Re: Letter grades for high schoolers?

[Guest guest]

This is an excellent question, Season.

I am going to shop it around and see if I can get some good info...anyone else

have insight in to this?

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

Letter grades for high schoolers?

Hi, All,

My son (who has autism) is fifteen and just started high school

recently. He's in a living skills program (they learn to cook, shop,

order at restaurants, etc., in addition to their regular classes like

math). Rather than receiving letter grades, he receives progress

reports. How he's doing is based on IEP goals rather than being

scored as a mainstream student.

I received a call from his teacher today, and she says the school is

switching to letter grades for special needs students IF the parents

would like them (this has something to do with the students' rights,

and that part of the conversation went completely over my head. I was

too focused on whether a letter grade is necessary and how this lack

of them--or addition of them--might affect his future).

My question is this, and I'm not sure if anyone would know, but maybe

someone out there has dealt with a similar situation: Does it matter

if a special needs student has letter grades when we're talking about

his/her future (and possible college attendance)? Or would taking

entrance exams and having " passing " grades in high school suffice?

My son's ( " neurologically typical " ) older sister is away at college.

He sees that she went from high school to college and he talks about

doing the same himself. But he's far from being independent at this

point. He has issues with frustration. This morning, for instance, he

toppled two chairs in class because another student was directing

some anger toward a teacher. This was right on the heels of my son

having a great, productive morning. Fortunately, he's got a terrific

teacher who doesn't get upset with him, but tries to work with him on

alternate ways to deal with his frustrations. After the incident (and

remember, what happened didn't even involve him at all) he shut down,

pulled up the hood on his hoodie, and wouldn't--or perhaps couldn't--

explain why he was upset. He tends to project others' behaviors onto

himself. He might come home from school and say he had a terrible

day, but later we discover that another student had some problems and

he was just feeding off of the negativity. We think this might be a

puberty issue (and I'm looking into getting some therapy for him as

well as for myself soon).

So--maybe it's unrealistic of me to hope that he'll get to the point

where college is even a possibility. But he's made such enormous

leaps and bounds (he barely even spoke--except for echolalia--when he

was younger, and now he talks up a storm about subjects in his areas

of interest. He's got incredible computer skills. He looks you in the

eye when he speaks, and even sometimes initiates conversations. So

there's vast improvement going on). I don't want to limit him. It's

nice not having to worry over letter grades, but if the lack of them

would be somehow detrimental to his future I'd reconsider.

Sorry. Didn't mean for this to be so long (or such a rant!). But I

thought someone out there might have some clue. I had the teacher

mark me down as a " maybe, " and I'm thinking about what to do, plus

she gave me the phone number of an administrator to call and ask

questions.

Just thought I'd put this out there and see how others may have dealt

with this situation.

Thanks for listening,

Season

[Guest guest]

When my daughter was in the fifth grade, she was being graded like the NT

students.  I didn't like that one bit, because she came home with bad grades.

Finato

www.AngelSpeaks.com

www.wegrowdreams.org

From: seasonhfox <harperfox@...>

Subject: Letter grades for high schoolers?

IPADDUnite

Date: Monday, September 22, 2008, 1:06 PM

Hi, All,

My son (who has autism) is fifteen and just started high school

recently. He's in a living skills program (they learn to cook, shop,

order at restaurants, etc., in addition to their regular classes like

math). Rather than receiving letter grades, he receives progress

reports. How he's doing is based on IEP goals rather than being

scored as a mainstream student.

I received a call from his teacher today, and she says the school is

switching to letter grades for special needs students IF the parents

would like them (this has something to do with the students' rights,

and that part of the conversation went completely over my head. I was

too focused on whether a letter grade is necessary and how this lack

of them--or addition of them--might affect his future).

My question is this, and I'm not sure if anyone would know, but maybe

someone out there has dealt with a similar situation: Does it matter

if a special needs student has letter grades when we're talking about

his/her future (and possible college attendance)? Or would taking

entrance exams and having " passing " grades in high school suffice?

My son's ( " neurologically typical " ) older sister is away at college.

He sees that she went from high school to college and he talks about

doing the same himself. But he's far from being independent at this

point. He has issues with frustration. This morning, for instance, he

toppled two chairs in class because another student was directing

some anger toward a teacher. This was right on the heels of my son

having a great, productive morning. Fortunately, he's got a terrific

teacher who doesn't get upset with him, but tries to work with him on

alternate ways to deal with his frustrations. After the incident (and

remember, what happened didn't even involve him at all) he shut down,

pulled up the hood on his hoodie, and wouldn't--or perhaps couldn't--

explain why he was upset. He tends to project others' behaviors onto

himself. He might come home from school and say he had a terrible

day, but later we discover that another student had some problems and

he was just feeding off of the negativity. We think this might be a

puberty issue (and I'm looking into getting some therapy for him as

well as for myself soon).

So--maybe it's unrealistic of me to hope that he'll get to the point

where college is even a possibility. But he's made such enormous

leaps and bounds (he barely even spoke--except for echolalia--when he

was younger, and now he talks up a storm about subjects in his areas

of interest. He's got incredible computer skills. He looks you in the

eye when he speaks, and even sometimes initiates conversations. So

there's vast improvement going on). I don't want to limit him. It's

nice not having to worry over letter grades, but if the lack of them

would be somehow detrimental to his future I'd reconsider.

Sorry. Didn't mean for this to be so long (or such a rant!). But I

thought someone out there might have some clue. I had the teacher

mark me down as a " maybe, " and I'm thinking about what to do, plus

she gave me the phone number of an administrator to call and ask

questions.

Just thought I'd put this out there and see how others may have dealt

with this situation.

Thanks for listening,

Season

[Guest guest]

My son finished high school in 2005, from a high school that gave letter grades

to spec ed students--or most of them, along with progress reports on IEP goals.

I might ask for a meeting with the teacher and the head of the spec ed dept to

get the ramifications spelled out.  This will give more detailed information

than is possible in a quick phone call.

Ask if letter grades mean that his classes would apply to meeting graduation

requirements, and a regular high school diploma.

My guess is that the classes won't qualify to achieving a h.s. diploma, because

that would entail a certain number of semesters in math, English, science,

etc.   Although a college wants a GPA, it also wants an ACT or SAT score, and a

regular diploma with regular ed coursework completed.

Now, community colleges can be different, at least for some coursework.  But

first ask about what the meaning is of getting a letter grade, and ask what are

the pros and cons of each.

-Gail

From: seasonhfox <harperfox@...>

Subject: Letter grades for high schoolers?

IPADDUnite

Date: Monday, September 22, 2008, 3:06 PM

Hi, All,

My son (who has autism) is fifteen and just started high school

recently. He's in a living skills program (they learn to cook, shop,

order at restaurants, etc., in addition to their regular classes like

math). Rather than receiving letter grades, he receives progress

reports. How he's doing is based on IEP goals rather than being

scored as a mainstream student.

I received a call from his teacher today, and she says the school is

switching to letter grades for special needs students IF the parents

would like them (this has something to do with the students' rights,

and that part of the conversation went completely over my head. I was

too focused on whether a letter grade is necessary and how this lack

of them--or addition of them--might affect his future).

My question is this, and I'm not sure if anyone would know, but maybe

someone out there has dealt with a similar situation: Does it matter

if a special needs student has letter grades when we're talking about

his/her future (and possible college attendance)? Or would taking

entrance exams and having " passing " grades in high school suffice?

My son's ( " neurologically typical " ) older sister is away at college.

He sees that she went from high school to college and he talks about

doing the same himself. But he's far from being independent at this

point. He has issues with frustration. This morning, for instance, he

toppled two chairs in class because another student was directing

some anger toward a teacher. This was right on the heels of my son

having a great, productive morning. Fortunately, he's got a terrific

teacher who doesn't get upset with him, but tries to work with him on

alternate ways to deal with his frustrations. After the incident (and

remember, what happened didn't even involve him at all) he shut down,

pulled up the hood on his hoodie, and wouldn't--or perhaps couldn't--

explain why he was upset. He tends to project others' behaviors onto

himself. He might come home from school and say he had a terrible

day, but later we discover that another student had some problems and

he was just feeding off of the negativity. We think this might be a

puberty issue (and I'm looking into getting some therapy for him as

well as for myself soon).

So--maybe it's unrealistic of me to hope that he'll get to the point

where college is even a possibility. But he's made such enormous

leaps and bounds (he barely even spoke--except for echolalia--when he

was younger, and now he talks up a storm about subjects in his areas

of interest. He's got incredible computer skills. He looks you in the

eye when he speaks, and even sometimes initiates conversations. So

there's vast improvement going on). I don't want to limit him. It's

nice not having to worry over letter grades, but if the lack of them

would be somehow detrimental to his future I'd reconsider.

Sorry. Didn't mean for this to be so long (or such a rant!). But I

thought someone out there might have some clue. I had the teacher

mark me down as a " maybe, " and I'm thinking about what to do, plus

she gave me the phone number of an administrator to call and ask

questions.

Just thought I'd put this out there and see how others may have dealt

with this situation.

Thanks for listening,

Season

[Guest guest]

In my opinion, if an EIP is written well, and adaptations , modifications

are done well, students with special needs needs' are being met, so they

should be successful at school work. That seems pretty simple to me, and if

my son was failing, it was not because he was being bad or difficutl, it was

because the people who have masters degrees in this stuff were not making

the appropriate changes. I would fail miserably if I had to read text. I

may even throw a book at someone, and whine, didnt anyone tell you I cant

see. So I can have success, like all of us when the work is properly

adapted. That is my logic. It is also the base line we have as parents to

see if the teachers are truely doing their job. I look at the grades as not

only the students, but the professional staff. Using this logic, we pushed

and had letter grades through high school. Adam did get an A in biology.

What he was tested on was way different than the student sitting next to

him. It was modified properly so Adam was successful.

The letter grades let me see how the teachers were doing as well as Adam

Letter grades were more inclusive, and he knew when he recieved a letter,

his brothers also got letter grades, so the reports all looked the same

I am not sure what the future holds for higher ed for students with dis.

There are many new opportunities in community colleges and other, Elmhurst

, ELSA...I know if a student gets a diploma,there can be an application for

a PEL grant. without the diploma, no grant. If a family is thinking some

kind of college may be in the future,we may want to consider making every

effort to have the school record appear typical.

Cindi

[Guest guest]

Cindi,

I don't know if you are allowed to share this info on this website, but what

does Adam do during the day.  I'm sure you have been very creative and I was

just wondering what he has come up with to do during the day.

Thanks

From: Cindi Swanson <cbswanson@...>

Subject: Re: Letter grades for high schoolers?

IPADDUnite

Date: Monday, September 22, 2008, 4:15 PM

In my opinion, if an EIP is written well, and adaptations , modifications

are done well, students with special needs needs' are being met, so they

should be successful at school work. That seems pretty simple to me, and if

my son was failing, it was not because he was being bad or difficutl, it was

because the people who have masters degrees in this stuff were not making

the appropriate changes. I would fail miserably if I had to read text. I

may even throw a book at someone, and whine, didnt anyone tell you I cant

see. So I can have success, like all of us when the work is properly

adapted. That is my logic. It is also the base line we have as parents to

see if the teachers are truely doing their job. I look at the grades as not

only the students, but the professional staff. Using this logic, we pushed

and had letter grades through high school. Adam did get an A in biology.

What he was tested on was way different than the student sitting next to

him. It was modified properly so Adam was successful.

The letter grades let me see how the teachers were doing as well as Adam

Letter grades were more inclusive, and he knew when he recieved a letter,

his brothers also got letter grades, so the reports all looked the same

I am not sure what the future holds for higher ed for students with dis.

There are many new opportunities in community colleges and other, Elmhurst

, ELSA...I know if a student gets a diploma,there can be an application for

a PEL grant. without the diploma, no grant. If a family is thinking some

kind of college may be in the future,we may want to consider making every

effort to have the school record appear typical.

Cindi

[Guest guest]

aDAM is still covered /supported by transition. Our goal was the day after

he leaves the system will look no different than the day before. We are

pretty close to target.

Part of our " creative " work was moving to a downtown Naperville location.

It costs us a lot financially, but we told the district now that he can walk

to anywhere , find him a job in this commercial rich location. They dont

have to bus him to work.

Our para transit is spotty, and I cant drive, so getting him here gives him

the ability to get to his work, recreation etc.

Mid afternoons he works everyday, either at 'Cosi " , a salad sandwich place,

two days a week he works at 'Noodles " . One morning a week he volunteers

at a church, where the nice church ladies give him 2 hours of clerical jobs.

They were naturals at adapting for him.

He volunteers at the childrens museum, again walking distance for him.

The school has spent considerable time showing him how to use the UMCA, and

I hope eventually that also will be part of his day.

About 7 months ago a small group of us developed a chapter of ' " next chapter

book club' that is attended by 4-6 young adults in the Naperville area. He

often walks to the and Noble for the weekly meeting. Not sure how

long that will last, since it is getting darker earlier, and I am

uncomfortable wit him walking at h night .

Your words are very generous to us. We keep looking at this very blssed

community and try to dig out what a person with a disability can do. Cindi

[Guest guest]

, could you post information about the Next Chapter Book Club?

I had forgotten it was you who posted this last spring and I wanted

to include it in our arts info. Thank you---I am impressed with

your creativity. I think we all need to start really thinking

outside of the box if we want things better in Illinois for our kids.

Marie

>

> aDAM is still covered /supported by transition. Our goal was the

day after

> he leaves the system will look no different than the day before.

We are

> pretty close to target.

> Part of our " creative " work was moving to a downtown Naperville

location.

> It costs us a lot financially, but we told the district now that

he can walk

> to anywhere , find him a job in this commercial rich location.

They dont

> have to bus him to work.

> Our para transit is spotty, and I cant drive, so getting him here

gives him

> the ability to get to his work, recreation etc.

> Mid afternoons he works everyday, either at 'Cosi " , a salad

sandwich place,

> two days a week he works at 'Noodles " . One morning a week he

volunteers

> at a church, where the nice church ladies give him 2 hours of

clerical jobs.

> They were naturals at adapting for him.

>

> He volunteers at the childrens museum, again walking distance for

him.

> The school has spent considerable time showing him how to use the

UMCA, and

> I hope eventually that also will be part of his day.

> About 7 months ago a small group of us developed a chapter

of ' " next chapter

> book club' that is attended by 4-6 young adults in the Naperville

area. He

> often walks to the and Noble for the weekly meeting. Not

sure how

> long that will last, since it is getting darker earlier, and I am

> uncomfortable wit him walking at h night .

> Your words are very generous to us. We keep looking at this very

blssed

> community and try to dig out what a person with a disability can

do. Cindi

>

[Guest guest]

Cindi...you have done an amazing job of helping your son create a life in the

community!

Kudos to both of you!!!

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

Re: Letter grades for high schoolers?

aDAM is still covered /supported by transition. Our goal was the day after

he leaves the system will look no different than the day before. We are

pretty close to target.

Part of our " creative " work was moving to a downtown Naperville location.

It costs us a lot financially, but we told the district now that he can walk

to anywhere , find him a job in this commercial rich location. They dont

have to bus him to work.

Our para transit is spotty, and I cant drive, so getting him here gives him

the ability to get to his work, recreation etc.

Mid afternoons he works everyday, either at 'Cosi " , a salad sandwich place,

two days a week he works at 'Noodles " . One morning a week he volunteers

at a church, where the nice church ladies give him 2 hours of clerical jobs.

They were naturals at adapting for him.

He volunteers at the childrens museum, again walking distance for him.

The school has spent considerable time showing him how to use the UMCA, and

I hope eventually that also will be part of his day.

About 7 months ago a small group of us developed a chapter of ' " next chapter

book club' that is attended by 4-6 young adults in the Naperville area. He

often walks to the and Noble for the weekly meeting. Not sure how

long that will last, since it is getting darker earlier, and I am

uncomfortable wit him walking at h night .

Your words are very generous to us. We keep looking at this very blssed

community and try to dig out what a person with a disability can do. Cindi

[Guest guest]

Hi Season, my son is a Jr. in a program similar to your sons and has always

gotten letter grades, I've never heard of this.? He also gets progress reports

regarding his IEP goals which I believe is a mandatory and sent to me separate

from his regular report card.

H.

Re: Letter grades for high schoolers?

This is an excellent question, Season.

I am going to shop it around and see if I can get some good info...anyone else

have insight in to this?

Ellen

Ellen Garber Bronfeld

egskb@...

Letter grades for high schoolers?

Hi, All,

My son (who has autism) is fifteen and just started high school

recently. He's in a living skills program (they learn to cook, shop,

order at restaurants, etc., in addition to their regular classes like

math). Rather than receiving letter grades, he receives progress

reports. How he's doing is based on IEP goals rather than being

scored as a mainstream student.

I received a call from his teacher today, and she says the school is

switching to letter grades for special needs students IF the parents

would like them (this has something to do with the students' rights,

and that part of the conversation went completely over my head. I was

too focused on whether a letter grade is necessary and how this lack

of them--or addition of them--might affect his future).

My question is this, and I'm not sure if anyone would know, but maybe

someone out there has dealt with a similar situation: Does it matter

if a special needs student has letter grades when we're talking about

his/her future (and possible college attendance)? Or would taking

entrance exams and having " passing " grades in high school suffice?

My son's ( " neurologically typical " ) older sister is away at college.

He sees that she went from high school to college and he talks about

doing the same himself. But he's far from being independent at this

point. He has issues with frustration. This morning, for instance, he

toppled two chairs in class because another student was directing

some anger toward a teacher. This was right on the heels of my son

having a great, productive morning. Fortunately, he's got a terr

ific

teacher who doesn't get upset with him, but tries to work with him on

alternate ways to deal with his frustrations. After the incident (and

remember, what happened didn't even involve him at all) he shut down,

pulled up the hood on his hoodie, and wouldn't--or perhaps couldn't--

explain why he was upset. He tends to project others' behaviors onto

himself. He might come home from school and say he had a terrible

day, but later we discover that another student had some problems and

he was just feeding off of the negativity. We think this might be a

puberty issue (and I'm looking into getting some therapy for him as

well as for myself soon).

So--maybe it's unrealistic of me to hope that he'll get to the point

where college is even a possibility. But he's made such enormous

leaps and bounds (he barely even spoke--except for echolalia--when he

was younger, and now he talks up a storm about subjects in his areas

of interest. He's got incredible computer skills. He looks you in the

eye when he speaks, and even sometimes initiates conversations. So

there's vast improvement going on). I don't want to limit him. It's

nice not having to worry over letter grades, but if the lack of them

would be somehow detrimental to his future I'd reconsider.

Sorry. Didn't mean for this to be so long (or such a rant!). But I

thought someone out there might have some clue. I had the teacher

mark me down as a " maybe, " and I'm thinking about what to do, plus

she gave me the phone number of an administrator to call and ask

questions.

Just thought I'd put this out there and see how others may have dealt

with this situation.

Thanks for listening,

Season

[Guest guest]

Season,

WOW ...what a coincidence!! I received the same phone call today from my

daughter's teacher in the Plainfield School District. She said that she forgot

my answer to the following question (but she never asked me before): " Do you

want to forgo 's civil liberties and not have her get get letter grades in

high school? "

Her teacher mentioned that she would still be getting the IEP progress reports

every quarter. I thought that it would be okay and said yes. Then I read your

question and all the replies and I am very much rethinkin gmy answer.

First of all, I did not confer with my husband on the issue. Secondly, my first

thought was okay, knowing that the IEP progress reports are very detailed

whereas a grade can be misleading. But then I did not think about her diploma

requirements or what would be needed for college courses even if they are not

academic in nature. Then there is also the fact that she has 4 siblings that

usually get all A's and she did as well in her middle school years. She will

miss seeing her letter grade especially as her sister in eight grade who is also

special needs will be getting the letter report card home as well as progress

reports.

New school ...new decisions! Heck, I am buying her Homecoming ticket tomorrow

and will be planning the

pre-dance pictures and dinner with her friends. My only rule will be that all

the parents of the students attending the dinner need to be at the restaurant as

well sitting a a table close by our " high schoolers!'

Since Plainfield now has 4 High Schools our home school which is North's (where

my son goes) had homecoming this past weekend. My daughter attends East where

the SCORE program is loacted and her homecoming is Oct. 4th. Next year I will

have 3 attending North's homecoming and 2 attending East's as we have triplets

presently in 8th grade. I am not sure if I will be up to the challenge or not!

At least they will be on separate nights but it is bittersweet that the triplets

will not be together. Oh well.

Enough rambling!!

Anne

-------------- Original message ----------------------

From: " seasonhfox " <harperfox@...>

> Hi, All,

>

> My son (who has autism) is fifteen and just started high school

> recently. He's in a living skills program (they learn to cook, shop,

> order at restaurants, etc., in addition to their regular classes like

> math). Rather than receiving letter grades, he receives progress

> reports. How he's doing is based on IEP goals rather than being

> scored as a mainstream student.

>

> I received a call from his teacher today, and she says the school is

> switching to letter grades for special needs students IF the parents

> would like them (this has something to do with the students' rights,

> and that part of the conversation went completely over my head. I was

> too focused on whether a letter grade is necessary and how this lack

> of them--or addition of them--might affect his future).

>

> My question is this, and I'm not sure if anyone would know, but maybe

> someone out there has dealt with a similar situation: Does it matter

> if a special needs student has letter grades when we're talking about

> his/her future (and possible college attendance)? Or would taking

> entrance exams and having " passing " grades in high school suffice?

>

> My son's ( " neurologically typical " ) older sister is away at college.

> He sees that she went from high school to college and he talks about

> doing the same himself. But he's far from being independent at this

> point. He has issues with frustration. This morning, for instance, he

> toppled two chairs in class because another student was directing

> some anger toward a teacher. This was right on the heels of my son

> having a great, productive morning. Fortunately, he's got a terrific

> teacher who doesn't get upset with him, but tries to work with him on

> alternate ways to deal with his frustrations. After the incident (and

> remember, what happened didn't even involve him at all) he shut down,

> pulled up the hood on his hoodie, and wouldn't--or perhaps couldn't--

> explain why he was upset. He tends to project others' behaviors onto

> himself. He might come home from school and say he had a terrible

> day, but later we discover that another student had some problems and

> he was just feeding off of the negativity. We think this might be a

> puberty issue (and I'm looking into getting some therapy for him as

> well as for myself soon).

>

> So--maybe it's unrealistic of me to hope that he'll get to the point

> where college is even a possibility. But he's made such enormous

> leaps and bounds (he barely even spoke--except for echolalia--when he

> was younger, and now he talks up a storm about subjects in his areas

> of interest. He's got incredible computer skills. He looks you in the

> eye when he speaks, and even sometimes initiates conversations. So

> there's vast improvement going on). I don't want to limit him. It's

> nice not having to worry over letter grades, but if the lack of them

> would be somehow detrimental to his future I'd reconsider.

>

> Sorry. Didn't mean for this to be so long (or such a rant!). But I

> thought someone out there might have some clue. I had the teacher

> mark me down as a " maybe, " and I'm thinking about what to do, plus

> she gave me the phone number of an administrator to call and ask

> questions.

>

> Just thought I'd put this out there and see how others may have dealt

> with this situation.

>

> Thanks for listening,

>

> Season

>

>

[Guest guest]

I wasn't going to comment on this since I didn't remember if

got grades or not. He received a certificate of attendence, which

was fine for our situation--now I am not sure I would have done that.

Anyway, I was going through a closet this afternoon and found

several grade reports which I thought was son Greg's. Turns out,

they were 's and he did get grades. He did have some

inclusion classes and some classes that were totally a self-

contained situations. The inclusion classes not only had grades but

an " effort " grade. He didn't do very well, grade-wise, but did well

in the effort. He did, of course, also receive detailed IEP progress

reports that were always much more helpful for our situation. I do

not remember if I was asked if I would like him to receive grades---

I think, I just got them one grading period. In the mail--these are

teenagers we're talking about.

I do not like the way it was phrased to you, forgoing her " civil

liberties " ----please.

If you think it would help/hurt to get grades for any further

schooling your child decides to do, do what you think is best. And

if they give you a choice, do what you think is best and don't let

your school district make you feel guilty!

Marie

>

> Season,

>

> WOW ...what a coincidence!! I received the same phone call today

from my daughter's teacher in the Plainfield School District. She

said that she forgot my answer to the following question (but she

never asked me before): " Do you want to forgo 's civil

liberties and not have her get get letter grades in high school? "

>

> Her teacher mentioned that she would still be getting the IEP

progress reports every quarter. I thought that it would be okay and

said yes. Then I read your question and all the replies and I am

very much rethinkin gmy answer.

>

> First of all, I did not confer with my husband on the issue.

Secondly, my first thought was okay, knowing that the IEP progress

reports are very detailed whereas a grade can be misleading. But

then I did not think about her diploma requirements or what would be

needed for college courses even if they are not academic in nature.

Then there is also the fact that she has 4 siblings that usually get

all A's and she did as well in her middle school years. She will

miss seeing her letter grade especially as her sister in eight grade

who is also special needs will be getting the letter report card

home as well as progress reports.

>

> New school ...new decisions! Heck, I am buying her Homecoming

ticket tomorrow and will be planning the

> pre-dance pictures and dinner with her friends. My only rule will

be that all the parents of the students attending the dinner need to

be at the restaurant as well sitting a a table close by our " high

schoolers!'

> Since Plainfield now has 4 High Schools our home school which is

North's (where my son goes) had homecoming this past weekend. My

daughter attends East where the SCORE program is loacted and her

homecoming is Oct. 4th. Next year I will have 3 attending North's

homecoming and 2 attending East's as we have triplets presently in

8th grade. I am not sure if I will be up to the challenge or not!

At least they will be on separate nights but it is bittersweet that

the triplets will not be together. Oh well.

>

> Enough rambling!!

>

> Anne

>

> -------------- Original message ----------------------

> From: " seasonhfox " <harperfox@...>

> > Hi, All,

> >

> > My son (who has autism) is fifteen and just started high school

> > recently. He's in a living skills program (they learn to cook,

shop,

> > order at restaurants, etc., in addition to their regular classes

like

> > math). Rather than receiving letter grades, he receives progress

> > reports. How he's doing is based on IEP goals rather than being

> > scored as a mainstream student.

> >

> > I received a call from his teacher today, and she says the

school is

> > switching to letter grades for special needs students IF the

parents

> > would like them (this has something to do with the students'

rights,

> > and that part of the conversation went completely over my head.

I was

> > too focused on whether a letter grade is necessary and how this

lack

> > of them--or addition of them--might affect his future).

> >

> > My question is this, and I'm not sure if anyone would know, but

maybe

> > someone out there has dealt with a similar situation: Does it

matter

> > if a special needs student has letter grades when we're talking

about

> > his/her future (and possible college attendance)? Or would

taking

> > entrance exams and having " passing " grades in high school

suffice?

> >

> > My son's ( " neurologically typical " ) older sister is away at

college.

> > He sees that she went from high school to college and he talks

about

> > doing the same himself. But he's far from being independent at

this

> > point. He has issues with frustration. This morning, for

instance, he

> > toppled two chairs in class because another student was

directing

> > some anger toward a teacher. This was right on the heels of my

son

> > having a great, productive morning. Fortunately, he's got a

terrific

> > teacher who doesn't get upset with him, but tries to work with

him on

> > alternate ways to deal with his frustrations. After the incident

(and

> > remember, what happened didn't even involve him at all) he shut

down,

> > pulled up the hood on his hoodie, and wouldn't--or perhaps

couldn't--

> > explain why he was upset. He tends to project others' behaviors

onto

> > himself. He might come home from school and say he had a

terrible

> > day, but later we discover that another student had some

problems and

> > he was just feeding off of the negativity. We think this might

be a

> > puberty issue (and I'm looking into getting some therapy for him

as

> > well as for myself soon).

> >

> > So--maybe it's unrealistic of me to hope that he'll get to the

point

> > where college is even a possibility. But he's made such enormous

> > leaps and bounds (he barely even spoke--except for echolalia--

when he

> > was younger, and now he talks up a storm about subjects in his

areas

> > of interest. He's got incredible computer skills. He looks you

in the

> > eye when he speaks, and even sometimes initiates conversations.

So

> > there's vast improvement going on). I don't want to limit him.

It's

> > nice not having to worry over letter grades, but if the lack of

them

> > would be somehow detrimental to his future I'd reconsider.

> >

> > Sorry. Didn't mean for this to be so long (or such a rant!). But

I

> > thought someone out there might have some clue. I had the

teacher

> > mark me down as a " maybe, " and I'm thinking about what to do,

plus

> > she gave me the phone number of an administrator to call and ask

> > questions.

> >

> > Just thought I'd put this out there and see how others may have

dealt

> > with this situation.

> >

> > Thanks for listening,

> >

> > Season

> >

> >

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

I found all these messages very interesting. What really has thrown

me for a loop though is that you have a choice. My fraternal twin

sons attend a Chicago Public High School. They are given letter

grades. I personally believe it is ridiculous especially for my

severe profound son. He can't talk or write or communicate. I

questioned the issuance of letter grades. I don't recall the exact

response. Basically, I was told that is the way it is done in the

Chicago Public School system.

My suggestion would be to inquire at a college where your son might

attend to see how they view grades for a non-typically developed

student. Ask them what they expect to get from the high school.

Good luck and best wishes.

>

> Hi, All,

>

> My son (who has autism) is fifteen and just started high school

> recently. He's in a living skills program (they learn to cook, shop,

> order at restaurants, etc., in addition to their regular classes like

> math). Rather than receiving letter grades, he receives progress

> reports. How he's doing is based on IEP goals rather than being

> scored as a mainstream student.

>

> I received a call from his teacher today, and she says the school is

> switching to letter grades for special needs students IF the parents

> would like them (this has something to do with the students' rights,

> and that part of the conversation went completely over my head. I was

> too focused on whether a letter grade is necessary and how this lack

> of them--or addition of them--might affect his future).

>

> My question is this, and I'm not sure if anyone would know, but maybe

> someone out there has dealt with a similar situation: Does it matter

> if a special needs student has letter grades when we're talking about

> his/her future (and possible college attendance)? Or would taking

> entrance exams and having " passing " grades in high school suffice?

>

> My son's ( " neurologically typical " ) older sister is away at college.

> He sees that she went from high school to college and he talks about

> doing the same himself. But he's far from being independent at this

> point. He has issues with frustration. This morning, for instance, he

> toppled two chairs in class because another student was directing

> some anger toward a teacher. This was right on the heels of my son

> having a great, productive morning. Fortunately, he's got a terrific

> teacher who doesn't get upset with him, but tries to work with him on

> alternate ways to deal with his frustrations. After the incident (and

> remember, what happened didn't even involve him at all) he shut down,

> pulled up the hood on his hoodie, and wouldn't--or perhaps couldn't--

> explain why he was upset. He tends to project others' behaviors onto

> himself. He might come home from school and say he had a terrible

> day, but later we discover that another student had some problems and

> he was just feeding off of the negativity. We think this might be a

> puberty issue (and I'm looking into getting some therapy for him as

> well as for myself soon).

>

> So--maybe it's unrealistic of me to hope that he'll get to the point

> where college is even a possibility. But he's made such enormous

> leaps and bounds (he barely even spoke--except for echolalia--when he

> was younger, and now he talks up a storm about subjects in his areas

> of interest. He's got incredible computer skills. He looks you in the

> eye when he speaks, and even sometimes initiates conversations. So

> there's vast improvement going on). I don't want to limit him. It's

> nice not having to worry over letter grades, but if the lack of them

> would be somehow detrimental to his future I'd reconsider.

>

> Sorry. Didn't mean for this to be so long (or such a rant!). But I

> thought someone out there might have some clue. I had the teacher

> mark me down as a " maybe, " and I'm thinking about what to do, plus

> she gave me the phone number of an administrator to call and ask

> questions.

>

> Just thought I'd put this out there and see how others may have dealt

> with this situation.

>

> Thanks for listening,

>

> Season

>