A’s first day of school and subsequent days were fantastic. A stayed all morning on the first day with no behavioural mentions. And to believe that his principal wanted him to go home at 9am!! He proved them wrong again by doing well the following two days. I will be asking the teacher to write a log so that I can keep abreast of his morning in class. A was able to tell me what he did at school, what he had to eat each day and that he made new friends. He also divulged to me that he is bored in his classroom. What he is saying is not too surprising. His accomplishments are astounding.
He can count to 100, sing the entire alphabet, socialize well with peers his age and older and read many books by himself (the ones with lots of words). He is currently learning more about time, money, adding and subtracting. Daddy is a certified school teacher and thinks that A meets all the requirements for Grade 1. If he went to grade 1, he would be learning beyond socializing and block time. On the first day of school, I discussed this with J.L. but she wasn’t having it. She hasn’t got to know A yet and maybe a teacher to principal chat will get things moving. I feel the dreadful feeling again that any meeting with J.L will be a pain yet the nagging message in the back of my mind to try and get along as much as possible.
Today, I was told A had an excellent day but had difficulty cleaning up. Ms B’s response specifically was, “A had an excellent day but he struggled with clean up after circle time. I just let him stay there instead because I have 20 other kids to look after”. Her tone of voice and defensive response really cast a sour mood during the short conversation. She had two children left whose parents’ had not arrived yet she behaved as if she had a whole class left to dismiss. My response was to share A’s thoughts and to explore the idea of full day Grade 1 with an SNA/EA support. A meets many expectations of Ontario’s Kindergarten Curriculum such as;
- identify and use social skills in play and other contexts
- demonstrate an ability to use problem-solving skills in a variety of social contexts
- demonstrate a beginning understanding of the diversity in individuals, families, schools, and the wider community (empathy)
- demonstrate a sense of identity and a positive self-image
- demonstrate independence, self-regulation, and a willingness to take responsibility in learning and other activities
- demonstrate an awareness of their surroundings (A can tell you almost every store, most subway stations and street names with ease!)
- demonstrate understanding and critical awareness of a variety of written materials that are read by and with the EL–K team (I like the Clifford book because I really like dogs)
- communicate in writing, using strategies that are appropriate for beginners (he likes to write e-mails to Grandma – I’m sure that’s beyond appropriate)
- demonstrate a beginning understanding and critical awareness of media texts
Ms B immediately dismissed this – again I heard its not age appropriate AND, read this, “I have many JK students who can read by themselves”. I’m beyond awe – what did the last school say about us?? Who is this woman? I ask myself why is no one considering that A possibly has enough potential to try Grade 1. He would require an SNA most likely for transitional periods and the SNA is already available for children in Grade 1 and up according to J.L. So what is the harm? A has plenty of time spent socializing with older children and also again surpassing curriculum expectations for SK and JK alike. How is A hanging out with 3 year olds for half the day any more beneficial than placing him with children who can model proper social norms (e.g. sitting at a desk) or talk about interests A’s actually interested in? It continues to amaze me how A’s teacher knows so much about the rest the class but hasn’t really commented on anything positive about his day other than he was “excellent”. Any word can become far from music to the ears after a while.
Furthermore, A shared that in today’s class that Ms B yelled too loud at William****** (changed to protect identity) and covered his ears while explaining. He went on to say that he wants to be in Mrs F’s class because she doesn’t yell at her class and he was told “writing is not allowed” and that he must draw dots instead. I believe that while children tell the occasional white lie, A is very much able to articulate his feelings. I asked him about his last teacher, Ms A, and her classroom etiquette. “I like Ms A, she doesn’t yell.. why can’t we go to Q.V? Ms B makes me feel nervous.” The more days A goes to school, the more he shares his feelings of sadness, nervousness and fear. Is all the progress A has made and the hard work we do at home all in vain??
Our first step is to draft a letter formally requesting another IPRC meeting for the ‘review’ component of said acronym. It should not be an issue since I have offered A’s principal copies of IPRC, SST and Safety Plan notes (and she refused). We have contacted our lawyer in the interim and will be also drafting our own letter in a few weeks. P and I felt it was best to naturally give the school a few weeks before sending our first legal letter. In the meantime, hubby and I have some work to do of our own.
My next post for the involved parents of the world will about how to effectively write a letter to school administration. Stay tuned