Comments on: Poor, neglected HayWord blog!

By: John W. Kyle

John W. Kyle — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:45:37 +0000

All.

I am much amused by Ms. Roccio’s intense interest in FITAG.

She recently advised blog devotees of the fact that FITAG was searching for a way to reduce the budget for school year 2011-12 by something in excess of $7,000,000.

On top of the cut needed to meet concerns of the State for School year 2010- 2011 ?

One can only guess at apparent cause of failure to utilize the tool which became available on January 1, 2011. SB 1317 is a tool which ought be applied to parents of truants. Something in excess of $5,000,000 in annual state funding is lost due to truancy at HUSD.

Why the reluctance to enforce the law?? Surely any initial action taken under the provisions of that law would draw attention of neglectful parents. Perhaps there is fear of loss of votes in year 2012 ?

By: K Rocchio

K Rocchio — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 14:38:03 +0000

Agreed, the student shuffle after the beginning of the year is very disruptive and often upsetting for the students. I believe you are being modest when you state class sizes are at 32:1, seems 34:1 has become the new standard and we can’t even stop there, often pushing in “redirects” to top that number.

Did anyone else make it to the meeting last night? I know I saw Mr. Kurhi and the room was pretty full. I’m just curious what you felt the overall vibe of the meeting was. I spoke very early of my concerns for ALD, but it seems the speakers were all under the impression that ELD, along with all other ELL services, were on the chopping block. Instead of discussing logistics of the language dev programs, it ended up being a defensive discussion for these programs. Just wondering if anyone else got the same idea.

By: teachermama

teachermama — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 11:23:54 +0000

Qodrn, starting school after Labor Day is a wonderful idea, even if it means going later in June. I would also like to get my class list at least a week ahead of time, and keep the same kids for the whole year. Moving (literally) hundreds of kids on the 15th day of instruction is so disruptive, it’s like starting the year all over again. A huge waste of instructional time.

By: Kathi Booth

Kathi Booth — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 02:20:11 +0000

Teachermama,
I suggest that this is where ALL teachers should draw the line. To return NPS students is something the school site and the staff is not equipped to handle. With respect to other Learning Disabled, I don’t believe that you should be responsible for designing, determining or implementing “Interventions” without an aid in the classroom and strong support from the district. It places an undue burden on teachers and the rest of the class. I hope that HEA will take a strong and defiant stand against RTI.

By: teachermama

teachermama — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 01:35:38 +0000

I would love to read what Ms. Rocchio has shared about FITAG. Where can I find it? It seems like the only way to get clear, reliable information from HUSD is from community volunteers.

Qodorn – we are already up to 32 students in K-3. It is exhausting for all involved.

Returning the NPS students to regular campuses is a terrible idea! The special ed. dept. has a hard enough time providing services to the students who need them already.

By: qodrn

qodrn — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 22:24:03 +0000

Parts of Mission Blvd (of course the part by my house) are really a slow mess today. The road work has closed most of the left turn lanes from Mission (meaning I have to sit at a very slow light to get home) and most of the time they have only one lane open. Avoid Mission between Carlos Bee and Tennyson if you can.

By: K Rocchio

K Rocchio — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 18:02:12 +0000

I will definitely bring the suggestions given here to FITAG. I know some of these have been on the list before and need to be looked at again and there are some new ideas as well. I really appreciate the thought of shortening the DO day during the summer. It is sharing ideas like this that I hope to help represent your thoughts in this group. In regards to the special ed info, thank you so much for sharing. I can tell you there is a parent of a special needs student on FITAG. I will do what I can to find out details on the $3M ARRA funds and let you know what I learn.

REMINDER: There is a Special Board Meeting tomorrow night (1/19) at 5pm at the District Office to discuss ELL Programs and Services.

By: Lucy's Mom

Lucy's Mom — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 17:35:06 +0000

Mrs. Booth,

Thank you for the information.
Another task added to our teachers’ busy schedule. I hope parents get involved before RTI is implemented district wide.

By: Kathi Booth

Kathi Booth — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 02:31:32 +0000

Lucy’s Mom,
I have some limited information on RTI, Response to Interventions. Essentially this plan is designed to limit the number of referrals for testing by the classroom teacher. As I understand it the following must take place:

1. Classroom teachers must determine/diagnose what may be a “learning disability” in a student and then implement methods of intervention to meet the needs of the student. They must exhaust all methods before they can refer a student for testing.

2. I don’t know what expertise a classroom teacher may have in determining interventions, but as a cost saving measure they must attempt to provide for the student in their classroom. I am sure that a teacher with a general education degree has little to no training regarding how to help the dislexic child, the child with speech issues, the child who has auditory processing difficulties…and many other learning disabilities.

3. I am not sure what the policy will be regarding parental requests. Currently the law states that parents may request testing and the district cannot deny the request.

4. I am extremely concerned that this places an undue burden on the classroom teacher and may very well be detremental to the student in question. As far as I know a general education teacher does not receive the training necessary to do what the district is suggesting. In addition, while this intervention process is taking place, the teacher may become overwhelmed and the rest of the class will most certainly be adversely affected from an academic and social stand point.

5. When we have students who exhibit behavioral issues teachers are definitely not equipped nor do they understand the intricacies of behavioral modification for students with ADHD, OCD and other disabilities that result in their acting out. It is extremely difficult for the untrained to understand that many of these students cannot control outbursts and other forms of acting out…the results can be so very detrimental to teacher, student and the rest of the class.

Obviously if there are less referrals, there will be less cost for psychologists testing and other specialists that may be needed to determine the best path for these students. It appears that this “new” plan is dollar driven…not student driven.

I am, to say the least, not thrilled or comfortable with this plan and I would venture to say neither are the teachers.

By: Lucy's Mom

Lucy's Mom — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 23:29:24 +0000

Thank You Mrs. Booth!

What do you know about RTI? Teachers have mentioned to me that this is the way Special Education plans to send all students to general education. Are we prepare to adopt this framework? All this is kind of new to me; I appreciate your insight.