Why can't I get in touch with anyone at the Central Office? I need my child's IEP, can't even get an operator on the phone. The extensions listed on the webpage when I try them keep giving me an "invalid extension" messagee and then it just hangs up on me. Really people it shouldn't be this hard.... That is my rant.
Walloon, I feel your pain! I have 7 w/ IEP's. Call the school directly. It's so fustrating any more to deal w/ central office. I need three IEP's done ASAP. Middle school has agreed to meet once teachers are back. They were suprisingly cooperative. I get nowhere w/ central office so went directly to the school. My daughter's elementary school also said call and arrange as soon as I get her results back. Had outside testing done and glad I did! Still have yet to decide whether to hold her back or put her in self-contained. And our youngest needs an IEP desperately but central office is determined to drag their feet. They are saying they don't have results of his hearing testing from UNC. HELLO, I offered it to them as we have copies of everything! Don't get the logic there but letting them wade it out till I seek counsel on what to do next. Under law, if there is not a classroom for him, they HAVE to make one based on ADA. He is deaf(well, has AN) and needs a total communication preschool/ or kindergarten. They said none exist in Johnston County and instead wnat to send him to the Deaf school in Wilson. NO. Reason I say no is b/c he will be implanted w/ CI and will eventually become verbal. So we need a classroom that does sign and verbal. There is one in Wake County but none in Johnston. Time for one, don't you think? That is MY rant. I'm w/ you Walloon! These IEP's are nuts. If they'd cooperate and believe that the parents know what's best for the their chiild, we'd all be alot happier. I have the # to Central Office but have to find it. I suggest go in person though as it took well over a month to get my call returned. I was told I never called! Next time, I'm recording--LOL. Good luck. School is coming up and the excuse I got last year is they were too busy. Take care, stephanie--mom to 7
Central Services would not have the IEP. Those are kept in the EC file room at the individual school. The folder changes school when the child moves. Call 934-6031 and request the name of the person you need to speak with if the extension doesn't work. That number goes to the receptionist's desk. The IEP are generated through the federal dept. of education. The paperwork is nuts, I agree, but it's not the schools' fault.
There are specific things they look for at the federal level and certain things you must have paperwork for but actually each state and school system within the state create their own IEP paperwork.
I have kept my kids IEP #'s with their Social Security Cards since Kindergarten, never have to wait or call anyone. Learned that lesson.
I understand your wanting the child to stay in Jo. Co. in a classroom that meets his needs. However, you need to understand the school's position. It is more cost effective to pay to transport him to Wilson than to pay for a teacher who is completely literate in sign language for only ONE student who needs those services. You are asking the school system to hire a teacher specifically for your child. That means another teacher will lose his/her job since the state mandates the number of positions paid for at each school. Also, teachers who can sign are very rare. If Wake County, as big as it is, only has ONE for the entire school system, there must not be a large need for teachers with the ability to sign. (Obviously there IS a need, just that there are not large numbers of students who fit this category.) I know in Washington, NC when I was living there that there was an 8 year old girl who was in a vegetative state...no cognitive reasoning apparent, did not recognize her parents, etc...in a REGULAR CLASSROOM. The school system paid for a teacher's aide and a full time nurse to sit with her, change the bags that held her waste, fix her feeding tube and oxygen tubes because a doctor stated that when country music was played there was a slight increase in brain activity. The nurse's salary at the time (early 90s) was 45,000 and the aide was 10,000. With the cost of teachers' salaries back then, they could have hired TWO teachers to relieve overcrowding in the school. Like I said, I fully understand why you want your child to remain in Jo. Co. during the school day. Please just remember it's probably not that the school system is out to thwart your child's education.
Smiles, There is ALOT more to my story that I have not said on here on purpose. The school system is REQUIRED BY LAW to provide a free and appropriate education. We are NOT asking too much. BTW, there are other HOH/ Deaf kids' parents out there too. We are NOT the only ones. Right now, I'm collecting facts. That's it. Just the facts. I am not asking them to lose one teacher for our son. That's not it. Just provide him w/ an appropriate education. I could post on here a letter I wrote to the NCDPI a few years back at all the injustice to our kids' situations that had taken place. They were shocked as I named names and dates and exact things that transpired here in Johnston County. I'm tired of the county moving just the special ed kids around from school to school using overcrowding as an excuse. Hello, there aren't that many in special ed. Why move them?! My son was in 5th grade last year and it was his 6th school in Johnston County. Do you really think that's fair when in his IEP it states stability, stability, stability? No, not at all. BTW, in regards to HOH/ Deaf students, parents of these children went to arbitration at least 4 times last year and won every time. That is a fact. I was not one of those parents b/c i did not need the service at the time. But apparently, for it to go to arbitration, there is something that is not being done correctly in this county. And those were just some of the arbittration cases. It is amazing just what has happened in this county in regards to special ed that the majority of parents don't know about. It's sad. These kids have every right to an education as well. I know many special ed parents who've pulled their kids from school to homeschool. I wish I could do that but it is not an option at this time. So in the mean time, i have to fight for the services they are entitled to. We are not taking away from other students. Any one's child can end up in a special ed class at any time. Accidents happen, biolgoy changes in a child, genetics, etc. It can happen to anyone at any time. Just b/c those children were "normal" once and now need a special ed setting, doesn't mean they require any less of an education. Just a different one. The head of special ed years ago looked at my daughter and said she'll never pass a second grade level. What?! How dare she. She isgoing into 7th grade this year. Most likely at a 4th grade level steady but gaining knowledge each year. Well past expectations of the "educators." You don't know what these kids are capable of unless you give them a chance. So, if they need a teacher to help them w/ this, then you need a teacher. Just my two cents worth. I have so much more to say on this but don't want to open a can of worms right before school. Plus, I have to sit through a ton of these IEP meetings right before school. Have a great weekend. Those others out there w/ special ed kids, don't let the educators every tell you your child is not capable of anything. Here is a link to some IEP situations: http://nclid.unco.edu/nclid/dhh/ There are other great links out there as well. Wrights Law is definitely one of them. You can quote from that too. Good luck. Take care, STephanie--mom to 7
I second that! I have the utmost respect and admiration for someone who will adopt 7 special needs kids, and then fight for them every day to make sure they get the best education for them. God bless you.
I understand that the law allows the school system, at ITS expense, to give a child the appropriate educational setting by sending him/her out of the county. I am not saying there are no problems in Jo. Co., since I have friends who have dealt with different issues. My only point was that if your child is the only one who has that special need (it sounds like more children might need it, I don't know. I was just responding to your thread) than it is possible that it is more cost effective. I do know that fully qualified EC teachers are not commonplace. There is a shortage everywhere for these teachers so if one school has three students, one has four, and another has five, the school system, which is obligated to wisely spend our tax dollars, can meet the educational needs of all 12 students by putting them in one classroom in one school. Is this perfect? NO! Is this completely fair to the students who change schools? NO! Is this better than struggling to find 2 more qualified teachers and starting school with a substitute who is clueless about how to teach students with special needs? I would think so! I certainly did not mean to imply your child's needs should not be met. I just wanted you to consider a few reasons the system might be encouraging the school in Wilson. My uncle is mentally handicapped (a friend in education told me that in today's world he'd be considered "EMD"?) and his educational needs were certainly not met in the 1950s. I have spoken to my mother and grandmother many times about things that happened to him in school. Thank goodness we've come beyond what they gave to children like him back then, although it's still not perfect by any means.
There is a folder for your child at the school as well as at the Administrative Annex in Smithfield. If you can't get anyone by phone, you can email the EC director directly. If you need her email addy, pm me.
As a self contained EC elementary teacher I do find the situation...well....intriguing....please do not take what I am saying as textbook regulation....it is just me thinking out loud...doesn't JCS provide a self contained classroom environment or regular education classroom where an interpreter is available? I know the interpreters are not allowed to actually "teach" the student...only to interpret... Abdulina, I know you and I PM'ed a bit about this....wondering if what you are saying is that your child should be actually taught the sign language in the classroom...???.... pondering this for a moment and wondering if, by law, this is required of public schools????...not too sure....
Thanks everyone. Ours is such an unique situation it is hard for many to understand. I also understand that the schools are stretched for funds. Our son was adopted 8 months ago from Russia. They did not realize he had a hearing problem. Instead, they said he was mute due to trauma. He has auditory neuropathy(AN) and controversial dx in itself. To compound issues, he has RP(retinitis pigmentosa). Meaning, he's also going to slowly go blind. However, the blindness does not even play a part right now. Neither do his sensory integration issues or some other things gonig on. He is highly intelligent. He has gone from an 18 month old developmentally when he came home to a 4 or 5yo devel right now. He is 4yo btw. This is an amazing transformation and know it is b/c we try to communicate w/ him. interpreters in school won't really help him as he's not fluent in ASL. We are all just still learning. The orphanage didn't know he was deaf let alone going blind. We are desperately trying to get implants and that is a whole different story. UNC is not providing JCPS w/ the info they need. He is NOT considered Deaf. He is considered moderate to severe hearing loss. Though whatever he can happen to hear he does not understand a bit. AN is when he has the auditory waves go to the brain but then they go dead before they get there. So no way for him to process any type of sound. We have found other children implanted this late in life and have learned language very quickly in conjunction w/ sign. Our son has already around 200 sign knowledge. Yep, unfortunately even knows the sign for shopping--LOL. This is a smart guy and I don't want to lose him in the system. They cost one of my daughters 2 years of education. No one ever seems to believe the parent when they say there is a problem. Urghh. Anyhow, our son is quick to learn. I wanted him in a preschool environment though and was told I was not allowed to do that. His b-day is so close to the cut off. So, if I do happen to let him go to school, they want him in kindergarten and he'd be 4yo for Aug & Sept. He belongs in a preschool class. trouble is, the rules are changing next year so this wouldn't be a problem to get him in a preschool setting IF it were next year. Another contributing factor is they view him as ESL...what?! He never spoke Russian, never understood Russian yet they want him to be tested in Russian. I just don't get it. What the school system has set up for ESL is mostly geared towards the folks who don't speak english in the home as well. When our kids arrive home, they lose their native language w/in the first month. Within 3 months, they are pretty much fluent minus syntex and vocab at times. Right now, our ohter daughter who's been home for 8 months now, can not remember any Russian. She's fluent in english enough to use sarcasm. Originally they wanted her tested in Russian as well and I refused and opted for teh nonverbal IQ test. It is complicated as we don't speak their native language at home. There's no way they can retain it. So they lose it more quickly. However, ESL is set up for 3years before you're allowed to get resource or special ed services. I have to fight this rule every time as our situation is unique. It's maddening I know and could not possibly explain it all. Just know, I only wnat the best for our kids. That's it. Not out to get the school system, not out to get administrators, I just want my children to be able to learn to the best of their ability. BTW, I whole-heartedly agree there are not enough EC teachers. These teachers are the BEST but rarely get recognized for what they do. My hat goes off to them. My kids would not be where they are today if it were not for some of those teachers. They are the BEST of teh BEST and think the school should recognize them more. Like last yera when my daughter's EC teacher was begging for help. They had not been following the rules. There is only a certain # of students per EC classroom allowed. My daughters's had 17 kids, all different catergories and teacher couldn't properly teach. Not her fault at all. She was begging for help. Parents tried to help but our hands were tied. --per advocates. Anyhow, it was just ashame that such good teachers that beg for the school administrators don't get the help they need. These are EC teachers and if they ask for help, for goodness sakes give it to them! Got to run. Just saying I want to thank the EC teachers for their efforts. They deal w/ more than most parents will ever understand. Take care, Stephanie--mom to 7
