Guys I am hoping someone can help me out here. I'm so frustrated w/ dd teacher right now. Dd is in public school because DH and I don't agree on homeschooling, and it's not worth our relationship to homeschool IMO right now. Anyway Dd teacher has her seeing the special education teacher daily for math. Few issues is that A, they didn't even let me know it was happening. B Dd has an A in math so why would she need special education. C Dd on 2 seperate tests NOT administered by me scored 90-99% nationally in math. She has taught herself multiplication and division at 7yrs old because she wanted to learn it. She set a goal for kindergarten to learn to tell time and she mastered it. She learned money before she was 6yrs old because she wanted to learn it. She is a self learner. If she wants to learn it she runs with it and sks questions and works at it until she maters it all on her own. I help her find resources but she doesn't like much help in learning it just checking that she is doing it right. I'm really bothered by the fact that her teacher has done this. I have emailed both teachers to try to get some asnwers and trying VERY hard to remain calm yet it's not easy because when it comes to my child I get protective and tend to be defensive. However I jsut have a really hard time that a child who just got a 98% on her report card in math is also special education math. Right now she has a 100% in math. Anyone know if they can even put them in special education without parents permission? Honestly I'm starting to think they did it just so they can get more money for her or because we are free lunch.
I would think that there would have to be an IEP involved, and at least a phone call. I would be livid too, and my husband would have to hold me back from going down there and jerkin' a few chains. If they aren't responding to your emails, or returning your calls, then it's time for you to go down there, and speak to them. Meet DD after school at the office and demand to see the teacher. Don't let them pussyfoot around with you about it, because they'll try if they don't think you're serious. Just try and be calm and ask for an answer to your questions. Maybe this will be a learning experience for DH? lol
Are you sure she's seeing the special education teacher and not some sort of math resource teacher? In one of the schools I worked in, we had a literacy resource teacher who would go into classrooms and pull children out to work on reading. Sometimes they were children who were behind and sometimes they were children who needed to be challenged beyond what their class was working on. If they don't answer you e-mail, give the office or the teacher a call or go down there. If she's truly seeing the special education teacher, she should need to have an IEP. They definitely won't be getting any kind of special money for her seeing the special ed teacher without one.
Right now I have my parents holding me back since DH is at work. I kept dd home today because she was extra crabby but also because I was so mad. My mom told me to keep calm(not an easy thing for me to do under normal circumstances much less this). She has offered to keep dd when I go talk to them if needed. I also just sent an email to the principal and assistant principal to see if they have any insight. I'm trying really hard to be patient and wait for them to get back with me, which I know may be the end of the day and that's fine because I do understand they are teachers and working during the day. I'm just so frustrated it's not the first issue this teacher and I have run into over dd and her education this year. It's not the first I've talked w/ the pricipal about it either. I've been trying very hard to get her into gifted services like she needs so she can be challenged and then this just blew me away. I'm hoping that maybe I'm wrong about this but I know the website labels this teacher she sees for math as special ed and the teacher's page says she is special ed and a study buddy to help with extra help needed in math or reading so it dounds like special ed but I'm hoping it's a case where she also works to challenge kids though it doesn't seem to be the case based on what dd brings home that she has been doing w/ the teacher.
Just heard from the teachers and it is part of a new program they have started for math. They divide the kids up into high, average, and below average groups to work on the topic at hand in math in a hands on fun way. My daughter is in the high group it just happens to be taught by one of the special ed teachers. I feel a bit silly now for getting so upset but that mommy gut reaction i shard to control sometimes plus I had kinda deep down wanted a reason that might help DH decide to bring her home
No. There's NOTHING to feel silly about!!! I'm quite OK with the special ed teacher doing the high math class. I use to be special ed, and would have LOVED to teach a group just once a week of kids that were VERY capable to help me keep my sanity ! But the issue is more the lack of communication. No one bothered to tell you (or any of the other parents) what was going on. If they had bothered sending the parents a note home telling what they were doing and why, all this could have been avoided. When did they start this, just out of curiosity?
"Gifted" classes are also considered "special ed" because they have special learning needs OVER AND ABOVE what the "regular" kids usually do.
Jackie they just started after fall break on the 15th and it's the first year the school has done this so it's a brand new program. They had kinda mentioned it to the parents at parent teacher night saying they would have kids in groups for math and reading a little later in the year. Parent teacher though was g 6 and nothing had been said since then. It was just a tiny blurb at parent teacher night too. It is one of dd favorite parts of the day because it's all hands on and they don't have to sit and listen to a lecture and have fun worksheets. I am just so glad I got answers and got them quickly. Better communication from the school on a brand new math program would have been beneficial though.
We did something like that when I student taught 6th grade. In this school, 6 was elementary, not middle school. I had all the top kids for language, and really loved it!!! I was able to do some stuff I'd never be able to do if I had had all ability levels.
