"Gross Insubordination" - what a hammer!

What is "gross insubordination"? And what is it, when a school throws the charge at a student?

It's a hammer that the big folks at a school can throw at the little folks (the students) and have it sound really ugly to outsiders.

When I hear the term, I think of some outrageous act, a single act, committed by a student against a teacher or staff member. I won't even run down the short list of things that I think might qualify. You can probably name them more quickly than I.

But what if the school keeps track (which they are good at) of a lot of minor things and then totes them up, until the pile reaches the qualifying point for Gross Insubordination.

Let's say a student accumulates many tardy-to-class "points", used his cell phone in school for a phone call or text-message, and some other things. And even though his behavior and on-time attendance have improved, his "points" finally added up to the "Let's get rid of him" line.

Out comes the Gross Insubordination charge, an out-of-school suspension is imposed, an appeals hearing is conducted (shouldn't the first step be a hearing on the charge itself?), and then a further appeal can be made, once the hearing officer gets around to issuing the letter that defines the further appeals option.

This is a one-size-fits-all discipline plan that guarantees failure. In this case, the student was in school. That's where he should be. So, what do they do? Kick him out of school.

Today there have to be rules, regulations, procedures, plans, programs, plans in place. Whether they work or not. Administrators and coordinators think they know how to run things, because they've gone to workshops and in-service trainings and conferences.

What they fail to do is connect with the kid. It's like in the kids' movie, Matilda. "I'm right, you're wrong. I'm big, you're little. I'm smart; you're dumb." (O.K., so I realize it was Matilda's (movie) father who said those words.)

Schools need more teachers like "Miss Honey", Ron Clark and Erin Gruwell.

The Ron Clark Story

This week I watched the 2006 movie, The Ron Clark Story. It's a must-see movie - a definite "5".

The story is about a white teacher who moved to Harlem and chose the "worst" class in the school. And he turned them around to be the "best" class, when they scored on required tests even higher than the honors' class.

I hadn't heard of his book, The Essential 55, but I'll look for it this week.

Ask your kids' teachers if they have seen this movie or have read this book.

Parent Conference - March 13

Options & Advocacy for McHenry County, Family CARE, and the Special Education District of McHenry County (SEDOM) are sponsoring the 5th Bi-Annual GET CONNECTED! Parent Conference on Saturday, March 13th, at McHenry County College.

This conference is specifically designed for the parents of children with special needs from birth through 22 years of age. Getting information, resources and support to those who need it most is an ongoing challenge.

The goal of this conference is to reach out to parents and provide them with the additional support needed to parent a child with special needs. They are planning a great line-up of topics and speakers including behavior, advocacy, financial planning and much more!

Watch for more information closer to March 13.

Discipline without rehabilitation?

To what extent should a high school continue to discipline a student without attempting to rehabilitate him?

Should teachers and administrators merely impose punishment after punishment, trying to drive the kid out of school?

Or should they look to the core of the problem and determine what is causing the kid to behave or act as he does?

Could there possibly be any actions by staff that are resulting in undesirable behaviors by the student?

Worried about school discipline?

While searching for a recent NPR program on school discipline, I came across this May 19, 2009, NPR article and audio-recording of the program, entitled "Discipline Methods Endanger Disabled Kids."

Pictured is a 7-year-old girl who died in 2006 while being restrained in a Rice Lake, Wisconsin, day treatment center. The center closed and did not re-open.

Check it out for yourself: www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=104277070

Think some schools don't tie autistic children in chairs for up to three hours?

Then read this article about efforts that lawmakers are making to reduce harm to children in schools. www.npr.org/blogs/health/2009/12/lawmakers_seek_halt_to_abuses.html

We turn our children over to schools for many hours a day. When the kids come home and complain that a teacher did this or that, listen carefully to them and then find out. And don't let them blow smoke at you. Get into the school and find out what is really going on!

"All kids succeed when all kids belong"

What a novel idea!

Norm Kunc, M.Sc., will present a community program on Wednesday, January 20, 2010, at 7:00PM, at Elm Place School, 2031 Sheridan Road, Highland Park, Ill. (only 37.8 easy, friendly, happy miles ESE of Woodstock).

From the flier promoting this program:

"Balancing Humanity with Excellence in Classrooms and Schools"

"PEOPLE DO THEIR BEST WORK WHEN THEY FEEL VALUED AND WHERE THEY FEEL THEY BELONG."

"In this presentation, Norman Kunc maintains that, although schools may be measured by outcomes and achievement scores, they are fundamentally about people and relationships. Taking the time to build a sense of belonging energizes the school culture that, in turn, inspires people to give 110%. Norman Kunc provides some very simple and workable strategies that teachers, administrators, and parents can use to foster a sense of belonging in their homes, classrooms, and schools.

"Norman Kunc M.Sc. is a lecturer with the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a renowned speaker and has delivered keynote addresses on education and belonging throughout the world.

"Born with cerebral palsy. He attended a segregated school until grade 7; then he was integrated into a regular high school and went on to university where he received a masters degree in family therapy. Norman sees himself as a continuing the long held tradition of using humor and narrative to initiate self-reflection and social change."

The flier was received from the North Shore Special Education District.

Looks to me like a great program and worth the drive!!!

Restraints & Seclusion - in IEPs?

Be sure to read Pete and Pam Wright's e-newsletter this week on the topic of restraints and seclusion in IEPs. Go to www.wrightslaw.com

Their lead paragraph is "To help protect all schoolchildren, the Preventing Harmful Restraint and Seclusion in Schools Act prohibits the use of restraint and seclusion unless there is an imminent risk of physical injury that less restrictive interventions would not stop."

They urge special attention right away, because the American Association of School Administrators and other organizations are trying to water down the Act. Letters and phone calls from concerned parents of special education students are needed right now.

No one wants a school staff member or other student harmed, if a child (any child) has a meltdown at school and needs to be restrained.

But staff can't "jump the gun" and apply excessive means just because they "think" a meltdown is about to occur.

Read www.wrightslaw.com (you may need to search for "restraint" or "seclusion") and call or write to your elected representative. Tell him or her what you want and what you don't want. Ask how that rep will vote. Don't settle for "s/he will look into it." Ask for a response.

Then check to see how your rep voted, when it was time to vote. And remember that when you vote on November 2.

Parent Mentor presents at NSSED

Wouldn't it be nice to have something like this in McHenry County?

Parents of children in special education are left mostly to fend for themselves and are generally without peer support. The moms in Huntley have become pro-active, but what's happening in the rest of the County? Zip, nada, nothing; or very little.

Ideally, parents, students and educators would all be on the same page. After all, they are supposed to be working for the benefit of the students. Right? Yes, they are supposed to be.

A program next week will be sponsored by the North Shore Special Education District (NSSED), and I'll trek over to Northfield for the two-hour program on January 19. To save you a trip, I'll write it up after I get back.

How does this program sound to you? Like something like it around here?

"The demands of special needs parents are overwhelming and constant. Because we are often too busy with just the day-to-day needs required of our child, we lose our bearings in navigating the process of raising our special needs child. And that perspective can affect the course of everything – how well we advocate for our child, manage our family life and how we plan for the future. Susan Hans (a parent mentor) will present an interactive session on ways to manage this process – learning to evaluate what is effective advocacy for your child, how you can create new roads toward positive outcomes and how to accomplish both these goals with a fresh perspective."

Parent Conference - 3/13/10

Save the date - Saturday, March 13, 2010 - for the Parent Conference at MCC, presented by Options and Advocacy for McHenry County, Family CARE, and the Special Education District of McHenry County (SEDOM).

More details here as the date approaches, but the time will be from 8:30AM until 3:00PM.

Specifically designed for the parents of children with disabilities or delays from birth through 21 years of age.

Watch here for more information and how to get registration materials; or contact Options and Advocacy at 815-477-4720, ext. 234.

Attn. Woodstock D200 Parents

Do you have a child in the Age 18-21 Transition Program of Woodstock District 200 School District? Or a child in Special Education in Woodstock? Or know someone who does? If so, I'd like to hear from you.

The Age 18-21 Program is for students in special education who have earned their credits for their diploma but who have elected to take a Certificate, in order to remain eligible for special education services until the day before their 22nd birthday.

The program in D200 has three tiers, and the student is supposed to progress through them, becoming more independent as each year passes. The classes are conducted in the morning at McHenry County College. Most of the Transition students are not college students; the classes merely meet at MCC.

One thought is that by meeting at MCC, the students are supposed to begin having the college experience. But is that the case? Do they really just meet at the College for classes? If that's the case, why not meet in a D200 building?

It seems to me that the word "inclusion" does not exist in the vocabulary of the D200 Special Education Department. Special Education students are supposed to be included in mainstream activities. For high school students is this really done, or are they mostly kept isolated from mainstream students?

The Transition students could be integrated into MCC activities by assisting them in enrolling in and being successful in MCC classes and activities. Instead, D200 has chosen a hands-off position. A D200 Transition Program teacher cannot be in contact with the MCC instructor regarding a student's progress.

This needs to change in District 200. But it will only change after all parents of Transition students learn what is really going on and provide input to the D200 Special Education Department.

I would like to see a support group for parents of students in Special Education get established in District 200. I would like for it to parent-led. Most parents of Special Education students have learned a fair amount about IEPs and Special Education laws. We who have slugged through the system for 12 years have tried to get permanent improvements made, so that parents who follow won't have such a hard time. But we wonder whether we have achieved that.

There are over 1,000 Special Education students in District 200. Most are K-12; some are the Transition Program students mentioned above.

Contact Gus Philpott at gusphilpot@aol.com (N.B., one -t- in my AOL email address), so that an email distribution list can be built to inform you of developments. Please forward this to every parent of a special ed student in Woodstock District 200. The list will be used only for this purpose. Thanks!