more on school

Here's a bit more on school... now that I'm calmed down a bit and have had some time to think, talk it out, pray, and stew on it :)

First off, (I'll put this at the beginning for those that don't read to the end LOL!), I have a request.  If your child has Down syndrome and is in a fully inclusive setting, or WAS in a fully inclusive setting, would you please leave me a comment or shoot me an email about how it worked for your child.  Maybe share if they had any aide, whether therapies were "push in" (in the classroom) or "pull out" (to a resource room or other area of the school), and what the experience was like for your child and family.  That would be a great help to me.

Also, if you have any links to resources about inclusive education- research based reasons WHY our kids can and SHOULD be included in the regular classroom rather than only joining in for lunch and activity.

Thanks so much!

Ok, on to where we are at.  Expect some rambling... because my mind is not all that organized still!  (will it ever be??)

Here's what we have as far as school age kids next year:

• Aleksa, 8 yrs old, expected to be placed as a 2nd grader, not currently enrolled in public school (homeschooling), and not eligible for a state-based scholarship to change schools, likely placement is a "supported level" classroom (same as Emma).
• Emma, 8 yrs old, will go up to 2nd grade next year, currently at an "out of area" school which we will call "A" via state-based scholarship in a fully self-contained supported level classroom.
• Kristopher, 7 yrs old, will go up to 2nd grade next year, typically developing and currently out of area at the same school as Emma, "A". 
• Wesley, 6 yrs old, will enroll as a kindergartener next year, not currently enrolled in public school (homeschooling), and not eligible for state-based scholarship to change schools.
• Brianna, 5 yrs old, will go up to kindergarten next year, placement still in process and a big question mark, has 3 schools possible for next year, is eligible for state-based scholarship to change schools.
• James, 4 yrs old, will stay in K-4, already determined by staffing and IEP team (he technically should go to Kindy), attends an EELP K3/4 classroom currently at "A".  Could attend any school with openings in an EELP classroom.
• Micah, 4 yrs old, will go up to K-4, attends an EELP K3/4 classroom currently at "A".  Could attend any school with openings in an EELP classroom.

Ok, we're calling the school the kids currently attend "A".  Five of the kids are currently enrolled there.  Emma is there on a state scholarship (McKay).  Kristopher is out of area and can be renewed.  Micah and James could be re-staffed to attend there.  Brianna, as of right NOW, can NOT return there because the school is closed to new McKay scholarship students (she would be new since she's 'staffed' there as a PreK but McKay'd there for Kindy) AND new Out of Area students.

This also means that Aleksa and Wesley cannot attend "A" next year as out of area, and neither of them is eligible for the McKay scholarship since they weren't enrolled in school from October to March this year (since they weren't even in the USA in October...).  

School "B" is our neighborhood school.  They have NO ex-ed services for our children, and only if the child is in full inclusion could they possibly attend there.  Kristopher could attend "B" next year, bussed from about 1/2 mile down the road where the bus already picks up the neighborhood kids (well, those that attend public school anyway...).  MY goal for Brianna, and the best placement I can see for HER would be to be completely included in Kindergarten.  I see no reason why she couldn't be!  She would need support, YES, but she could likely be a part of a regular kindy classroom without too much difficulty with minor modifications.  So Brianna could then, if her IEP is written with support for full inclusion, attend our 'home' school, "B" (or, if it was 'open', could attend the school she is at this year in an inclusion setting, school "A").

School "C" is our school's "feeder school" for children that need the supported level classroom.  I have not yet visited this school (but plan to after Wesley's surgery) but from what I know of the school, School "C" is a lower-scoring school in FCAT (testing), in school choice approval, and in several other areas.  It is not a school that I would choose for my kids to go to.  There are more behavioral issues at this school.  It is not a school that I would send Kristopher to as an out-of-area student, or Brianna to in an inclusion setting.  Next year, I would not want James and Micah coming up to this school since they mimic so many behaviors already.  It is as far away from our home as school "A" (A and B are both similar in scores and school ratings).  School "C" does not have a Pre-K for the boys.  This is where Aleksa and Emma would "flow to" since school "B" has no services for them, and... if our staffing specialist has her say in it... Brianna would as well, to be in the supported level classroom.  Of course there's possibly Wesley too, so that would be 4 of my children in ONE class at this elementary school.

There is also school "D".  School D is 30 minutes away from our home and offers the only classroom (that I'm aware of) for "profoundly mentally handicapped" kids... renamed now to be more politically correct as the "Participatory level" classroom.  It has been suggested that this classroom may be more appropriate for Wesley, which I laugh at.  He is bright, he is just physically and visually impaired... not to mention that he doesn't know the language!

So, there we have it.  Seven kids, four schools.  Have I mentioned that the age-gap between James and Micah and Emma and Aleksa is only 4 years?  Yes, we have seven kids in 4 years.  All seven kids are in Prek, Kindy, and 2nd grade.  Why should they have to go to 4 different schools?  Why can only our typical son attend at our neighborhood school?  

Then there comes another problem...  If the "powers that be" determine that six of my children should be in the assisted level classroom, then that just about FILLS the classroom!  Those are done in "primary" and "intermediate" levels, and generally are K-3 and 4-6 grades.  Sometimes, due to numbers, they are split differently such as K-1 and 2-6... which I don't think is an appropriate span for teaching, but my kids aren't being faced with a classroom with that great of a span right now so that's not really my difficulty.

My difficulty lies with this:  If my children are 2/3 of the class, or more, then what time are they getting AWAY from one another?  If they learn best all together, then why not homeschool?  If they will all go into the same class at school and be taught the same things, then I could likely do that in the home environment with even greater success because the behavioral side of things would cut down GREATLY (this is based on current and past experiences with the kids' behavior at home and at school). 

Also, I *know* that Brianna is not at the same place that Emma and Micah and James are.  Yes, they all have Down syndrome.  NO, the same school placement will not work for all four of them.  Brianna REALLY LOOKS AROUND and will behave how her peers behave.  She doesn't need an aide at church, she goes with the crowd and needs just a little direction, and would need some modification on assignments as well as a little more "directive" on them.  But learning to make a line for 5 weeks at the beginning of the school year like Emma did this year?  No, that wouldn't be appropriate.  GREAT for Emma!  Right now, it is likely to be GREAT for James and Micah.  For Brianna?  She will do much better, I believe, in a classroom working on letters and numbers and writing her name and spelling and colors and shapes and academics. 

Aleksa is somewhere in between.  She is BRIGHT, and she is likely very capable, but due to her limited exposure, right now she NEEDS what Emma is getting... It's a matter of a tough start for her, and needing to back-up and start with the basics even though she's older and 'could have' done well in the track we're trying to take with Brianna.

Wesley is an enigma.  We're seeing new exploring skills and social skills and understanding from him on almost a daily basis.  He has the orphanage and social delay, but he may or may not have any cognitive delay whatsoever.  We have NO IDEA.  You can't tell that based on his diagnosis (all children with Ds have SOME cognitive delay, mild to moderate... whereas some children with CP have NO delay and some are severely affeted...).  So he is a wait and see.  Teach and find out.  Put him in the LEAST restrictive environment to START and go from there.  I think a supported level classroom would be an appropriate start until we find out what he understands.  From there he could be mainstreamed with support if we find he is cognitively able to do that.  Or, should he all the sudden digress (haha, yes, of course I'm kidding!) then another placement may be necessary...

Could Emma, Wesley, and Aleksa all excel in the same classroom?  Right now-- probably.  The next year (2012-2013) when James and Micah move up would all 5 be appropriate in the same classroom? No way... but-- by then Aleksa and Emma would be 3rd grade and likely in the Intermediate classroom leaving Wesley, James, and Micah.  Brianna?  Doesn't fit in on either equation...

Now, how in the world do we really make this WORK in a REAL environment with the ACTUAL schools and rules and regulations and staffing specialists and test scores and teachers and counselors and and and and... I have no idea. 

I don't want to be split between two or three elementary schools.  But we may have no choice about two.  If we have to do two, will we send only some kids to school and homeschool the others?  Or will we do 2 schools and hope for the best?  If there are 3 or 4 schools in the mix we will have no choice but to pull some kids.  After all, a profound class is not appropriate for Wesley and that would be the only reason for school #4.  

More things stewing in my brain:

Is there any way to "go against" having to have children attend a school with 'worse ratings' than their home school based on the fact that their home school doesn't offer services for them?  

Is there any way to get an 'override' into a closed (full) school if it is the only one that can effectively serve your entire family's needs? 

What do we need to bring to the plate in order to 'convince' the school that full inclusion is the appropriate placement for Brianna for Kindergarten?  

And to justify placing a child that 'tests' profound into a supported classroom based on the knowledge that he has ZERO life-experiences at 6 years old but CAN learn? 

How do we meet the individual needs of all of our children if we don't have the ability to even have a small presence at any of their schools due to them being spread between multiple schools?  

How do we even get our kids TO school if we don't put them on the bus until they are 40 lbs (MY CHOICE, yes, I know they could be bussed)?  And home?  And holiday parties?  And class field trips?  And dealing with behaviors?

The list goes on... Any input?  Post-up... I'll answer questions/respond to suggestions in a later post.

We DO already have an advocate involved who is GREAT and attended this last meeting with Michael and I.  She also has a 5 yr old daughter w/ Ds so she knows right where we're at! :)