Yesterday after school was our "transition IEP" meeting. Yay. LOL (Nobody likes these meetings, do they? I mean, not really).
It was also the first IEP meeting with Jack in attendance. (It was held in the Intervention Specialist's room, because the conference room was double-booked, but it worked out great. After Jack got tired of sitting there listening to us talk, he went over to a couch and vegged with his tablet. He did listen, which was great. He even chimed in a couple of times).
I make it a point to contact the next school well before he attends it. It makes me feel more at ease if I can speak with (and, if possible, meet with) the new I.S., or any other person who my son will be dealing with on a daily basis. Better for us all of the way around to become acquainted ASAP. So a week or two ago, having failed to attend the school's Transition meeting for all parents of out-going 8th graders/in-coming Freshman, I decided to email his future Intervention Specialist. She did email back, thank goodness, and was very reassuring about how 9th grade will go.
She said a number of times that once the kids get there, "they're mine". So unless something crazy were to happen, all of Jack's teachers would know to text or call her. They would contact me if there was an issue with school work, but for anything else- behaviors, him needing to take a time out, etc- they would contact her. It would either be herself or the Freshman Principal (I think.. maybe she said VP) who would handle the minor incidents, such as having him serve a lunch detention in their rooms. More severe behaviors would involve another lady, but this IS wants to avoid having Jack go to that room as much as possible. (Otherwise, he might revert back to old behaviors. Makes sense).
The IEP is very accommodating, in that he'll be allowed to (quietly) leave each class 2 minutes early, to get to his next class. (Students get about half the time in high school that they do in middle school. Considering the size of the place and the craziness of the layout, it sets me in a panic- and I'm not the one attending!) He's going to be taking a class not usually offered to Freshman, and it's across the street from the main campus. The kids who attend those classes get 15 minutes extra, to and fro, due to the traffic signals. There was some concern that since this particular class will not have an aide, about what would happen should he need a break? (Or heaven forbid, get so worked up that he wanted to run?). All in all, I think that if I more or less have the same kid in the Fall that I do now- on point, mentally well, mature, etc- then we should have little-to-no issues.
It was nice, though. His science, math, Spanish and Language Arts teachers were all in attendance. They all had such wonderful things to say about Jack. It was hard not to tear up. I don't think it was just because he was in there. I have spoken with them privately, and gotten the same comments. Of course there are problems- what kid doesn't have them? They were acknowledged in as low-key a way as possible, given that he'd already smacked his head once and asked "Why do we have to talk about that?" But those comments were so minimal, and so "average" to any student, that I just felt proud to have this guy as my son.
It was also the first IEP meeting with Jack in attendance. (It was held in the Intervention Specialist's room, because the conference room was double-booked, but it worked out great. After Jack got tired of sitting there listening to us talk, he went over to a couch and vegged with his tablet. He did listen, which was great. He even chimed in a couple of times).
I make it a point to contact the next school well before he attends it. It makes me feel more at ease if I can speak with (and, if possible, meet with) the new I.S., or any other person who my son will be dealing with on a daily basis. Better for us all of the way around to become acquainted ASAP. So a week or two ago, having failed to attend the school's Transition meeting for all parents of out-going 8th graders/in-coming Freshman, I decided to email his future Intervention Specialist. She did email back, thank goodness, and was very reassuring about how 9th grade will go.
She said a number of times that once the kids get there, "they're mine". So unless something crazy were to happen, all of Jack's teachers would know to text or call her. They would contact me if there was an issue with school work, but for anything else- behaviors, him needing to take a time out, etc- they would contact her. It would either be herself or the Freshman Principal (I think.. maybe she said VP) who would handle the minor incidents, such as having him serve a lunch detention in their rooms. More severe behaviors would involve another lady, but this IS wants to avoid having Jack go to that room as much as possible. (Otherwise, he might revert back to old behaviors. Makes sense).
The IEP is very accommodating, in that he'll be allowed to (quietly) leave each class 2 minutes early, to get to his next class. (Students get about half the time in high school that they do in middle school. Considering the size of the place and the craziness of the layout, it sets me in a panic- and I'm not the one attending!) He's going to be taking a class not usually offered to Freshman, and it's across the street from the main campus. The kids who attend those classes get 15 minutes extra, to and fro, due to the traffic signals. There was some concern that since this particular class will not have an aide, about what would happen should he need a break? (Or heaven forbid, get so worked up that he wanted to run?). All in all, I think that if I more or less have the same kid in the Fall that I do now- on point, mentally well, mature, etc- then we should have little-to-no issues.
It was nice, though. His science, math, Spanish and Language Arts teachers were all in attendance. They all had such wonderful things to say about Jack. It was hard not to tear up. I don't think it was just because he was in there. I have spoken with them privately, and gotten the same comments. Of course there are problems- what kid doesn't have them? They were acknowledged in as low-key a way as possible, given that he'd already smacked his head once and asked "Why do we have to talk about that?" But those comments were so minimal, and so "average" to any student, that I just felt proud to have this guy as my son.
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