Comments on: EISD limits on parent visits sparks debate

By: Funny thing in the American Statesman

Funny thing in the American Statesman — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:25:49 +0000

In yesterday’s American Statesman there was an article about how Leander ISD actively seeks and encourages fathers to visit their children in their classrooms? Most educators acknowledge the benefits to be achieved when parents are in the schools, whereas as this Picayune story notes, EISD spent months and lord knows how much on legal fees seeking the exact opposite goal. (http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/2009/10/19/1019dads.html)

By: Another EISD momma ...

Another EISD momma ... — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 15:14:06 +0000

I agree, Eanes Mom, Eanes ISD does not encourage authentic home-school connections or parental participation. And this classroom visit issue is only the tip of the iceberg for problems in this district.

By: eanesmom

eanesmom — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 14:33:09 +0000

Maintaining confidentiality of a child’s diagnosis and special ed eligibility is fine, but if it’s a parent’s only priority, then the parent is not doing her job. Participating in and overseeing a child’s education is every parent’s duty, not sticking your head in the sand and expecting school to be perfect. We’ve had wonderful teachers and administrators in Eanes, but we’ve still had aides who were supposed to be in place but never got hired, teaching styles that were supposed to be used but were forgotten about, and other problems that we would have never known about if we hadn’t visited class. And our child could not tell us what was happening; we had to show up, demonstrate an interest and work with the school to ensure that all the plans were actually being implemented. This is pretty basic stuff, and is a parent’s duty. And as for other parents actually being in your child’s class – heavens! Don’t you know that the more parents who can visit a room, the safer your child is and the greater the opportunity for someone to spot a problem and tell you about it?

Eanes is a public school district. Parents can behave themselves. The district’s assertion that an AP teacher or a regular ed teacher or a special ed teacher can’t teach if there’s a parent quietly sitting in the back of the room is nonsense. Parental involvement in a child’s education is a good thing. Classroom visits for special ed and regular ed strengthen the home-school connection and allow both partners to build on what’s successful and fix what’s not working. Most school districts understand this and encourage classroom visits. Eanes does not. As parents and owners of the schools, we should send a message that this is unacceptable.

By: Look up "hegemony" in the dictionary.

Look up "hegemony" in the dictionary. — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:07:33 +0000

So shall we also have blind faith in the coach who sexually molested girls here at WHS — actually more than one coach over the years — and that is substantiated. Shall we have blind faith in the school administrator who chose to hide important facts from parents about harm to child while at school — to protect the school district? Shall we look the other way as long as it doesn’t happen to our child? Shall we look the other way and just “trust” that because people are associated with schools or churches or Boy Scouts that they are beyond reproach and absolutely safe for our children? As parents, we owe our children must more than blind trust.

By: A veteran SPED parent

A veteran SPED parent — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 16:52:29 +0000

Dear Anonymous Mother: It is clear that you are still working thru emotions that come with having a child who has learning difficulties. With time I hope you can work through that. In the meantime, be aware that others have been down the road you’re on, and do not agree that it is best to be so trusting. For example, I could never place my child in any environment and then make a conscious choice to never visit it. (Heck, why else would you endure endless hours of college campus visits except to see what the place was like?) Perhaps you never visited your child’s typical classrooms either. But did you never volunteer to read to the kids, file paperwork for the teacher, or go on a field trip? I bet you did. So I would respectfully suggest that you examine your real motives for refusing to visit a Special Ed classroom. Giving you the benefit of the doubt, you may be new to SPED. You should understand by now that IDEA (the law) was crafted so that you, as a parent, can participate in the creation of IEPs for your child. Why do you think that law exists? Because in many situations, the real experts about a special child are the parents. It would be marvelous if it were true that all teachers were experts. But that is not realistic. Teachers, like all of us, are limited in their experience, their world view of the capabilities of the disabled, and, yes, their training. It’s not their fault that they are human. They cannot possibly be expert in all learning and mental disabilities. Special Education teachers need you to help. Every teacher we have had has been grateful for our participation in crafting strategies for dealing with our child’s disabilities, for our suggestions for modifying the curriculum, and for our support. If you leave the entire responsibility to the “experts” you may well find, like so many parents before you, that time and opportunity can slip away, and the only person paying for your inattention to what is going on in the classroom is your child. In other words, wake up Mom! While it is certainly easier on the administration if you abdicate your role in the IEP process not one SPED teacher or administrator I know at EISD would ever suggest that you do so. Because they know the truth: parental involvement is critical to the success of students in Special Education.

By: parent

parent — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:51:02 +0000

To Anonymous Mother of Special Needs Child…if your child is in the class that these parents wanted to visit and you think that no one knows he must be “different,” then you’re living in a fantasy world. And if your child thinks he is “lower” because he learns differently, then you really have lots more to be concerned about than these parents who simply wanted to look at a potential placement so they would have the same information as the rest of the ARD committee when they went into the meeting.

By: Partner

Partner — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 12:23:40 +0000

Laws governing the education of special needs students recognize and encourage the right of parents to be partners with schools in the education of their children (special needs or not). In fact, special needs students have individualized education plans that are reviewed at least once a year by an ARD committee comprised of educators, administrators and parents. It is imperative that parents attend these very important meetings as informed participants. Sometimes the parents are in complete agreement with district officials and other times they are not. That doesn’t reduce the importance of parental input, suggestion or interest in assuring appropriate placements are formalized in these plans. Differences in opinion provides an opportunity for parents and educators to problem solve collaboratively to benefit the student. It makes me sad to read posts from parents in our community that choose to hide a child’s individual special needs as an embarrassment. It’s equally unfortunate that those same parents seem to be advocating that others do the same by encouraging families to relinquish their right to advocate for their child’s needs and lawful access to an appropriate public education. Let the professionals do their job? Absolutely! Let’s also support the parents who choose to embrace their responsibilities, and encourage those parents who hide behind blind faith to do the same.

By: Eyes wide open ...

Eyes wide open ... — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:34:56 +0000

Blind trust can be very dangerous. If you choose to drop your child off and simply “trust” that everything is wonderful, that’s your choice as a parent. Hope that works well for your child and he is safe and well-educated along the way. It is important for you to know and to acknowledge, however, that other children have experienced academic, emotional and yes, physical harm due to the district’s failures. Unfortunately, along with the harm, many parents have also experienced “cover-ups” by Eanes ISD. Your choice of unquestioning absolute trust (blind faith), while certainly your prerogative as your child’s parent, is certainly not in the best interest of every child.

By: Anonymous Mother of Special Needs Child

Anonymous Mother of Special Needs Child — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:21:37 +0000

When my child was designated as “special education” due to severe learning disabilities the first thing my child said was “please don’t tell anybody”. He knows he has “issues” but he doesn’t want to be viewed as “different” or “lower” becuase of this designation. When I was asked if other parents could visit his classroom I immediately said “NO”. Not beucase I didn’t want them to see how those classes were run but becuase I know parents have a tendency to talk and I didn’t want them inadvertantly letting everyone know that my child was in fact “special education”. I trusted EISD to test and make a diagnostic evaluation of my child. I trust that the classroom and education they provide will be in the best interest of my child. Have I ever visited a “special ed class”. NO. Do I want to? NO. I also have no desire to randomly attend my other child’s class who is all AP. I trust the administration and the teachers to do what is best for my child. Am I involved with my children. Absolutely!! I believe we need to let the professionals do their jobs.

By: Special Education for Concerned Parent ...

Special Education for Concerned Parent ... — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 16:08:47 +0000

Concerned Parent – Read my response carefully. I explained that parents (of both special AND regular education students) are not permitted by the district to choose specific teachers. So, again, no need to “do the math” or answer the questions that you ask: “And then what if all the parents request the same teacher for English III and Geometry. And is that teacher even the best placement?”

And c’mon Concerned Parent … you were in fact “referring to the special education process” by commenting on this article which addresses the issue of parents of special needs children who are not able to participate in placement decisions (as is their legal right). The issue is not about droves of regular education parents overwhelming the district with uninformed teacher requests (as you forecast). The closing statement in your post which implores parents “to back off” is therefore directed at the parents of special needs children who are currently advocating for the legal rights and needs of their children, a challenge that you are clearly not experiencing.