Re: Assisted Kindergarten-Co-teach

[Guest guest]

In my opinion a "supportive classroom" or "assisted classroom" is one that has two teachers. The teachers co-teach, and one is certified in ESE while the other is a gen ed teacher. One of my best friends has done this for years. She did it in Broward county a few years ago, way before the budget cuts. It was not initiated or put together by the county, but rather by the teacher herself with support by the gen ed teacher and the school's adm. I have not heard that Broward county has this model. It is possible that a school or two may be doing this in Broward (this would be nice, would it not?). However, parents from other states where this may be an option, need to know that this is unlikely to happen here.

In a supportive classroom the student with ASD gets his reading ( min. 90 minutes) and math (30 or more minutes) in his classroom from the ESE teacher, and he should not need to go out to another classroom and another teacher (who most of the time knows very little about autism). He should be taught alongside his gen ed peers. It is important that all kids receive the very best, a qualitive education, and this can only be done by an ESE teacher with background and interest in autism and behaviors.

In order to successfully create a classroom with half and half (half of the students with ASD, the other half without disabilities) we need to rethink the way the resources are distributed. I sincerely believe that only parent groups can do that. Therefore, it is imperative that parents and advocates are well informed about the way our district operates on all levels, and how things really work at school. Dialogs between school personell and parents can create many positive changes. That is my personal experience. It does not hurt to become buddies with the ESE specialist She too may have a kid with a disability, and there is more than one teacher in town with a kid on the spectrum.

Happy New Year,

Liz

Subject: Re: Assisted Kindergarten/Inclusion programsTo: sList Date: Friday, December 18, 2009, 5:43 PM

Chiming to add more to 's comment.> There are many children with autism in the gen ed curriculum > who are holding their own with their peers because they have an> aide with them; without that aide, they couldn't survive in the > gen ed curriculum.Indeed. My son is one of them. He has been placed in the supported gen ed class since kindergarten. So yes! There is such a class as an "assisted" kindergarten class and beyond, at least in my son's home school. He's now in 3rd grade and gets pulled out for speech and to V.E. for reading and math comprehension. He's grade level for all subjects except 'reading comprehension' hence the pull out. While he can do the work at his grade level, it is HARD for him to stay on task albeit him taking ADHD meds for the focus. His capacity to "mind escape" is in fact quite impressive, LOL. There is 1 aid in his class who is shared by 4 kids with an IEP. But of these 4,

he's among those who need her the most to keep on task and for redirection. 'Keeping on task independently' is a goal in his IEP and it's still work in progress. In any case, I simply CANNOT imagine him being left by himself in a gen ed class with no aid. He would fall through the cracks FAST. In the other end, he doesn't require a high teacher/ratio like you typically have in a cluster setting.> But many children have aides who parents are none of the above> but they are persistent and go in to each IEP meeting prepared > [...] Having good IEP team helps, too.Yup! :-) No famous and certainly no rich person here, LOL. But yes! It does help to keep very closely involved. Keeping that communication channel open with them is crucial. BTW he goes to Everglades Elementary in Weston. This school has had mixed reviews as I know folks who did not have a good experience there and specifically with the cluster program. But

ours has been good so far both with the teachers in the supported gen ed classes and the ESE team, and we are hoping it will stay that way.I can email info on teachers and aids separately if you like. Cheers.M.

[Guest guest]

I have a fifth grader who was mainstreamed with suppports also. He started preschool at Baudhuin.

However, in fourth grade, they started him with NO supports, since he was doing well academically and they "thought" he could handle it.

It was a disaster. He deteriorated quickly, they backpeddaled and we were having monthly IEP meetings. All of the accomodations, behavioral supports, were too late. He eventually had to be moved in February to a cluster classroom at another school. He improved but quickly became bored and misbehaved out of boredom.

Then we found an advocate. He began fifth grade this past August back in gen ed and the teacher is phenomenal. It was definitely the right thing for him and his academic performance is good.

The one unfortunate drawback for which he pines is friends. He is in his "first year" at this school with these children who have been together since Kindergarten and he is a bit lonely. Once they get to this age, you cannot persue "play dates" as easily as when they are 6 or 7.

So beware of this and take action, get an advocate or be one for yourself and child. Don't make the same mistake we did.

Regards.Joi There is nothing like a dream to create the future. - VICTOR HUGO Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft’s powerful SPAM protection. Sign up now.

[Guest guest]

Hi

Joi,

Your

last paragraph says it all. The advocate is central in order to obtain

appropriate services for our children (grandchildren). If you start with the

premise that the school and the parent have different objectives for your child

it follows that you always need a good advocate. Maybe parent_to_parents might

have some suggestions on how to remedy the social question. Email me if you

would like to be enrolled.

From:

sList [mailto:sList ] On Behalf

Of Joi Mejia

Sent: Tuesday, December 29, 2009 9:53 PM

To: deniseslist

Subject: Re: Assisted Kindergarten-Co-teach

I have a fifth grader who was mainstreamed with suppports also. He

started preschool at Baudhuin.

However, in fourth grade, they started him with NO supports, since he was doing

well academically and they " thought " he could handle it.

It was a disaster. He deteriorated quickly, they backpeddaled and we were

having monthly IEP meetings. All of the accomodations, behavioral

supports, were too late. He eventually had to be moved in February to a

cluster classroom at another school. He improved but quickly became bored

and misbehaved out of boredom.

Then we found an advocate. He began fifth grade this past August back in

gen ed and the teacher is phenomenal. It was definitely the right thing

for him and his academic performance is good.

The one unfortunate drawback for which he pines is friends. He is in his

" first year " at this school with these children who have been

together since Kindergarten and he is a bit lonely. Once they get to this

age, you cannot persue " play dates " as easily as when they are 6 or

7.

So beware of this and take action, get an advocate or be one for yourself and

child. Don't make the same mistake we did.

Regards.

Joi

There is nothing like a dream to create the future. - VICTOR HUGO

Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft’s powerful SPAM

protection. Sign up now.

[Guest guest]

Hi

Joi,

Your

last paragraph says it all. The advocate is central in order to obtain

appropriate services for our children (grandchildren). If you start with the

premise that the school and the parent have different objectives for your child

it follows that you always need a good advocate. Maybe parent_to_parents might

have some suggestions on how to remedy the social question. Email me if you

would like to be enrolled.

From:

sList [mailto:sList ] On Behalf

Of Joi Mejia

Sent: Tuesday, December 29, 2009 9:53 PM

To: deniseslist

Subject: Re: Assisted Kindergarten-Co-teach

I have a fifth grader who was mainstreamed with suppports also. He

started preschool at Baudhuin.

However, in fourth grade, they started him with NO supports, since he was doing

well academically and they " thought " he could handle it.

It was a disaster. He deteriorated quickly, they backpeddaled and we were

having monthly IEP meetings. All of the accomodations, behavioral

supports, were too late. He eventually had to be moved in February to a

cluster classroom at another school. He improved but quickly became bored

and misbehaved out of boredom.

Then we found an advocate. He began fifth grade this past August back in

gen ed and the teacher is phenomenal. It was definitely the right thing

for him and his academic performance is good.

The one unfortunate drawback for which he pines is friends. He is in his

" first year " at this school with these children who have been

together since Kindergarten and he is a bit lonely. Once they get to this

age, you cannot persue " play dates " as easily as when they are 6 or

7.

So beware of this and take action, get an advocate or be one for yourself and

child. Don't make the same mistake we did.

Regards.

Joi

There is nothing like a dream to create the future. - VICTOR HUGO

Hotmail: Trusted email with Microsoft’s powerful SPAM

protection. Sign up now.