Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you think it’s the teachers’ decision to keep these kids in their rooms? I had a student in my classroom who destroyed it. I’d say at least a few hundreds of dollars worth of my belongings were destroyed including nearly half of my classroom library, bulletin boards, art supplies, etc. It took months of documentation and a very on board admin to get this student a one on one aid (didn’t help much). The kid ended up in a different program this year.

I had no idea. I’m not a teacher so how am I suppose to know. Whatever the problem is, it has to stop.

We are letting the majority of the class suffer because of one or two struggling students.

You did not know this is the result of the “I” for Inclusion, in DEI ?

The sooner we end DEI entirely, the better.

It’s federal law and not easy to overturn

Disagree. It is being legally interpreted a certain way the past decade or so. This law passed many decades ago. It was in place when most of us went to school yet the huge over inclusion was not a thing back then. It needs better case law to course correct the extreme spot it’s devolved to at this point.

You just said the magic word (in bold). Inclusion.

I am opposed to inclusion.

More people need to get comfortable with opposing inclusion, equity, and diversity. Until they do become more comfortable saying it out loud, nothing will change in our violent and dysfunctional schools.

🙄
You’re not being helpful at all. The massive over inclusion of certain very troubled SPED kids predates the DEI push. These are not the same thing.

Correct. It’s not DEI it’s IDEA

Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!

If a kid can be in a Gen Ed setting then they certainly should be. No reason to peel off kids with dyslexia for instance. But if they are massively disrupting the learning environment of the other children in the room then Gen Ed is not the appropriate setting for them. How this is not beyond obvious and being allowed to fester is mind boggling.

It shouldn't be surprising. Self-contained classrooms are very expensive. It is generally cheaper to bring in support to the gen ed classrooms to help manage those behaviors, but public schools don't even want to do that.

Basically, pushing for restrictive placements has two major strikes against it: it's expensive and it violates state and federal law. You'd be better off pushing for paraeducator support and special education services, but some people are more interested in bringing back segregation than dealing with problem.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you think it’s the teachers’ decision to keep these kids in their rooms? I had a student in my classroom who destroyed it. I’d say at least a few hundreds of dollars worth of my belongings were destroyed including nearly half of my classroom library, bulletin boards, art supplies, etc. It took months of documentation and a very on board admin to get this student a one on one aid (didn’t help much). The kid ended up in a different program this year.

I had no idea. I’m not a teacher so how am I suppose to know. Whatever the problem is, it has to stop.

We are letting the majority of the class suffer because of one or two struggling students.

You did not know this is the result of the “I” for Inclusion, in DEI ?

The sooner we end DEI entirely, the better.

It’s federal law and not easy to overturn

Disagree. It is being legally interpreted a certain way the past decade or so. This law passed many decades ago. It was in place when most of us went to school yet the huge over inclusion was not a thing back then. It needs better case law to course correct the extreme spot it’s devolved to at this point.

You just said the magic word (in bold). Inclusion.

I am opposed to inclusion.

More people need to get comfortable with opposing inclusion, equity, and diversity. Until they do become more comfortable saying it out loud, nothing will change in our violent and dysfunctional schools.

🙄
You’re not being helpful at all. The massive over inclusion of certain very troubled SPED kids predates the DEI push. These are not the same thing.

Correct. It’s not DEI it’s IDEA

Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!

If a kid can be in a Gen Ed setting then they certainly should be. No reason to peel off kids with dyslexia for instance. But if they are massively disrupting the learning environment of the other children in the room then Gen Ed is not the appropriate setting for them. How this is not beyond obvious and being allowed to fester is mind boggling.

Precisely. I have a child with no learning or behavioral needs who is now best friends with a dyslexic child in an inclusion room with two wildly violent monsters who have repeated grades, are significantly taller and fatter than their peers, and who have parents who do NOTHING to control them. The dream of inclusion was for the capable, regulated, amazing child with dyslexia to learn with the child with no LDs- not for them and the whole functioning rest of the room to learn defense against these overindulged nasty sh!ts.

The “dream of inclusion” is just that: only a dream. Not reality.

Time to change it back:

- special needs / special education students need and deserve their own class with specialists trained to handle the students’ unique needs.

- gen ed and G&T need and deserve separate classes adjusted for their needs.

End the “inclusion” madness. It does not work for anyone.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you think it’s the teachers’ decision to keep these kids in their rooms? I had a student in my classroom who destroyed it. I’d say at least a few hundreds of dollars worth of my belongings were destroyed including nearly half of my classroom library, bulletin boards, art supplies, etc. It took months of documentation and a very on board admin to get this student a one on one aid (didn’t help much). The kid ended up in a different program this year.

I had no idea. I’m not a teacher so how am I suppose to know. Whatever the problem is, it has to stop.

We are letting the majority of the class suffer because of one or two struggling students.

You did not know this is the result of the “I” for Inclusion, in DEI ?

The sooner we end DEI entirely, the better.

It’s federal law and not easy to overturn

Disagree. It is being legally interpreted a certain way the past decade or so. This law passed many decades ago. It was in place when most of us went to school yet the huge over inclusion was not a thing back then. It needs better case law to course correct the extreme spot it’s devolved to at this point.

You just said the magic word (in bold). Inclusion.

I am opposed to inclusion.

More people need to get comfortable with opposing inclusion, equity, and diversity. Until they do become more comfortable saying it out loud, nothing will change in our violent and dysfunctional schools.

🙄
You’re not being helpful at all. The massive over inclusion of certain very troubled SPED kids predates the DEI push. These are not the same thing.

Correct. It’s not DEI it’s IDEA

Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!

If a kid can be in a Gen Ed setting then they certainly should be. No reason to peel off kids with dyslexia for instance. But if they are massively disrupting the learning environment of the other children in the room then Gen Ed is not the appropriate setting for them. How this is not beyond obvious and being allowed to fester is mind boggling.

Precisely. I have a child with no learning or behavioral needs who is now best friends with a dyslexic child in an inclusion room with two wildly violent monsters who have repeated grades, are significantly taller and fatter than their peers, and who have parents who do NOTHING to control them. The dream of inclusion was for the capable, regulated, amazing child with dyslexia to learn with the child with no LDs- not for them and the whole functioning rest of the room to learn defense against these overindulged nasty sh!ts.

Yes!! Somehow special needs kids got pulled into this discussion just to divide people. These aggressive kids are just undisciplined, angry but not SN. They need a military type school.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you think it’s the teachers’ decision to keep these kids in their rooms? I had a student in my classroom who destroyed it. I’d say at least a few hundreds of dollars worth of my belongings were destroyed including nearly half of my classroom library, bulletin boards, art supplies, etc. It took months of documentation and a very on board admin to get this student a one on one aid (didn’t help much). The kid ended up in a different program this year.

I had no idea. I’m not a teacher so how am I suppose to know. Whatever the problem is, it has to stop.

We are letting the majority of the class suffer because of one or two struggling students.

You did not know this is the result of the “I” for Inclusion, in DEI ?

The sooner we end DEI entirely, the better.

It’s federal law and not easy to overturn

Disagree. It is being legally interpreted a certain way the past decade or so. This law passed many decades ago. It was in place when most of us went to school yet the huge over inclusion was not a thing back then. It needs better case law to course correct the extreme spot it’s devolved to at this point.

You just said the magic word (in bold). Inclusion.

I am opposed to inclusion.

More people need to get comfortable with opposing inclusion, equity, and diversity. Until they do become more comfortable saying it out loud, nothing will change in our violent and dysfunctional schools.

🙄
You’re not being helpful at all. The massive over inclusion of certain very troubled SPED kids predates the DEI push. These are not the same thing.

Correct. It’s not DEI it’s IDEA

Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!

If a kid can be in a Gen Ed setting then they certainly should be. No reason to peel off kids with dyslexia for instance. But if they are massively disrupting the learning environment of the other children in the room then Gen Ed is not the appropriate setting for them. How this is not beyond obvious and being allowed to fester is mind boggling.

Precisely. I have a child with no learning or behavioral needs who is now best friends with a dyslexic child in an inclusion room with two wildly violent monsters who have repeated grades, are significantly taller and fatter than their peers, and who have parents who do NOTHING to control them. The dream of inclusion was for the capable, regulated, amazing child with dyslexia to learn with the child with no LDs- not for them and the whole functioning rest of the room to learn defense against these overindulged nasty sh!ts.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you think it’s the teachers’ decision to keep these kids in their rooms? I had a student in my classroom who destroyed it. I’d say at least a few hundreds of dollars worth of my belongings were destroyed including nearly half of my classroom library, bulletin boards, art supplies, etc. It took months of documentation and a very on board admin to get this student a one on one aid (didn’t help much). The kid ended up in a different program this year.

I had no idea. I’m not a teacher so how am I suppose to know. Whatever the problem is, it has to stop.

We are letting the majority of the class suffer because of one or two struggling students.

You did not know this is the result of the “I” for Inclusion, in DEI ?

The sooner we end DEI entirely, the better.

It’s federal law and not easy to overturn

Disagree. It is being legally interpreted a certain way the past decade or so. This law passed many decades ago. It was in place when most of us went to school yet the huge over inclusion was not a thing back then. It needs better case law to course correct the extreme spot it’s devolved to at this point.

You just said the magic word (in bold). Inclusion.

I am opposed to inclusion.

More people need to get comfortable with opposing inclusion, equity, and diversity. Until they do become more comfortable saying it out loud, nothing will change in our violent and dysfunctional schools.

🙄
You’re not being helpful at all. The massive over inclusion of certain very troubled SPED kids predates the DEI push. These are not the same thing.

Correct. It’s not DEI it’s IDEA

Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!

Your fooked up kid is YOUR RESPONSIBILITY and your fault on all levels. I hope you’re the one he hospitalizes whe his “feelings” get a little too “big.”

Anonymous wrote:It's not up to us. Additionally, we are BLAMED for kid's constant bad behavior, including from some seriously emotionally challenged kids, as well as threatened and ridiculed by their parents and yes, the school administration.

Nobody would actually believe this is a real job. I am a mentor to young teachers in my district.. They are all on meds. All.

Wait until they start dealing with injuries. I also mentor new teachers. Being bitten or hit with an object is now part of the job I guess.

Anonymous wrote:Why the F are you blaming teachers!!!! Do you think we want a kid in our class to threaten to kill us? Or a kid who hits, bites, or spits on us? Do you think we want a kid who is destroying the classroom we use our own money to decorate. Do you really believe we want a kid who is making all the other kids in the class suffer? There is NOTHING we can do.

Blame administrators- principals, special Ed. Directors, and board members who no longer allow kids to be suspended or disciplined. Or block kids from going to special Ed placements. Teachers send kids to the office and they are sent right back to our class often with a treat. We are told to “build a relationship” with the kid who is threatening to kill us or cussing us out or attacking us.

This is correct, but the cracks in the system don't stop at the administrators. There USED to be administration with backbones that would straighten the kids out before they came back into the classroom (with in-school suspension, detention, suspension, etc.) when there were parents that supported them in disciplining and enlisting consequences for their own child's bad behavior, but in the last decade there have been tons of PARENTS who complained about their unruly children being kicked out of classes, fighting tooth and nail for 504s and IEPs when the kid didn't need them just so that their bad behavior can be excused and passed along, who complained about needing to contact their child so you can't take their entertainment universe dopamine machine (a.k.a. cellphone) away, parents who don't understand what's so bad about AI and teach their kids to game the system to get an A, and just parents who were willing to sue and get people fired in order to bulldoze and snowplow their spoiled child's way through the school system. Its not a small amount of these parents anymore--the entitlement of these parents, the lack of parenting to be their child's friend, and the distrust of educators and professionals is widespread now.

Administrators' hands are now tied too, they cannot do anything anymore (and they honestly don't have to deal with the brunt of the fight like the teachers do, so they frankly no longer care). Consequences have been replaced with "courageous conversations" and "building relationships" at the urging of ignorant PARENTS. Teachers are simply the public face that everyone can see, so they are attacked, abused, judged, shamed, insulted, underappreciated, and all around treated like crap when parents don't understand that THEY are the bulk of the reason the school systems have changed so much and are failing, not the teachers.

These same parents also praise the teachers who tell them their mediocre child is exceptional (even though they got an easy A from copying and pasting answers from ChatGPT) and complain about the teachers who require them to do classwork with pencil and paper without using Google as a crutch.

In short, its SOCIETY that is the problem, and it is being reflected in the schools. So OP and others should be looking at their neighbors, family and friends if they want to know what the hell is going on with the schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you think it’s the teachers’ decision to keep these kids in their rooms? I had a student in my classroom who destroyed it. I’d say at least a few hundreds of dollars worth of my belongings were destroyed including nearly half of my classroom library, bulletin boards, art supplies, etc. It took months of documentation and a very on board admin to get this student a one on one aid (didn’t help much). The kid ended up in a different program this year.

I had no idea. I’m not a teacher so how am I suppose to know. Whatever the problem is, it has to stop.

We are letting the majority of the class suffer because of one or two struggling students.

You did not know this is the result of the “I” for Inclusion, in DEI ?

The sooner we end DEI entirely, the better.

It’s federal law and not easy to overturn

Disagree. It is being legally interpreted a certain way the past decade or so. This law passed many decades ago. It was in place when most of us went to school yet the huge over inclusion was not a thing back then. It needs better case law to course correct the extreme spot it’s devolved to at this point.

You just said the magic word (in bold). Inclusion.

I am opposed to inclusion.

More people need to get comfortable with opposing inclusion, equity, and diversity. Until they do become more comfortable saying it out loud, nothing will change in our violent and dysfunctional schools.

🙄
You’re not being helpful at all. The massive over inclusion of certain very troubled SPED kids predates the DEI push. These are not the same thing.

Correct. It’s not DEI it’s IDEA

Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!

If a kid can be in a Gen Ed setting then they certainly should be. No reason to peel off kids with dyslexia for instance. But if they are massively disrupting the learning environment of the other children in the room then Gen Ed is not the appropriate setting for them. How this is not beyond obvious and being allowed to fester is mind boggling.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you think it’s the teachers’ decision to keep these kids in their rooms? I had a student in my classroom who destroyed it. I’d say at least a few hundreds of dollars worth of my belongings were destroyed including nearly half of my classroom library, bulletin boards, art supplies, etc. It took months of documentation and a very on board admin to get this student a one on one aid (didn’t help much). The kid ended up in a different program this year.

I had no idea. I’m not a teacher so how am I suppose to know. Whatever the problem is, it has to stop.

We are letting the majority of the class suffer because of one or two struggling students.

You did not know this is the result of the “I” for Inclusion, in DEI ?

The sooner we end DEI entirely, the better.

It’s federal law and not easy to overturn

Disagree. It is being legally interpreted a certain way the past decade or so. This law passed many decades ago. It was in place when most of us went to school yet the huge over inclusion was not a thing back then. It needs better case law to course correct the extreme spot it’s devolved to at this point.

You just said the magic word (in bold). Inclusion.

I am opposed to inclusion.

More people need to get comfortable with opposing inclusion, equity, and diversity. Until they do become more comfortable saying it out loud, nothing will change in our violent and dysfunctional schools.

🙄
You’re not being helpful at all. The massive over inclusion of certain very troubled SPED kids predates the DEI push. These are not the same thing.

Correct. It’s not DEI it’s IDEA

Segregation now, segregation tomorrow, segregation forever!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you think it’s the teachers’ decision to keep these kids in their rooms? I had a student in my classroom who destroyed it. I’d say at least a few hundreds of dollars worth of my belongings were destroyed including nearly half of my classroom library, bulletin boards, art supplies, etc. It took months of documentation and a very on board admin to get this student a one on one aid (didn’t help much). The kid ended up in a different program this year.

I had no idea. I’m not a teacher so how am I suppose to know. Whatever the problem is, it has to stop.

We are letting the majority of the class suffer because of one or two struggling students.

You did not know this is the result of the “I” for Inclusion, in DEI ?

The sooner we end DEI entirely, the better.

It’s federal law and not easy to overturn

Disagree. It is being legally interpreted a certain way the past decade or so. This law passed many decades ago. It was in place when most of us went to school yet the huge over inclusion was not a thing back then. It needs better case law to course correct the extreme spot it’s devolved to at this point.

You just said the magic word (in bold). Inclusion.

I am opposed to inclusion.

More people need to get comfortable with opposing inclusion, equity, and diversity. Until they do become more comfortable saying it out loud, nothing will change in our violent and dysfunctional schools.

🙄
You’re not being helpful at all. The massive over inclusion of certain very troubled SPED kids predates the DEI push. These are not the same thing.

Correct. It’s not DEI it’s IDEA

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Do you think it’s the teachers’ decision to keep these kids in their rooms? I had a student in my classroom who destroyed it. I’d say at least a few hundreds of dollars worth of my belongings were destroyed including nearly half of my classroom library, bulletin boards, art supplies, etc. It took months of documentation and a very on board admin to get this student a one on one aid (didn’t help much). The kid ended up in a different program this year.

I had no idea. I’m not a teacher so how am I suppose to know. Whatever the problem is, it has to stop.

We are letting the majority of the class suffer because of one or two struggling students.

You did not know this is the result of the “I” for Inclusion, in DEI ?

The sooner we end DEI entirely, the better.

It’s federal law and not easy to overturn

Disagree. It is being legally interpreted a certain way the past decade or so. This law passed many decades ago. It was in place when most of us went to school yet the huge over inclusion was not a thing back then. It needs better case law to course correct the extreme spot it’s devolved to at this point.

You just said the magic word (in bold). Inclusion.

I am opposed to inclusion.

More people need to get comfortable with opposing inclusion, equity, and diversity. Until they do become more comfortable saying it out loud, nothing will change in our violent and dysfunctional schools.

🙄
You’re not being helpful at all. The massive over inclusion of certain very troubled SPED kids predates the DEI push. These are not the same thing.

We can't restrain, deliver consequences, remove their phones, keep them from interrupting lessons, expect any parent or admin support. Admin will not, and I mean WILL NOT, intervene.

It's not up to us. Additionally, we are BLAMED for kid's constant bad behavior, including from some seriously emotionally challenged kids, as well as threatened and ridiculed by their parents and yes, the school administration.

Nobody would actually believe this is a real job. I am a mentor to young teachers in my district.. They are all on meds. All.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those other places really do not exist anymore. Would you want to work in them? I'm a teacher and I have no issues with teachers getting paid much more to work there and I don't just mean a few thousand dollar bonuses either.

The few students who do end up getting a one on one aren't much better off because they continue in the same gen ed environment that is not the right place for them. I've seen a few former students end up in a life skills placement where they thrive. Fewer transitions, fewer demands placed on them, one on one attention, etc.

I've worked in a variety of special ed placements and the specific schools/programs for behavioral disorders are actually better IMO than working in inclusion or any setting where you are trying to manage 1-2 severe behavior cases while keeping everyone safe. It's quite remarkable how much more control some kids have when they know they'll get smacked back by another student or lose meaningful privileges. I have never seen a 1:1 be a meaningful intervention outside of physical disabilities, it's always a bandaid, usually because a parent won't consent to more restrictive placement.

My kid is at RICA. It’s considered the most restrictive placement. It is FABULOUS! It’s where my kid belongs. Classes are small. Teachers can teach. There are other staff members that deal with escalating behaviors. Paras in each class support the kids academically. My kid actually feels safe there even though kids sometimes attack each other or throw chairs. He feels safe because as soon as a behavior starts, support staff are called and show up to remove the child.

My kid is ready to leave RICA but there is no place for him to go so he’ll stay. It’s a shame because that means he’s not vacating the seat for a needier child.

The people who don’t want a more restrictive placement have no idea what they’re missing out on. My kids English class has 5 kids. He reads full books. His teacher has the ability to teach grammar, sentence structure, explain about complex sentences, and what makes a good essay. You can’t get that in a comprehensive school.

A poster above asked what we need—we need smaller class sizes. Most of the kids at RICA have some form of anxiety that creates the behavior. Reduce the noise, reduce the chaos, let the teachers build the relationships. The kids need to feel safe and supported. And by small classes I mean 15-20. What we do for title 1 schools needs to be the norm across the county.

I'm so glad you were able to utilize that placement. I have more experience with students going to lifeskills/autism programs but parents often express regret that they didn't do it sooner when they see their child thriving.

I think a lot of parents are scared of more restrictive placements. They’ve “heard” things. Their kids behavior isn’t as bad as some of the kids that they’ve heard attend and they don’t want them to be influenced and learn more bad behaviors. They don’t want to be different. Saying your kid is in a therapeutic placement doesn’t have the same cache as saying your kid is at Sidwell. They’ve heard that once you start you can never go back to a less restrictive placement.

Most parents at RICA are thrilled that their kid is there. Of course there are issues; every school has them. But overall it’s a pretty well run place. A lot of people end up there because it’s the last stop; they’ve exhausted all other options—both the school district and the parents. Yet once a kid gets there, they are no longer the “only”. They’re not the weird kid with behaviors that no one wants to hang out with. They are finally amongst their peers and can just be themselves. They don’t have to hold it together until they no longer can and just explode. RICA and other NPP placements are the type of environment that every parent of a misbehaving 3yr old on the SN forum fears—what if my kid is like that? But by the time you’ve exhausted other options, you are so grateful it exists. When you see your kid thrive for the first time all the stigma stuff goes away. It’s just really hard to accept that that’s what your kid needs before you’re ready to.

I sure hope the bolded isn’t true. The irony and entitlement would make my blood boil.

Ha ha! Sadly it's very true. Lots of parents post on the Kids with SN forum about this. The kids in NPP are not walking around throwing tantrums all day. For the most part, they can handle the school day appropriately. But when they explode, it's huge. RICA takes some of the most mentally ill/challenged kids in the county. Yes, your kid will be exposed to things you don't like. But someone else's kid will be exposed to your kids behaviors.

It does crack me up when parents want the support from these schools but feel that their kid is too high functioning to be lumped in with other kids just like them. That's the part that parents have a hard time admitting--your kid is just like those other kids. Your kid is one of them.

That’s why there should be NO tolerance for this type of thing in a mainstream setting. The behavior just gets normalized and all of them get exposed to it. Poorly behaved kids should be removed immediately. I honestly can’t understand why there isn’t political will to do something about this. I can only assume it’s a lack of awareness of how bad things are in our public schools.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those other places really do not exist anymore. Would you want to work in them? I'm a teacher and I have no issues with teachers getting paid much more to work there and I don't just mean a few thousand dollar bonuses either.

The few students who do end up getting a one on one aren't much better off because they continue in the same gen ed environment that is not the right place for them. I've seen a few former students end up in a life skills placement where they thrive. Fewer transitions, fewer demands placed on them, one on one attention, etc.

I've worked in a variety of special ed placements and the specific schools/programs for behavioral disorders are actually better IMO than working in inclusion or any setting where you are trying to manage 1-2 severe behavior cases while keeping everyone safe. It's quite remarkable how much more control some kids have when they know they'll get smacked back by another student or lose meaningful privileges. I have never seen a 1:1 be a meaningful intervention outside of physical disabilities, it's always a bandaid, usually because a parent won't consent to more restrictive placement.

My kid is at RICA. It’s considered the most restrictive placement. It is FABULOUS! It’s where my kid belongs. Classes are small. Teachers can teach. There are other staff members that deal with escalating behaviors. Paras in each class support the kids academically. My kid actually feels safe there even though kids sometimes attack each other or throw chairs. He feels safe because as soon as a behavior starts, support staff are called and show up to remove the child.

My kid is ready to leave RICA but there is no place for him to go so he’ll stay. It’s a shame because that means he’s not vacating the seat for a needier child.

The people who don’t want a more restrictive placement have no idea what they’re missing out on. My kids English class has 5 kids. He reads full books. His teacher has the ability to teach grammar, sentence structure, explain about complex sentences, and what makes a good essay. You can’t get that in a comprehensive school.

A poster above asked what we need—we need smaller class sizes. Most of the kids at RICA have some form of anxiety that creates the behavior. Reduce the noise, reduce the chaos, let the teachers build the relationships. The kids need to feel safe and supported. And by small classes I mean 15-20. What we do for title 1 schools needs to be the norm across the county.

I'm so glad you were able to utilize that placement. I have more experience with students going to lifeskills/autism programs but parents often express regret that they didn't do it sooner when they see their child thriving.

I think a lot of parents are scared of more restrictive placements. They’ve “heard” things. Their kids behavior isn’t as bad as some of the kids that they’ve heard attend and they don’t want them to be influenced and learn more bad behaviors. They don’t want to be different. Saying your kid is in a therapeutic placement doesn’t have the same cache as saying your kid is at Sidwell. They’ve heard that once you start you can never go back to a less restrictive placement.

Most parents at RICA are thrilled that their kid is there. Of course there are issues; every school has them. But overall it’s a pretty well run place. A lot of people end up there because it’s the last stop; they’ve exhausted all other options—both the school district and the parents. Yet once a kid gets there, they are no longer the “only”. They’re not the weird kid with behaviors that no one wants to hang out with. They are finally amongst their peers and can just be themselves. They don’t have to hold it together until they no longer can and just explode. RICA and other NPP placements are the type of environment that every parent of a misbehaving 3yr old on the SN forum fears—what if my kid is like that? But by the time you’ve exhausted other options, you are so grateful it exists. When you see your kid thrive for the first time all the stigma stuff goes away. It’s just really hard to accept that that’s what your kid needs before you’re ready to.

I sure hope the bolded isn’t true. The irony and entitlement would make my blood boil.

Ha ha! Sadly it's very true. Lots of parents post on the Kids with SN forum about this. The kids in NPP are not walking around throwing tantrums all day. For the most part, they can handle the school day appropriately. But when they explode, it's huge. RICA takes some of the most mentally ill/challenged kids in the county. Yes, your kid will be exposed to things you don't like. But someone else's kid will be exposed to your kids behaviors.

It does crack me up when parents want the support from these schools but feel that their kid is too high functioning to be lumped in with other kids just like them. That's the part that parents have a hard time admitting--your kid is just like those other kids. Your kid is one of them.