In the gymnasium at North Bend Elementary, a smallish school in a mostly agrarian county in northeast Maryland, we parents sat packed together in tight rows. We were prepping for a transition. In the front of the gym, on the floor, were rows of children from kindergarten through fourth grade. They were present as witnesses to this celebration of the fifth graders. Today, the school would laud … [Read more...]
10 Positive Ways to Advocate at School
Advocacy at school. For many in the special needs community, that phrase conjures images of parents breathing fire while toting armloads of files and folders into an IEP meeting or annual review. Not a pretty picture. And, if the truth be told from my vantage point as a former teacher, it's not the most effective way to advocate at school either. During my 25 years in public education, the … [Read more...]
Mid-September Is a Good Time to Pray
Mid-September. The time of the year when the bloom is off the new school year rose. Lovely summer tans begin to fade. New shoes get scuffed. Spiffy school clothes lose their sizing in the wash. Haircuts go scruffy. The first wave of viruses rips through the classroom. Kids, who have been on their best behavior for days and weeks, begin to crack under the strain, and their true personalities … [Read more...]
Moving from Us versus Them to We
For 25 years, I dreaded August. Not because of my anxieties as a parent. But because of my anxieties as a teacher whose inclusive fourth grade classroom contained a high percentage of special need and at risk students. What made me anxious? Getting the classroom in order. New procedures that ate away at preparation and teaching time. Meeting students. Meeting parents. Not having the … [Read more...]
Take It To the Mattresses
Another school year looms around the corner. We just moved from one state to another when school was out in mid-June. School in the old state started the last week of August and ended in mid-June. School in the new state starts the first week of August and ends in mid-May. That leaves my kids, who are moving from a late-starting school to an early-starting school, only 6 glorious weeks of summer … [Read more...]
She Opened Her Door
“How many doors will suddenly close as we go down the hall today?” “How many stares will we get along the way?” “What if he stops to squeal, make his loud noises, or stomp his feet so forcefully every few steps?” “Oh God, please let us make it out of the building today without any hurtful incidents.” Our son’s Comprehensive Development Classroom was at the very end of what I was convinced was … [Read more...]