Failing 2nd Grade?

[aslyn]

So my DD is 9 and in 2nd grade and working on a K level (she is still a pre-reader, and working on K level math) when we transitioned from homeschool to public they gave it the old "oh she hasnt been properly instructed" thing, and they had to put her in 2nd because of her age. Which now they are realizing is not true and are in the process of evaluating her with a battery of tests. In the meantime she is in a general education class. In a meeting with a roomful of specialists yesterday I was told as long as she is in the general ed class she will be getting all N's which I completely understand, they have GREATLY modified the cirriculum and her teacher said that any teacher who works with her will have to be extremely patient and repeat things over and over. however the next meeting scheduled isn't until the end of April to determine if she qualifies for special ed, We (the school, and dh and I) are all pretty convinced she will and they will be presenting a rough draft of an IEP (if any) at this meeting. Now our question is how do they handle the passing/failing of grade levels in a situation like this in general? Do they usualy move the kids ahead a grade level or present other options? Honestly DH and I are not hung up on grade levels, We are just curious how these types of things are handled so we know what we should expect in a few months when school is let out for the summer, and people start asking questions about next yr.

[karne]

There are a lot of factors that go into consideration of whether to retain or pass a student. I believe that there is a feeling in Special Ed that retention doesn't always have positive benefits, so if you feel strongly that you would like your dd to be retained you may have to advocate for that.

Some considerations may be the amount of progress she's been able to make, with intervention, her emotional and social skills, the level of intervention she needs, etc. Her teachers should be able to talk with you about where they see the best placement for her, taking all of those considerations into their ideas for you.

Is she stressed by school?

The testing process should reveal her areas of academic need, and also highlight some of her strengths. In some schools, kids are pulled out (or services are pushed in) for the core academic areas, and then the children participate as part of their class for special subjects, etc. Do you know other kids/families who receive special ed services, or who have chosen retention in your school? You may find their experiences helpful. I urge you to become as fully knowledgeable as you can about whatever learning challenges your dd is facing, as well as her rights, and what a good IEP would look like for her. Research retention for your own information. If things look complex for your dd, it's always a possibility to seek a full neuropsych and educational testing on your own.

What are your thoughts about what your dd needs?

[aslyn]

My DD is not on a 2nd grade level at all in any way shape or form, she has serious delays in social,adaptive,and academic functioning. There are many many evaluations in progress both through the school and privately and they are suspecting a "cognitive disability" and/or a specified learning disability. We just moved to this area, and really don't know anyone yet but are hoping once all the testing is said and done we will be able to find resources/support groups that will help all of us to deal with all of this and help her succeed. Where we lived before we tried desperatly work with her; we hired in private tutors and nobody was able to help make things click for her. Which is why we put her in public schools. In all honesty, We did not realize things were as bad as they were until we did that, My DS entered K this yr and is running circles around her developmentaly and academicly, but I think we just didnt want to face that there may be a problem other than just a reading delay.

As far as holding her back or passing her on, I do not really see any benefit either way at this point. She is nowhere near being able to handle even a 1st grade level of work, she still cannot remember sight words, tell time, or do math facts beyond 1+1=2. She can recognize all of her letters but cannot write them without a model. I really don't even see the point of "grade levels" at all in a situation like hers there is no way she can function in a general education class of 2nd grade, much less 3rd and they did try the "pull out" program/Tier 3 intervention which they are still doing while we are waiting on results to come in.

Currently I am researching IEP's and making a list of everything DH and I feel need to be addressed in it so we can be prepared for that meeting. But as far as the retention, I am not even sure what the norm is on it.

Thanx

[Linda on the move]

I suspect that once the evaluation is complete, they will put her in a self contained sn classroom. At our school, kids tend to be with age mates in a very small class with multiple teacher (like 10 kids with 2 teachers) and the children are worked with very individually.

The children are then put into a regular classroom with their age mates for certain subjects/acitivites depending on the child.

[CarrieMF]

She is nowhere near being able to handle even a 1st grade level of work, she still cannot remember sight words, tell time, or do math facts beyond 1+1=2. She can recognize all of her letters but cannot write them without a model.

This depends on where you live. Here the letters would be K level.

They start reading in kindergarten, but don't start sight words until Grade 1. Does she know any of the first 100(grade 1) sight words, or are they trying to get her to read the 200(grade 2) sight words. When we did sight word blitzes the first year we had a couple of kids in Grades 4-6 who due to academic delays had different sight word lists than the other kids.

Telling time isn't taught in alot of places anymore. They do it in Grade 2 here.

1+1=2 would be Grade 1 level here.

If she is delayed socially it may benefit her to hold her back, IF her social skills are things that can be worked on(in an IEP) and improved.

Academically she will probably be behind her peers for a couple of years, though with help she can catch up. She's only 1-2 years behind academically.

In my dd's class(grade 6) there's a girl who is pulled out for most subjects due to academic delays. She is advanced every year & has different subject matter than the rest of them. She does some of the same projects, but is marked differently & not expected to have the same amount of work put in. She has a full time TA & has since she started in K.

Whether to hold her back or not would really depend on what the school comes up with for a plan. 1-2 years behind if she had a full time aid & pull out classes I'd most likely keep her in for another year and see if she improves. If she doesn't after a full year then I'd hold back for 1.

Has she been in this school since the beginning of the school year? If so I'd question why it's taken so long to get these meetings, IEP, etc.

They can't hold back without your & dh's permission.

[aslyn]

Thanx for the input mammas!

Here thy teach time telling and money in K, as well as basic reading/writing skills and sight words. She cannot read ANY sight words, even "the" she cannot remember. She has been in school since the begging of this yr, we moved back to our home state in December (We used a virtual school in the old state because we knew we would be moving) She has been on Tier 3 intervention since. She has made NO progress on the tier 3 plan. The data presented at the meeting yesterday suggested that shes tanking from 1 week to the next and we are all suspecting a problem with short term memory, moving on to the next objective is just not an option with her she has to have things repeated to her for weeks on end in order to get it which is why homeschooling bombed with her, but my DS knew how to read before entering school this year.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by aslyn

The data presented at the meeting yesterday suggested that shes tanking from 1 week to the next and we are all suspecting a problem with short term memory, moving on to the next objective is just not an option with her she has to have things repeated to her for weeks on end

I come to this board because of my older DD. My younger Dd is typically developing, and in her classroom this year there is a little girl who sounds like your DD. She spends a much of the day in the sn classroom and joins my DD's class for things like art, PE, etc. My DD and her best friend, both of whom have a sn sibling, have taken her under their wings this year. It's been very sweet.

I just want to assure you that as your sweet little girl goes through life, she'll meet peers who like and accept her for who she is. They'll get excited for her as she does new things, help her out, and be her friends.

[aslyn]

Thank you Linda On The Move I have read many of your posts and appreciate your input This has all been pretty crazy for us, and DH and I are just so worried about everything (the smallest detail) we are barely making it through the day without being completely scatterbrained. I am so glad there are nice kids out there, and not all will tease her for being her eccentric self