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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.