SC vs. TT class setting--which to choose?

[Anonymous]

Our IEP team is suggested all SC placement for our rising 9th grader. This year, DC was in a mix of SC and TT classes and received all A's and B's, but we had three concerns with the MS SC classes.
-we were worried the SC class wasn't as rigorous as the equivalent TT class.
-there appeared to be less support in at least one SC class, maybe because the teacher had more SN students to deal with.
-Grading seemed to be harder in one of the SCs (actually less forgiving of weaknesses that are supposed to be addressed by the IEP).

Wondering if anyone can comment on the relative benefits of HS SC and TT classes in HS to help our decision. DC was in all TT classes last year and the SC placement didn't affect DC's grades on the whole--higher in one class and lower in the other.

[Anonymous]

What jurisdiction is this? I don't know what your acronyms mean so I assume they are specific to your jurisdiction.

[Anonymous]

yes, what does SC and TT mean?

[Anonymous]

Self-contained (or small class) and Team-taught. This is FCPS.

[Anonymous]

i hate to say it, but this really depends on the school and thier strategies for staffing and kid placement. we have had good luck with sc classes and have been less impressed with the tt classes at our school. we fought for placement outside of our base MS to a school that grouped kids in sc according to similar temperment and need, so our aspie kid was placed with silmilar higher achieving kids with some attention issues. we had an amazing team of teachers that worked together and were committed to his success. had he stayed at his base school, we probably would have kept him in a mix of TT and GE classes because the sc classes were a crazy mix of every disabilty/behavior problem under the sun. Keep in mind though, that while there are 2 teachers in TT classes, they are really crowded and we didnt find the teachers particularly responsive...probably more of a lack of time issue, than lack of desire to help issue.... they had over a hundred kids/parents to deal with. hope this helps

[Anonymous]

^^ It also depends on the child. I know young adults who have been put in SC and hated it and begged to get out because they found it stigmatizing, and others who benefitted greatly. Our DC was perfect for TT - with TT you get the second teacher who is your (parent) and student contact for SN issues. So if DC was having problems with executing homework, you have a contact. DC is extremely bright but ASD, so the TT worked for DC and DC also was free to make friends. All in all a good experience. 9:18 is correct but it also depends on how impaired your child is and how many accommodations they need. Sorry there is no easy answer.

[Anonymous]

sorry... left out the HS stuff... we were able to pupil place for HS into a school that is also careful about how they group kids. our son has decided that he prefers smaller classes for subjects that require alot of writing, so we are doing a mix of sc and ge classes for 9th. no TT classes.

[Anonymous]

I think that one needs to find out the population of general education students who make up the TT classes in a high school as they could be lower performing students who in various ways will benefit from a somewhat slower pace or level of instruction. Or and this may be harder to get defined are they students less interested in academics who might cause more disruption within a classroom for students who already have learning challenges.

The flip side of the SC classroom is also what is the population within the classroom and what is the individual teacher's approach? Are there students with disabilities who really are unable to benefit from the grade level curriculum other then "getting exposure to it"? This would be a red flag to me that the teacher will have high and very low levels of ability to work with and to keep engaged.

At least by high school if you have a teen or daughter who can clearly report what is going on, a change could be made early in the school year if it did not seem like the right placement or not. Keep an ear to whether one talks about too much disruption in class, the teacher is covering the material too quickly or slowly and that any accommodations are happening in either class setting right from the start. It is very good to hear that FCPS does have a continuum of placements and not just "inclusion for all" on the cheap philosophy.