FW: Retention and parent conferences

[Guest guest]

This is a very interesting discussion, especially all the

citations stating how retention is not desirable.

When Noah was in 3rd grade I was told if he didn’t

do well on the FCATs he would be retained. I was horrified at the thought

of him being held back a year, so instead of having him take the FCAT that year

(I think it was math), I kept him home from school on the testing as well as

the make-up days. At that point there was another criteria used, some

arcane conglomeration of present work and other testing, and the result was the

same. I lobbied the principal, North area, I think I even went to the

school board, but in the end he had to repeat 3rd grade. Along

the way several people told me he’d be better off staying in elementary

school another year, and I ignored them.

I can tell you now that I believe Florida Lizzie is absolutely

correct, being retained was the best thing for Noah and I have to believe for

many other ASD kids as well. The extra year of maturity really helped him,

he’s emotionally much more compatible with those typical kids who are

younger than him. Also, the nurturing environment of the autism clusters

found in the elementary schools has no real counterpart in the middle and high

schools yet. Our kids can legally stay in the school system until

age 22; for many if not most of them, what’s the point of rushing them

through the lower grades? For the person who said, if failed strategies

to teach the kids didn’t work the first year, why would they work a

second year, I can tell you that that is exactly what happened, the second time

around in 3rd grade Noah “got” the math he couldn’t

understand before.

From:

sList [mailto:sList ] On Behalf

Of Hawk

Sent: Saturday, June 05, 2010 6:20 PM

To: sList

Subject: Retention and parent conferences

MOST children should NOT be retained. It has

been shown that there is no real benefit to retention and actually harms

students.

FACTS

Students

rated grade retention as the single most stressful life event, higher than the

loss of a parent or going blind. Retained students are less likely to receive a

high school diploma by age 20, receive poorer educational competence ratings,

and are less likely to be enrolled in any post-secondary education program.

Retained students receive lower educational and employment status ratings and

are paid less per hour at age 20.

You can find more information here and read papers published studying this.

More available here http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/retain.index.htm

I recently met a parent who is in

stunned because her kid;s teacher suggested retention next year. Here is what I

think:

The students have the right to stay

in elementary school from K through 5, which is 6 years, right? ESE kids have

the right to stay another 2 years before they have to, by law, move

to middle school. Most cluster students do not meet promotion

criteria because they are below grade level academically. General education

(gen.ed.) students who do not have a disability and who do not receive services

at school will not be promoted if they do not meet criteria. This is not up for

debate, the teachers and the parents do not have an option here. The

students need to be retained. Typically this is done in kindergarten or first

grade. It is also commonly done in third grade for various reasons. Gen ed

students who are retained are often evaluated to see if their is a more serious

underlying problem here. Some children in kindergarten are simply immature and

they catch up soon. Others have a learning disability and need more intense

instruction.

The goal is that by the time the

students leave the elementary school, they should hopefully be able to perform

academically at fifth grade level. They should be able to read and write like a

fifth grader.

Cluster students and other

ESE kids have the right to be retained two years in elementary school. It

is your teacher's responsibility to explain this to you, and in

my opinion, they should be held responible for giving you a copy of

the promotion criteria.

I cannot understand why parents of

cluster students are in a hurry to get them out of elementary school and into

middle? Why???

You can ask them to retain your

child any school year. If you are not sure what to do,

retain again in 5th grade.

If nobody at your school has

suggested retention, there is something very wrong with your school. It is in

our county;s and community's interest that all students receive the maximum

learning gains possible while they are in elementary school.

All parents should by now have

finished their spring teacher-parent conference. This conference should focus

on 2 things: academic and social progress, and promotion versus retention. The

conference form that you get a copy of should say somethng like this " Retention

discusses, the parents would like ______, and therefore X will be in so

and so grade next school year " . If you want him to be promoted the

conference form should say something like this: " retention discussed, and

the parents want X to be promoted due to good cause " .

Cood Cause: ESE

kids (and others) cannot be retained more than 2 years.

Therfore they will be promoted no matter what. The promotion crteria will be

waved, and the child is promoted due to something that is called " Good

Cause " . If you retain him in kindergarten for a year, he has to move to

first grade next year. You can retain him again in first year, but after that

he has to move up no matter what.

If you have not been invited for a

spring conference, there is something very wrong with your school,. This is a

red flag. You should by now have the copy of your conference form in your hand

or you should have it filed in your big binder.

The teacher has to have a minimum

of 2 conferences with you each year. This is state law. In my opinion, you

should request no less than 4 conferences, one for each marking period. You

receive the progress report and report card ina yellow envelope eah marking

period, right? There is a line outside the on the envelop that you need to

sign, and next to it is a question that you should answer: " Do you want a

conference " I can't imagine why you would say no right then. Why?

And if you don't get they paricular envelope, I strongly suggest that you

request your conference right then!!!

When I read about all the nonsense

that takes place in our schools, I want to cry. One way to fix this

is by empowering and encouraging the kids' families. The best ammunition so to

say, is to be more informed about the educational system. It is great to know a

lot about the law, but it is equally important to know how things work in real

life. Families and friends of ASD kids who take this seriously need to get

their " a-- in the class " . Four conferences a year is a

must. Let's start this next year.

If you have specific questions

related to your school that I may be able to help you with, just e-mail me

privately. Make up a fake name if that helps. This is about the kids and

their education, not who is who in the community.

Liz

To: <deniseslist >

Sent: Thu, June 3, 2010 8:45:26 PM

Subject: FDDC: $60 Million in Grants Available

From: Florida Developmental Disabilities Council [mailto:vandab@ fddc.org]

Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2010 4:17 PM

To: denisekarpmyacc (DOT) net

Subject: $60 Million in Grants Available

Error! Filename not

specified.

FOR IMMEDIATE

RELEASE

Contact: HHS Press Office

Thursday, June 3,

2010

Announcement from the

Florida Developmental Disabilities Council

For more information, please contact

HHS Press Office *

HHS announces availability of $60 million in Affordable Care

Act Grants

to help people navigate their health and long-term care options

HHS Secretary Kathleen

Sebelius announced the availability of $60 million in Affordable Care Act

grants to states and communities to help individuals and their caregivers

better understand and navigate their health and long-term care

options.

Through this opportunity made possible by the Affordable Care Act HHS'

Administration on Aging (AoA) and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid

Services (CMS) will work collaboratively to award funds for an integrated

approach that focuses on the unique needs of seniors, disabled Americans

and their caregivers as they seek health care and long-term care.

" The Affordable Care Act seeks to lower health care costs, improve

the quality of health care and perhaps most importantly give people more

control over their own care. These new grants, authorized under the new

law, will help seniors, individuals with disabilities and their families

get better quality care and more control. We've also streamlined the

process for states and people who rely on these funds, " said Secretary

Sebelius.

" We know how difficult it can be for caregivers and patients to try

and deal with a sudden illness or chronic disease while at the same time

trying to navigate through a complex health care system to figure out

where you can get help. These new funds that we have bundled together

will help promote better opportunities for coordination of health and

long-term supports, " said Sebelius.

The purpose of this new grant program authorized by the Affordable Care

Act is to create streamlined, coordinated statewide systems of

information, counseling, and access that will help people find

consumer-friendly answers they seek to meet their health and long-term

care needs. AoA and CMS will administer the funding through

separate announcements, but will coordinate implementation and monitoring

through a single process.

Some specific areas of focus will include assisting individuals who are

under-served and hard to reach with information about their Medicare and

Medicaid benefits, helping older adults and individuals with disabilities

live at home or in settings of their choosing with the right supports,

assisting people transition from hospital or nursing home stays back into

the community, and strengthening linkages between the medical and social

service systems.

" When it comes to long-term health care, each patient has a unique

mix of complex medical and social needs that must be considered when

seeking care, " said Marilyn Tavenner, acting CMS administrator.

" Our health care system can offer many options to meeting those

needs from traditional nursing home care to home and community-based

services. Making patients and their families aware of these options

will help them make inherently difficult decisions about long-term

care. This integrated program will help families make informed

choices and make sure patients have more control over their own

care. "

AoA and CMS have provided grants to states for several years to develop

person-centered systems of information, counseling and access to make it

easier for individuals to learn about and access their health and

long-term services and support options. This grant program through the

Affordable Care Act strengthens and enhances the ability of states to

truly integrate the medical and social services care models.

" AoA's national network of community-based organizations has long

served as the central place for individuals and families seeking information

and help to address health and long term care challenges. This

collaborative opportunity between AoA and CMS will further strengthen the

network's capacity to help people in a more coordinated and comprehensive

way in the communities where they live, " said Kathy Greenlee,

assistant secretary for aging.

Funds will be available to states, area agencies on aging (aaa's),

State Health Insurance Assistance Programs (SHIPs) and Aging and

Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs). Through the grant

program, states and local aging and disability programs will receive

funds to:

*provide outreach and assistance to

Medicare beneficiaries on their Medicare

benefits including prevention;

*use additional funds

through a competitive process to

provide Options Counseling on health and long-term care

through ADRCs;

*use additional funds through a

competitive process to strengthen the ADRCs role

in Money follows the Person program and support state Medicaid agencies

as

they transition individuals from nursing homes to community-based care;

and

*coordinate and continue to embed

tested Care Transition models that integrate

the medical and social service systems to help older individuals and

those with

disabilities remain in their own homes and communities after a

hospital,

rehabilitation or skilled nursing facility visit.

" CMS and AoA share a long-standing goal of expanding access to

community-based care for the elderly and individuals with

disabilities. The Affordable Care Act provides significant

resources for state Medicaid agencies and providers to balance the nation's

long-term care systems and assure that individuals have a choice of where

and how they receive their services, " said Mann, director of

CMS's Center for Medicaid, CHIP, and Survey and Certification.

The announcement combines funding opportunities from several provisions

in the Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Obama on March

23, 2010,including the Role of Public Programs (Title II, Sections 2403 -

Money Follows the Person and 2405 - Funding for Aging and Disability

Resource Centers) and Improving the Quality and Efficiency of Health Care

(Title III. Section 3306 - Funding for Outreach and Assistance for

Low-Income Programs).

These grants also complement President Obama's " Year of Community

Living Initiative, " which focuses on better serving those

individuals with disabilities who need ongoing services and support

programs in the community such as those provided by AoA, CMS and other

HHS

agencies.

The deadline for applications is: Monday, July 30, 2010. Grants

will be awarded in September 2010. For more information about this

grant opportunity, please visit http://www.aoa. gov/AoARoot/ Grants/Funding/ index.aspx

or www.grants.gov.

To learn more about the Affordable Care Act, please visit

www.healthreform. gov. Note: All HHS press releases,

fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs. gov/news.

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