Need 504 advice/help

(Robyn Kozierok) wrote:

In article ,
Cathy Kearns wrote:

Our "middle school" starts in 7th grade. In parent orientation the
principal
pointed out that over half (yes MOST) students have a "C" or below in at
least one class at the 6 week mark in their first year.

Middle schools are sometimes 6-7-8 and sometimes just 7-8

Junior High Schools (an older concept) are usually 7-8-9 although
sometimes they too are 7-8 with 9-12 being high school

Isn't this what a "C" means? I thought a "C" grade generally denoted
"average" achievement. If that were the case, then (except in Lake
Woebegone), over half of the students in each class should be getting
grades of "C" or below.

--Robyn (whose kids don't get letter grades, so this is from my memory
of my own school days, and may be outdated...)

You would think so wouldn't you?

In fact when I was teaching we had three entirely different grading
systems (two of which used letter grades A-B-C-D-F) in the three
different levels of school.

In elementary school the grades indicated whether or not the student
was working on grade level. The he or she was doing 3rd grade work in
the third grade they got a Satisfactory.

In middle school the grade indicated whether the student was working
up to his or her ability. IOW if the student was deemed capable of
3rd grade achievement, and was trying hard and doing their best even
if their actual grades were not so good, they'd get an A and a very
bright student who didn't try at all and was sliding through would get
a C.

In high school they were graded strictly on numerical achievement. 95
to 100 = an A, 65-75 = D. So your grade more or less (teachers have a
little bit of wiggle room in grading projects or curving test results,
and counting or not counting homework IME) depends on the actual
numerical average of your work and does not depend so much on what the
other people in the class do.

I personally think this is confusing.

grandma Rosalie

"Chris Himes" wrote in message
m...
(Iowacookiemom) wrote in message
...
Not to minimize Henry's problems, or to suggest that you do nothing, I
will say that we are encountering many similar problems with our own
13 year old son, now in 8th grade. There are lots of developmental
issues that I'm sure you are aware of and they probably aggravate any
underlying problems. They are tough enough for kids not dealing with
a disability! Our son forgets books and assignments, puts things off
to the last minute, forgets to bring me notes and forms, and generally
goofs off in school. He is involved in lots of thingsI alternate
between complete frustration, a hands-off approach, cajoling,
punishing... I just hope we make it through middle school.

While I agree that middle school is very difficult for any child, a child
with ADD has additional issues that shouldn't be negated by assuming that he
CAN get his act together if he just tried harder. That just isn't true of a
child with real ADD. I have one child with ADHD and one without it. They
both have issues with organization, and of course both would completely goof
off in school if they were allowed to. My ADHD child has been pullled out of
a regular school setting because he absolutely COULD NOT organize himself,
and his teachers were unwilling and unable to help him with the
accomodations he required. He now attends a private school, which our school
system is paying for in full to the tune of $45+K/year, but he is finally
being accomodated and he's gone from failing to straight A's in record time.
In his new school, they encourage individualized learning for differently
abled learners, and he's finished a year of math in 2 months and is now
working on the next year of math. If he continues at this rate, he'll have
finished all of high school math but Calculus in one year. Imagine any
regular school, public or private, that would accomodate this kind of
learner!

I've tried every approach imaginable with my son prior to going outside the
school system. Like you, Chris, I've cajoled, screamed, pleaded, punished,
rewarded, and backed off. None of those things worked. Not even remotely!
What does work is a highly structured school setting where expectations are
clearly laid out in small increments with level rewards, just like in
preschool. My kid is so anxious to remain on the highest level, which gets
him really cool field trips, that he'll do just about anything to make sure
that he's taken. And that means homework, classwork, studying, and
participating respectfully. He has to have a card signed hourly saying that
he's done everything required of him to stay on level, and he does! Some
ADD/ADHD kids need this level of supervision to get them to be organized
enough to settle down to work. Knowing that only an hour of his time is on
his mind makes him much more able to function, whereas a full day's planning
and organization was just impossible for him to manage.

Of course very few kids are in the position where they must be taken out of
a regular school setting, but in Dawn's case, she hasn't tried any other
school options yet, which might be much more helpful for Henry in the long
run than leaving him in a school that doesn't want to accomodate his
learning differences. Unfortunately, she's in Texas, land of the NCLB law,
and from what I've heard, Texas isn't very tolerant of learning differences
of any kind, nor are they welcoming to accomodations. That stinks.

Marjorie

"animzmirot" wrote in message ...
"Chris Himes" wrote in message
m...
(Iowacookiemom) wrote in message
...

Not to minimize Henry's problems, or to suggest that you do nothing, I
will say that we are encountering many similar problems with our own
13 year old son, now in 8th grade.

While I agree that middle school is very difficult for any child, a child
with ADD has additional issues that shouldn't be negated by assuming that he
CAN get his act together if he just tried harder. That just isn't true of a
child with real ADD.

Of course very few kids are in the position where they must be taken out of
a regular school setting, but in Dawn's case, she hasn't tried any other
school options yet, which might be much more helpful for Henry in the long
run than leaving him in a school that doesn't want to accomodate his
learning differences.

I agree completely. Having "shared" in your struggles over the years
with your sons, I understand that both you and Dawn are dealing with
very different issues than I have faced. I just wanted to say that
given what I HAVE experienced with a "normal" but moderatlely gifted
son, I can only imagine the frustrations faced by families dealing
with the combination of young adolescence, giftednes, and attention
difficulties. Middle school is a tough time, I'm just hoping that,
like for me, by about 10th grade things will fall in place for my son.

I strongly support and understand your drive to find the best setting
for your kids. I sometimes wish we lived in an area where we had
those options.

Chris