Parents: Watch this!

Once again, my hero Kelli Sandman-Hurley and her business partner Tracy Block-Zaretsky have done something, along with Learning ally that all parents should listen to, Know your rights.  I just spent the last 2 hours listening and taking lots of notes and I have found that my daughter still deserves more from our school district.

One thing that really got me was when asking for an assessment from your school, part of the assessment has to be of an observation of your child while they are doing what you want assessed. In our case, my daughter has a learning disability in the area of reading, so the observation has to be of her doing some kind of reading. It cannot be in math.  That may sound obvious, but this has happened. Watch for that. Also, and this I didn't know, as a parent you have a right to see the product that your child was working on during the observation. My daughter was observed during small group doing "plural reading". This was not an accurate observation. She should have been observed doing her own reading. Plural reading is reading as a group out loud. Many children, my daughter included, can fake reading in a group very well. Her comprehension is high during plural reading because she is listening more than anything. What we needed to see is her comprehension when she has to read on her own. This is where we begin to see the decline.

Watch their video.

Visit the following websites:
 learningally
 specialeducationadvisor
 national center for learning disabilities
 Wrightslaw
 Headstrong nation

Those are all excellent sites for parents.

Dyscalculia

Another D word! 

What is dyscalculia? Dyscalculia is a specific learning disability in math. When I read that I actually felt a sense of panic. Dyslexia is listed as a specific learning disability in IDEA law, and it is very hard to get schools to recognize it, how am I ever going to get schools to recognize dyscalculia when IDEA doesn't mention it? Oh man.

Since getting teachers to watch for the warning signs for dyslexia is finally happening thanks to a law in the state of TN that requires teachers be trained in dyslexia, I am now on a mission to get teachers to watch for warning signs of dyscalculia. Here's why...when teachers don't understand that a child may be struggling with reading and/or math because of a neurological issue they may try to help them in ways that won't help that child the way they need it and that child may not be able to "get it". What then happens is what happened to my daughter, she starts to feel stupid. It's not the teachers fault. But knowing what to look for can help.

So, what should a teacher look for? Here are the signs of possible dyscalculia in school age children, thanks to the National Center for Learning Disabilities website, here.

• Trouble learning math facts (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division)
• Difficulty developing math problem-solving skills
• Poor long term memory for math functions
• Not familiar with math vocabulary
• Difficulty measuring things
• Avoiding games that require strategy

Not every child that doesn't know their math facts has dyscalculia but statistics show that 1 in 20 children do. Right now we live in an age where schools are trying not to label children, and we have a system in place, RTI (response to intervention) that is making it harder for kids to get diagnosed with a learning disability. What I am asking for is that teachers learn the signs of dyscalculia and dyslexia (and dysgraphia but that is for another post) so that they can help their students succeed before they really start to fail and then the system may or may not finally help. I speak from experience when I say, if we wait till the system finally agrees with a parent, you already have a child on your hands that is already feeling inadequate.

Speaking of Henry Winkler

I came across this video not to long ago and I have shown it to my daughter a few times. Mr. Winkler is right. School doesn't define her. My daughter is a sweet, loving child with an incredible imagination and enjoys writing her own songs and singing. She is more than what all her tests show she is.

Dyslexie Font

A few months ago I was laying in bed watching the Today show and Henry Winkler was on. I always liked the Fonz. He was on to talk about his new books, Here's Hank about a 2nd grade boy and things that happened to him. Then he mentioned it, dyslexia. Hank Zipzer has dyslexia and the stories are based on Henry Winkler as a kid. I did not know that.

As Mr. Winkler was talking about the books he was talking about the font that the book uses, called dyslexie and that it is weighted for easier reading. I IMMEDIATELY bought both books on Amazon, and I couldn't wait to take a look at these. They came in and my daughter sat and read. She read this chapter book better then she read a very easy K level book. I was amazed.

Turns out this font was designed by Christian Boer, who you can probably guess is also dyslexic. I would love to meet him someday and thank him. My daughter started having confidence again, because of this font.

You can download the font for free here, and there are even instructions to teach you how to change the font on all your websites. I did this for my daughter on her computer and she gave me a big hug and said "Thank you Mommy." It is the little things.

Dr. Kelli Sandman-Hurley

Dr. Kelli Sandman-Hurley is one of my hero's. I mean it. I would love to meet her one day and just talk to her. One of the first things I ever watched about dyslexia was something she did, what is dyslexia and I have shared this so many times with teachers and other parents.  It is a little over 4 minutes long and it really explains what dyslexia is.

Today my advocate that I hired to help me get through all the mess, and who I now call my friend, Eileen, posted something today on Facebook by Dr. Sandman-Hurley and once again I am in awe.

Dyslexia in the Schools is a free ebook that Dr. Sandman-Hurley wrote and I printed it and read it today. The whole time I was reading it I thought she was writing about me which just goes to show you, if you have a child with dyslexia we all share a similar story.

I can sit here and post a million links to all the articles she has written but I won't. I will however link you to the blog at the dyslexia training institute and I highly recommend reading every entry. In fact, I will link it on the right column too.

Sharing a blog

This is my friends blog and you should definitely read it!

Dee-Lexia

Where to start

I have been asked, "where do I start" by parents that have concerns about their children. The first thing is to ask your child's school for any reading evaluations that are being done. Knox County Schools does CBM testing (curriculum based measurement) three times a year which tests reading fluency. They then put the results in Aimsweb. Ask for that report, or something similar.

Next, read Overcoming Dyslexia by Dr. Sally Shaywitz. It is the dyslexia bible. I can't say enough good about this book. It will show you the signs to look for and then how to help.

Pick up a copy of Wrightslaw as well. It is the book about special ed law. What I love about this book is that it lists the law but then on the bottom of each page it states everything in language a person without a law degree can understand.

Those two books helped me a lot. Trust me, go buy your own copies.

A marathon not a sprint

I have been told by a lot of people who are much smarter than I am that helping my daughter get the proper diagnosis and help is a marathon not a sprint. I hate that statement.

I have no patience. Zip. I want something and I want it yesterday. Throw in that it is something to help my child not struggle so much and forget it. But you know what? That is exactly what I needed to do, be patient. There are so many outside factors that are involved that patience is a requirement. I am here to tell you that it will be worth it. There will be tears, and anger (way more anger) but in the end it will happen, and I am here to help you along the way. Learn from what I have learned, no need to reinvent the wheel.

So, be patient. Contact me if you need guidance, or just a shoulder to cry on because I am here to help.

It has been awhile

Sorry folks. It has been awhile and I apologize.  A lot has happened and my focus has shifted a bit so I will make this post about a brief synopsis about the last few months.

I am still upset about some of the things that my school district is doing but my focus has become about my daughter and dyslexia.  From now on, that will be what this blog is about.

TCAP time!

As you may have already sensed I am against the excessive high stakes testing that is happening in our schools.  This parent says enough is enough.

I asked an elementary school teacher how much instruction time is lost now since TCAP's are coming.  Today is March 18th and she said she started with TCAP prep 2 weeks ago, at 1 hour a day.  That equals 10 hours that was strictly TCAP prep in the last 2 weeks.

BUT, that number goes up soon!  See, it's spring break this week but next week it is crunch time, so the 1 hour a day goes up to TWO HOURS A DAY of test prep! 10 HOURS A WEEK!  And that is a conservative number. That is from an experienced teacher. How many hours a day do you think a new teacher may put into test prep if they are scared out of their mind about losing their job? 3 hours a day? 15 HOURS A WEEK!

BUT, let's not forget that lovely TCAP book that comes home as homework for our students as well.

TCAPS start April 28th.  That is 2 hours a day of testing. There are more issues though. Special areas which include music, art, library, and gym, gets shortened or canceled all together. 

(Have I mentioned that in my children's school the special area teachers are teaching math now?  They are teaching math to students that score just below advanced so they can bump up their scores to advanced to make the school and district look better.  The schools get "More bang for our buck" helping these kids over the struggling kids.)

The Instructional Assistants get pulled for prepping before and after the TCAPs which means my daughter who is in Voyager to help with her low, but not low enough to get the real help she needs, CBM (curriculum based measurement) score, are unavailable those weeks as well. That's just swell.

District 6

I mentioned that I live in district 6 and that there is a pretty hot race going on here.  Once again, I need to mention, I support Brad Buchanan.  He is THE best candidate for school board in our district.

Let me share a video of Sandra at a school board meeting in December.  This meeting was to vote on McIntyre's contract extension, an extension btw that did not need to be voted on, his contract already went through 2016.  Of course, it was extended with an 8-1 vote which is why a few board members will be losing their jobs.  When an elected official doesn't listen to the people they represent, those people vote you out.  There's that common sense again.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzO35NJxTsI

Let me give you a quick synopsis. She said McIntyre should have his contract extended and that teachers should be spanked.

Now, let's fast forward to the email PTA Presidents received from her a couple weeks later, which really should have just said, "Jennifer, listen up!" I will just copy and paste my favorite part...

As a PTA leader, you represent PTA wherever you go.  It does not matter where you are - on Facebook, the grocery store, your church or your school - people look at you and think “PTA.”  


Really?  So when she were speaking at the board meeting, was she representing PTA?  When she was in court recently for a domestic dispute, was she representing PTA?

Dyslexia

Did you know that 1 in 5 people have some form of dyslexia?  That means in the average size classroom there are 4 students that are struggling.

I was recently watching the Today show and Henry Winkler was on talking about his new books.  I was amazed to find out that he has dyslexia and he wrote these books about a boy named Hank Zipzer who has dyslexia.  He even wrote the books using a font called dyslexie which is a heavier font which keeps the words on the page and more spacing between letters. 

Dyslexia isn't just mixing letters around.  Dyslexia has a spectrum, similar to autism.  Some kids have a mild form, others have a more severe form.

I am just learning about this.  My good friend listened to me talk about my daughter and she suggested I read a few websites and I was amazed at all the warning signs my daughter showed but the school never picked up on. Why? Because teachers aren't trained to look for the warning signs.  It is not their fault either, the training isn't even offered. So sad.

Here are some sites to take a look at:
Bright Solutions
Dyslexia Training Institute
Special Education Advisor

Interested in the Hank Zipzer books? Check them out here. 

My speech from the 3/5 BOE meeting

A few months ago I was in my family room watching a school board meeting on tv like I always did, but this time I listened to a librarian speak, a special ed teacher speak, and countless classroom teachers speak to the school board about the state of our schools. What was happening IN our schools. I was shocked. I was a parent who just knew the superintendent and the school board was making sure my children were getting the best education they could get and I never in a million years thought they were doing anything to harm my children because of money or political gain. My eyes were opened. I have done a lot of research and I am appalled at what is not only happening in Knox County but across the state of TN and across our country.

Along the way I have met some incredible people, teachers who care so much about their students they are risking their careers, parents who have spent countless hours doing research and because of that research have gotten our state representatives to step back and say, "wait, this isn't right for our state".

I am tired of some of our local media and the KCS PR team spinning what these teachers have been saying as "teachers don't want to be evaluated or that teachers don’t want high standards". This isn't new to you. Educators have spoken to you about their concerns, not just evaluations, for years and nothing has changed.

I have spoken multiple times about my daughter and my concerns about the obscene amount of high stakes testing she has been put through. About her anxiety about going to school. I was thrilled when test anxiety issues were finally brought up at one of your meetings, only to hear it may be teachers and parents fault. Excuse me? I am extremely offended by that.

I have repeatedly stated that it is against TN law to put children below grade 3 through any state mandated tests. K-2 students are taking some form of a standardized test 15 plus times this year. Some parents have asked how if this is a TN state law.  They become district mandated. Knox County has gone above and beyond what the state has suggested for testing and we keep piling more on.

The TN department of education website states the k-2 assessment, formally known as sat 10 is optional. I don't want my daughter taking it and it's not because I am a "difficult 2nd grade parent" at her school, it's because I see no educational benefit of putting her through 4 days of testing just to show she is below average when her report card says she is right on target. When I was told I couldn't refuse this test for her, I would have to keep her home from school, I asked for that in writing and I encouraged other parents to do the same. I have yet to receive this is writing. Now, others have received an email stating, we are not encouraging parents to keep their kids home however the only children exempt from this test are students who are not present the days of testing. I  do find it odd that parents can opt out of immunizations, sex ed, reading any book they find objectionable, but NOT out of a standardized test.

Thank you Dr. McIntyre for suggesting our county shouldn't participate in the PARCC Field test. Another high stakes test that is strictly practice. Here is my question, did you suggest that because you actually care about what is happening to our students or was it because you know our schools are no where near prepared to administer this test? Teachers in Chicago are voting to spend instructional time TEACHING instead of passing out another bubble sheet. If you want the best for our children, why are you not following that example and publicly advocating for the same in Knox Co?

My 5th grader recently took the writing assessment because once again, I couldn't opt him out. How many students were offered keyboarding classes before they had to type their answers? I know the students at his school weren't taught basic typing. Here is my question about this assessment, before they could even start it they had to answer 10 survey questions. I asked to see those questions when my son told me about them and I was told, "the questions were non controversial  and these questions have been asked for years  ". You made 5th graders take a survey without parental consent! And, you have done this for years? The questions WERE mild, 8 of the 10 questions were about how often the students writes, reads and how often they do it on a computer. But then there were 2 questions that I would like an answer about. Do you have computer access in your home and do you have internet access in your home.  What educational purpose were those questions asked for? Before my words get twisted I want to make it very clear, I want to know why my son was asked those questions before a writing assessment. Who received that data? I understand when a teacher asks those questions at the beginning of a school year so he or she can learn whose parents they can email. I want to know where THIS data went. Who received THIS data, Bill Gates maybe? This is one more example where the school district is not communicating with parents and it is not clear if they are making decisions for students' education or to benefit private companies.

Teachers are being bullied by reading coaches and principals. Teachers standing up and saying no, I don’t want to use anymore high stakes tests for our students when we can get the assessment results we need by being allowed to teach. I want my children happy in school and I want my childrens teachers to be able to do their jobs.

A little bit of hope is effective, a lot of hope is dangerous. This is a line from The Hunger Games. I think that is the EXACT philosophy that the Knox County Schools administration has taken, let’s give the teachers a little hope and they will back off. I don’t feel any hope. I don’t feel like I have been heard at any of the school board meetings I have spoken at, or when my emails go unanswered by this administration.

I am a parent and I support our teachers and I am against high stakes testing.

 

 

Rally for Education downtown Knoxville

Yesterday March 14th TN Representative Gloria Johnson held a rally in support of public education.

There were a lot of new organizations there as well...

WBIR

I am slightly more partial to the story that WVLT did.  ;)

What is SPEAK?

SPEAK stands for Students Parents Educators Across Knox county.

Click here to view SPEAK's flyer.

What this blog is about.

My name is Jennifer and I am a parent. I support our teachers and I am against high stakes testing.

That was pretty easy to say.

So what will I be talking about here?

First off, this is MY blog.  These are my opinions and views. I do not speak for any other person or organization.  With that being said...

I have three children in Knox County Schools and I am concerned with where our schools are heading.  My daughter has not been officially diagnosed with dyslexia, yet, but she has been diagnosed with a learning disability in reading but not severe enough to get her any help within the schools. Huh.  I do have documentation of proof that the administration and the schools are not on the same page.  One says she should be getting help, the other says no.  I'm sorry, she is getting help she is in Voyager, a reading program that has no proof of helping children before KCS started using it.

I live in district 6 and I am VERY concerned about our school board race.  In full disclosure I not only support Brad Buchanan but I am working to get him elected.  Amber Rountree in district 9 and Sally Absher in district 4 are two other candidates that I fully support.

I am against all the high stakes testing we are putting our children through, especially in grades k-2.  I will be commenting on this topic often.

I am an administrator with SPEAK on facebook.  I feel very passionate about what we are doing at SPEAK and I think every parent with children should be a member. ;) We also have a twitter account  SPEAKTN

I have spoken at a few school board meetings and I will be posting my speeches at any future meetings that I speak at.

I am not a writer, and I don't even pretend to be. I am just a concerned parent trying to do what is best for my children and the children of Knox County.

Join me in supporting our teachers and protecting our students.