about what services and programs are lacking in public education, but the fact remains there are no mandated adult services AND there are no free services or funding streams after public education ends. So it is very important to set goals and then "work backwards" to see how progress can be made across all domains including summers and well as academic years.

For those families of means, there may well be the opportunity to meet the goals above through Post High specialized college programs, but they are very, very expensive for most families to afford, and so my comments are for the average family trying to make the most of public education. Also, be sure that you apply for any appropriate Waiver in the state or DC you will reside AND do realize that a Waiver is not portable so should you get it for your daughter, you would not want to lose it. You may want to ask if living in DC would give you a better chance for that lifetime funding stream.

One other note in terms of social experience and a connection to others, I would include a making a connection to a high school service group such as Key Club - so look into that as well ahead of time. Our youngest was not has high functioning as your daughter so we did not have all of these issues to deal with on academics. However, she has maintained a part-time job which she enjoys on a college campus, volunteers in a new area cafe one day a week, takes para-transit on her own, and has an active life with Special Olympics, parks and recreation activities and Young Life.

[Anonymous]

To follow-up on my longer post, I do think you could use the advice of a professional who would be knowledgeable about the charter schools in DC as well as the smaller private schools in Maryland and Virginia. It does seem as if you want to balance out the academic rigor of any place with her abilities so that the next 4 years of high school are just not one big "push" on your part and her part to get her through. I do not know the requirements for a regular high school diploma at this time, but if there is an area that she will not be able to do, then being in a rigorous h.s. makes less sense. I would look for a setting that would continue to build upon her academic areas of strength and then move her forward in a sensible manner in other core areas - such as using a calculator for math since her short term memory does not work there.

Our oldest lives in MoCo, and from what she hears from teen sitters all of the good high schools are super large like 2,500 - 3,000. I think you want a setting that will be empathetic to your daughter's needs and still have standards. I do think DCPS is a real mess, and in part this is why the students with the most significant disabilities go to the 30 million dollar charter school St. Coletta (not parochial). Perhaps there is a smaller, charter school that does a good job with students whose abilities are generally reflective of their intelligence. I would also counsel that a girls' school might be a more positive placement at this point in life. Looking under the Parochial School listing I saw:

- Brookwood - a small girls school in Kensington
Service to Students with Special Needs
Small class sizes help many young women with special needs to thrive at Brookewood. The school offers preferential seating, extra-time on tests, note-taking assistance, frequent meetings with parents, and time and place availability for family-provided tutoring at school.

- St. Vincent Pallotti High School in Laurel MD
The Learning Center at Pallotti provides individualized programs of support and reinforcement for an additional fee for students with mild to moderate learning disabilities. Diagnostic testing and an interview are required prior to admittance. Only 10-15 openings are available each year, so early application is highly recommended.

It is important that you visit the schools first and then find out how early your daughter might go visit any place as some private schools in our area have visiting days starting in the fall.