MCPS teachers - what would you tell parents in your class(es) if you could?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends - if they have an iep? I’d tell them that most of the services are delivered by the general Ed teacher because inclusion spec Ed teachers are stretched too thin and we spend so much time on paperwork and not with kids. I’d also tell them no matter what they “advocate for” in the iep, it doesn’t actually happen during the school day due to limited resources and time so half the time we just agree to make you go away

+1. And most of these times it's supervisors who tell us what to say and agree. It's not pretty but this is honest because the system refuses to staff appropriately.

You have a very strange concept of “honest.” Agreeing to provide something in an IEP that you know you will not be able to provide is not consistent with any definition of “honest” that I’m aware of.

We literally are NOT allowed to say we can’t provide it. What don’t you get about that?

You can certainly say you *won’t* provide it. And if you know you’re not going to, how would it be “honest” to say otherwise?

Obviously that could lead to due process complaints if those services/supports are really warranted. But if it makes you feel any better, that process is so corrupt in Maryland that parents literally never win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends - if they have an iep? I’d tell them that most of the services are delivered by the general Ed teacher because inclusion spec Ed teachers are stretched too thin and we spend so much time on paperwork and not with kids. I’d also tell them no matter what they “advocate for” in the iep, it doesn’t actually happen during the school day due to limited resources and time so half the time we just agree to make you go away

We know. Thanks for being a failure in your life's work.

Likewise for being a failure at actual life. (Lack of empathy is the first sign of being a psychopath)

"I decided to use an anonymous forum to taunt distraught parents of special needs kids in a blasé manner about how we fail their children. But you're the psychopath! Poor me!"
PP

The thread is what we would tell parents if we could. I appreciated that teachers transparency and didn't read it as a taunt. You're clearly dissatisfied with your child's service, but you're lashing out to someone who is telling you there is literally nothing they can do to solve your problem.

I’m the one who posted about spec Ed. Not a taunt just the hard truth. And I’m not a failure at my job, I’m actually a really good spec Ed teacher and I advocate hard for the kids on my caseload. But these are the truths of the conditions in mcps and that’s what the thread asked about. Sometimes I wish parents knew so they didn’t believe the BS . That being said, parents should not be angry at the teachers - it’s the system and lack of appropriate resources

If you really wanted parents to know, why not tell them instead of lying to them to get them to “go away”? I don’t get it. That’s something that is absolutely in your power to do, and doesn’t even take a lot of effort.

And get fired ? Or written up by my boss/ supervisor for telling you that? No way

People outside teaching have no idea what pressures teachers face. No idea at all. I wish it were as simple as the PPs suggest re: just talking to parents.

In that case, let’s at least agree that the public school staff knowingly lying to parents of children with special needs don’t own the moral high ground.

I still don't understand the support in this thread for teachers actively participating in covering-up malfeasance, but I guess some people think that's ok for... reasons.

DCUM asks for the truth from real teachers and just cannot handle it.

I guess that’s it. I expected that they would at least try to act in good faith, and be remorseful when they don’t. Apparently that wasn’t a realistic expectation. As you suggested, it’s a bit shocking.

I’m the OP who shocked everyone with comments about spec Ed. I never said there is lack of good faith or lack of attempt to implement. There is. But at the end of the day, there are many unreasonable requests from parents , advocates and lawyers and they just cannot be provided the way the iep is written. But I can’t say that and there is no way my admin will say it. Some admin will say it depending on the parent but if they have representation (lawyer or advocate) we agree to it all usually. It’s just not worth fighting. But this forum asked what I want you to know. I want you to know that if you have a case manager with 20 kids on a caseload , serving 3 grade levels or more, and large class sizes …. It might not be happening!

[Anonymous]

Thank god we put our kids in private as soon as the pandemic hit. Any doubts I had about that decision are gone after reading this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank god we put our kids in private as soon as the pandemic hit. Any doubts I had about that decision are gone after reading this thread.

And this comment is so helpful to those parents with students in special education. Just go away - how did that help?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank god we put our kids in private as soon as the pandemic hit. Any doubts I had about that decision are gone after reading this thread.

Hate to burst your bubble but those places aren’t regulated and I hear stories from staff who work in them too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends - if they have an iep? I’d tell them that most of the services are delivered by the general Ed teacher because inclusion spec Ed teachers are stretched too thin and we spend so much time on paperwork and not with kids. I’d also tell them no matter what they “advocate for” in the iep, it doesn’t actually happen during the school day due to limited resources and time so half the time we just agree to make you go away

We know. Thanks for being a failure in your life's work.

Likewise for being a failure at actual life. (Lack of empathy is the first sign of being a psychopath)

"I decided to use an anonymous forum to taunt distraught parents of special needs kids in a blasé manner about how we fail their children. But you're the psychopath! Poor me!"
PP

The thread is what we would tell parents if we could. I appreciated that teachers transparency and didn't read it as a taunt. You're clearly dissatisfied with your child's service, but you're lashing out to someone who is telling you there is literally nothing they can do to solve your problem.

I’m the one who posted about spec Ed. Not a taunt just the hard truth. And I’m not a failure at my job, I’m actually a really good spec Ed teacher and I advocate hard for the kids on my caseload. But these are the truths of the conditions in mcps and that’s what the thread asked about. Sometimes I wish parents knew so they didn’t believe the BS . That being said, parents should not be angry at the teachers - it’s the system and lack of appropriate resources

If you really wanted parents to know, why not tell them instead of lying to them to get them to “go away”? I don’t get it. That’s something that is absolutely in your power to do, and doesn’t even take a lot of effort.

And get fired ? Or written up by my boss/ supervisor for telling you that? No way

People outside teaching have no idea what pressures teachers face. No idea at all. I wish it were as simple as the PPs suggest re: just talking to parents.

In that case, let’s at least agree that the public school staff knowingly lying to parents of children with special needs don’t own the moral high ground.

I still don't understand the support in this thread for teachers actively participating in covering-up malfeasance, but I guess some people think that's ok for... reasons.

DCUM asks for the truth from real teachers and just cannot handle it.

I guess that’s it. I expected that they would at least try to act in good faith, and be remorseful when they don’t. Apparently that wasn’t a realistic expectation. As you suggested, it’s a bit shocking.

I’m the OP who shocked everyone with comments about spec Ed. I never said there is lack of good faith or lack of attempt to implement. There is. But at the end of the day, there are many unreasonable requests from parents , advocates and lawyers and they just cannot be provided the way the iep is written. But I can’t say that and there is no way my admin will say it. Some admin will say it depending on the parent but if they have representation (lawyer or advocate) we agree to it all usually. It’s just not worth fighting. But this forum asked what I want you to know. I want you to know that if you have a case manager with 20 kids on a caseload , serving 3 grade levels or more, and large class sizes …. It might not be happening!

I mean, I appreciate the honesty… I just don’t understand why you seem to think that’s OK.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends - if they have an iep? I’d tell them that most of the services are delivered by the general Ed teacher because inclusion spec Ed teachers are stretched too thin and we spend so much time on paperwork and not with kids. I’d also tell them no matter what they “advocate for” in the iep, it doesn’t actually happen during the school day due to limited resources and time so half the time we just agree to make you go away

+1. And most of these times it's supervisors who tell us what to say and agree. It's not pretty but this is honest because the system refuses to staff appropriately.

You have a very strange concept of “honest.” Agreeing to provide something in an IEP that you know you will not be able to provide is not consistent with any definition of “honest” that I’m aware of.

We literally are NOT allowed to say we can’t provide it. What don’t you get about that?

You can certainly say you *won’t* provide it. And if you know you’re not going to, how would it be “honest” to say otherwise?

Obviously that could lead to due process complaints if those services/supports are really warranted. But if it makes you feel any better, that process is so corrupt in Maryland that parents literally never win.

NP. Because if the teacher is honest with the likes of parents on this forum, the parent will sue. The end result, either after mediation or due process, will be tens of hours of time spent away from other students on this dispute, at which point the teacher and paraeducators will be directed to give more attention and hours to your Larlo, at the expense of Aiden, Brayden, and Cayden in the other class being shoved into larger groupings with much less attention, because their parents are less difficult. Extra staff won't materialize out of spare molecules. It's lose-lose.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends - if they have an iep? I’d tell them that most of the services are delivered by the general Ed teacher because inclusion spec Ed teachers are stretched too thin and we spend so much time on paperwork and not with kids. I’d also tell them no matter what they “advocate for” in the iep, it doesn’t actually happen during the school day due to limited resources and time so half the time we just agree to make you go away

We know. Thanks for being a failure in your life's work.

Likewise for being a failure at actual life. (Lack of empathy is the first sign of being a psychopath)

"I decided to use an anonymous forum to taunt distraught parents of special needs kids in a blasé manner about how we fail their children. But you're the psychopath! Poor me!"
PP

The thread is what we would tell parents if we could. I appreciated that teachers transparency and didn't read it as a taunt. You're clearly dissatisfied with your child's service, but you're lashing out to someone who is telling you there is literally nothing they can do to solve your problem.

I’m the one who posted about spec Ed. Not a taunt just the hard truth. And I’m not a failure at my job, I’m actually a really good spec Ed teacher and I advocate hard for the kids on my caseload. But these are the truths of the conditions in mcps and that’s what the thread asked about. Sometimes I wish parents knew so they didn’t believe the BS . That being said, parents should not be angry at the teachers - it’s the system and lack of appropriate resources

If you really wanted parents to know, why not tell them instead of lying to them to get them to “go away”? I don’t get it. That’s something that is absolutely in your power to do, and doesn’t even take a lot of effort.

And get fired ? Or written up by my boss/ supervisor for telling you that? No way

People outside teaching have no idea what pressures teachers face. No idea at all. I wish it were as simple as the PPs suggest re: just talking to parents.

In that case, let’s at least agree that the public school staff knowingly lying to parents of children with special needs don’t own the moral high ground.

I still don't understand the support in this thread for teachers actively participating in covering-up malfeasance, but I guess some people think that's ok for... reasons.

DCUM asks for the truth from real teachers and just cannot handle it.

I guess that’s it. I expected that they would at least try to act in good faith, and be remorseful when they don’t. Apparently that wasn’t a realistic expectation. As you suggested, it’s a bit shocking.

I’m the OP who shocked everyone with comments about spec Ed. I never said there is lack of good faith or lack of attempt to implement. There is. But at the end of the day, there are many unreasonable requests from parents , advocates and lawyers and they just cannot be provided the way the iep is written. But I can’t say that and there is no way my admin will say it. Some admin will say it depending on the parent but if they have representation (lawyer or advocate) we agree to it all usually. It’s just not worth fighting. But this forum asked what I want you to know. I want you to know that if you have a case manager with 20 kids on a caseload , serving 3 grade levels or more, and large class sizes …. It might not be happening!

Perhaps on a more productive note, what would be the best way for parents to verify whether classroom supports are provided? There are no natural records produced for many of them, and it’s not like you can get that information from the child in a lot of cases.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends - if they have an iep? I’d tell them that most of the services are delivered by the general Ed teacher because inclusion spec Ed teachers are stretched too thin and we spend so much time on paperwork and not with kids. I’d also tell them no matter what they “advocate for” in the iep, it doesn’t actually happen during the school day due to limited resources and time so half the time we just agree to make you go away

+1. And most of these times it's supervisors who tell us what to say and agree. It's not pretty but this is honest because the system refuses to staff appropriately.

You have a very strange concept of “honest.” Agreeing to provide something in an IEP that you know you will not be able to provide is not consistent with any definition of “honest” that I’m aware of.

We literally are NOT allowed to say we can’t provide it. What don’t you get about that?

You can certainly say you *won’t* provide it. And if you know you’re not going to, how would it be “honest” to say otherwise?

Obviously that could lead to due process complaints if those services/supports are really warranted. But if it makes you feel any better, that process is so corrupt in Maryland that parents literally never win.

NP. Because if the teacher is honest with the likes of parents on this forum, the parent will sue. The end result, either after mediation or due process, will be tens of hours of time spent away from other students on this dispute, at which point the teacher and paraeducators will be directed to give more attention and hours to your Larlo, at the expense of Aiden, Brayden, and Cayden in the other class being shoved into larger groupings with much less attention, because their parents are less difficult. Extra staff won't materialize out of spare molecules. It's lose-lose.

Because the parents are less difficult, or because the kids themselves require less support than the child requiring special education services?

Obviously it would be a lot cheaper and easier to just ignore the kids with special needs, but that’s the whole point of the federal/state laws and due process rights. Covering up the lack of legally-mandated services shouldn't be considered an acceptable way to deal with this.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends - if they have an iep? I’d tell them that most of the services are delivered by the general Ed teacher because inclusion spec Ed teachers are stretched too thin and we spend so much time on paperwork and not with kids. I’d also tell them no matter what they “advocate for” in the iep, it doesn’t actually happen during the school day due to limited resources and time so half the time we just agree to make you go away

We know. Thanks for being a failure in your life's work.

Likewise for being a failure at actual life. (Lack of empathy is the first sign of being a psychopath)

"I decided to use an anonymous forum to taunt distraught parents of special needs kids in a blasé manner about how we fail their children. But you're the psychopath! Poor me!"
PP

The thread is what we would tell parents if we could. I appreciated that teachers transparency and didn't read it as a taunt. You're clearly dissatisfied with your child's service, but you're lashing out to someone who is telling you there is literally nothing they can do to solve your problem.

I’m the one who posted about spec Ed. Not a taunt just the hard truth. And I’m not a failure at my job, I’m actually a really good spec Ed teacher and I advocate hard for the kids on my caseload. But these are the truths of the conditions in mcps and that’s what the thread asked about. Sometimes I wish parents knew so they didn’t believe the BS . That being said, parents should not be angry at the teachers - it’s the system and lack of appropriate resources

If you really wanted parents to know, why not tell them instead of lying to them to get them to “go away”? I don’t get it. That’s something that is absolutely in your power to do, and doesn’t even take a lot of effort.

And get fired ? Or written up by my boss/ supervisor for telling you that? No way

People outside teaching have no idea what pressures teachers face. No idea at all. I wish it were as simple as the PPs suggest re: just talking to parents.

In that case, let’s at least agree that the public school staff knowingly lying to parents of children with special needs don’t own the moral high ground.

I still don't understand the support in this thread for teachers actively participating in covering-up malfeasance, but I guess some people think that's ok for... reasons.

DCUM asks for the truth from real teachers and just cannot handle it.

I guess that’s it. I expected that they would at least try to act in good faith, and be remorseful when they don’t. Apparently that wasn’t a realistic expectation. As you suggested, it’s a bit shocking.

I’m the OP who shocked everyone with comments about spec Ed. I never said there is lack of good faith or lack of attempt to implement. There is. But at the end of the day, there are many unreasonable requests from parents , advocates and lawyers and they just cannot be provided the way the iep is written. But I can’t say that and there is no way my admin will say it. Some admin will say it depending on the parent but if they have representation (lawyer or advocate) we agree to it all usually. It’s just not worth fighting. But this forum asked what I want you to know. I want you to know that if you have a case manager with 20 kids on a caseload , serving 3 grade levels or more, and large class sizes …. It might not be happening!

I mean, I appreciate the honesty… I just don’t understand why you seem to think that’s OK.

Nowhere did the OP say it's OK. They're just being honest and answering a question that was raised and it's the dirty truth and fact. Especially when schools are understaffed and you're a case manager with 20+ kids across multiple grade levels and needed to do testing and writing ieps and paperwork.

[Anonymous]

I don’t think anyone thinks the sped situation is ok. I have 2 kids with special needs, but they are the quiet, non-disruptive type (dyslexia/ anxiety). So we definitely do a lot of things privately.

I also do my very best to take on anything possible to free up the teachers to be able to plan and support teaching. I cannot count how many materials I have cut, laminated, color-coded. I have walked kids in the halls to specials, and I have volunteered in lunchrooms and playgrounds.

I know that not everyone can do these things. But there has to be a better way for schools to effectively leverage volunteers to take some of the non-teaching work off the shoulders of teachers. My retired parents are currently volunteering at our old parochial school as “homework helpers”. My dad swears the biggest value he brings is having sharpened pencils and telling the kids he is sure they can figure it out.

I don’t trust school admin or central office to add any value.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends - if they have an iep? I’d tell them that most of the services are delivered by the general Ed teacher because inclusion spec Ed teachers are stretched too thin and we spend so much time on paperwork and not with kids. I’d also tell them no matter what they “advocate for” in the iep, it doesn’t actually happen during the school day due to limited resources and time so half the time we just agree to make you go away

We know. Thanks for being a failure in your life's work.

Likewise for being a failure at actual life. (Lack of empathy is the first sign of being a psychopath)

"I decided to use an anonymous forum to taunt distraught parents of special needs kids in a blasé manner about how we fail their children. But you're the psychopath! Poor me!"
PP

The thread is what we would tell parents if we could. I appreciated that teachers transparency and didn't read it as a taunt. You're clearly dissatisfied with your child's service, but you're lashing out to someone who is telling you there is literally nothing they can do to solve your problem.

I’m the one who posted about spec Ed. Not a taunt just the hard truth. And I’m not a failure at my job, I’m actually a really good spec Ed teacher and I advocate hard for the kids on my caseload. But these are the truths of the conditions in mcps and that’s what the thread asked about. Sometimes I wish parents knew so they didn’t believe the BS . That being said, parents should not be angry at the teachers - it’s the system and lack of appropriate resources

If you really wanted parents to know, why not tell them instead of lying to them to get them to “go away”? I don’t get it. That’s something that is absolutely in your power to do, and doesn’t even take a lot of effort.

And get fired ? Or written up by my boss/ supervisor for telling you that? No way

People outside teaching have no idea what pressures teachers face. No idea at all. I wish it were as simple as the PPs suggest re: just talking to parents.

In that case, let’s at least agree that the public school staff knowingly lying to parents of children with special needs don’t own the moral high ground.

I still don't understand the support in this thread for teachers actively participating in covering-up malfeasance, but I guess some people think that's ok for... reasons.

DCUM asks for the truth from real teachers and just cannot handle it.

I guess that’s it. I expected that they would at least try to act in good faith, and be remorseful when they don’t. Apparently that wasn’t a realistic expectation. As you suggested, it’s a bit shocking.

I’m the OP who shocked everyone with comments about spec Ed. I never said there is lack of good faith or lack of attempt to implement. There is. But at the end of the day, there are many unreasonable requests from parents , advocates and lawyers and they just cannot be provided the way the iep is written. But I can’t say that and there is no way my admin will say it. Some admin will say it depending on the parent but if they have representation (lawyer or advocate) we agree to it all usually. It’s just not worth fighting. But this forum asked what I want you to know. I want you to know that if you have a case manager with 20 kids on a caseload , serving 3 grade levels or more, and large class sizes …. It might not be happening!

I mean, I appreciate the honesty… I just don’t understand why you seem to think that’s OK.

Nowhere did the OP say it's OK. They're just being honest and answering a question that was raised and it's the dirty truth and fact. Especially when schools are understaffed and you're a case manager with 20+ kids across multiple grade levels and needed to do testing and writing ieps and paperwork.

Well, you’re implicitly suggesting its OK by going along with the lying/misleading rather than letting the legal process function as intended to determine what obligations the school system has.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think anyone thinks the sped situation is ok. I have 2 kids with special needs, but they are the quiet, non-disruptive type (dyslexia/ anxiety). So we definitely do a lot of things privately.

I also do my very best to take on anything possible to free up the teachers to be able to plan and support teaching. I cannot count how many materials I have cut, laminated, color-coded. I have walked kids in the halls to specials, and I have volunteered in lunchrooms and playgrounds.

I know that not everyone can do these things. But there has to be a better way for schools to effectively leverage volunteers to take some of the non-teaching work off the shoulders of teachers. My retired parents are currently volunteering at our old parochial school as “homework helpers”. My dad swears the biggest value he brings is having sharpened pencils and telling the kids he is sure they can figure it out.

I don’t trust school admin or central office to add any value.

In some cases they actively fight potential help. I’ve been told in no uncertain terms that they won’t let an RBT in the classroom.

I think the principals can be moderately helpful, but the problem is that requests for additional sped resources need to be approved through central.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Depends - if they have an iep? I’d tell them that most of the services are delivered by the general Ed teacher because inclusion spec Ed teachers are stretched too thin and we spend so much time on paperwork and not with kids. I’d also tell them no matter what they “advocate for” in the iep, it doesn’t actually happen during the school day due to limited resources and time so half the time we just agree to make you go away

We know. Thanks for being a failure in your life's work.

Likewise for being a failure at actual life. (Lack of empathy is the first sign of being a psychopath)

"I decided to use an anonymous forum to taunt distraught parents of special needs kids in a blasé manner about how we fail their children. But you're the psychopath! Poor me!"
PP

The thread is what we would tell parents if we could. I appreciated that teachers transparency and didn't read it as a taunt. You're clearly dissatisfied with your child's service, but you're lashing out to someone who is telling you there is literally nothing they can do to solve your problem.

I’m the one who posted about spec Ed. Not a taunt just the hard truth. And I’m not a failure at my job, I’m actually a really good spec Ed teacher and I advocate hard for the kids on my caseload. But these are the truths of the conditions in mcps and that’s what the thread asked about. Sometimes I wish parents knew so they didn’t believe the BS . That being said, parents should not be angry at the teachers - it’s the system and lack of appropriate resources

If you really wanted parents to know, why not tell them instead of lying to them to get them to “go away”? I don’t get it. That’s something that is absolutely in your power to do, and doesn’t even take a lot of effort.

And get fired ? Or written up by my boss/ supervisor for telling you that? No way

People outside teaching have no idea what pressures teachers face. No idea at all. I wish it were as simple as the PPs suggest re: just talking to parents.

In that case, let’s at least agree that the public school staff knowingly lying to parents of children with special needs don’t own the moral high ground.

I still don't understand the support in this thread for teachers actively participating in covering-up malfeasance, but I guess some people think that's ok for... reasons.

DCUM asks for the truth from real teachers and just cannot handle it.

I guess that’s it. I expected that they would at least try to act in good faith, and be remorseful when they don’t. Apparently that wasn’t a realistic expectation. As you suggested, it’s a bit shocking.

I’m the OP who shocked everyone with comments about spec Ed. I never said there is lack of good faith or lack of attempt to implement. There is. But at the end of the day, there are many unreasonable requests from parents , advocates and lawyers and they just cannot be provided the way the iep is written. But I can’t say that and there is no way my admin will say it. Some admin will say it depending on the parent but if they have representation (lawyer or advocate) we agree to it all usually. It’s just not worth fighting. But this forum asked what I want you to know. I want you to know that if you have a case manager with 20 kids on a caseload , serving 3 grade levels or more, and large class sizes …. It might not be happening!

20 kids is not a huge number especially when it’s very mixed needs. You are making excuses

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don’t think anyone thinks the sped situation is ok. I have 2 kids with special needs, but they are the quiet, non-disruptive type (dyslexia/ anxiety). So we definitely do a lot of things privately.

I also do my very best to take on anything possible to free up the teachers to be able to plan and support teaching. I cannot count how many materials I have cut, laminated, color-coded. I have walked kids in the halls to specials, and I have volunteered in lunchrooms and playgrounds.

I know that not everyone can do these things. But there has to be a better way for schools to effectively leverage volunteers to take some of the non-teaching work off the shoulders of teachers. My retired parents are currently volunteering at our old parochial school as “homework helpers”. My dad swears the biggest value he brings is having sharpened pencils and telling the kids he is sure they can figure it out.

I don’t trust school admin or central office to add any value.

Our es would not allow parent volunteers. Always made me wonder what they had to hide.