ADHDiabetic Mom
05-10-2008, 02:23 AM
After nine years of home schooling, I put all three of my kiddos in public this year. The school has been awesome -- beyond my wildest hopes. Everyone has bent over backwards to help us:
The school counselor went above and beyond to get us enrolled at the last minute, to help the kids adjust, to talk them through the bumps in the road, to place them in appropriate classes, and to ease me into this whole new world of public school mothering. Next year, she is even arranging to bus SD from the middle school to the high school so he can take the Algebra 2 class he needs. He will be the ONLY kid in the middle school who needs it, but she's making it happen.
The head of the math department evaluated SD on the first day and placed him in an advanced class (he was two years ahead) the very next day. (We were told it could take several weeks.)
The counselor ordered a math placement test for SD's Algebra 1 (which he was six weeks short of finishing in homeschool -- we got behind when he was dxd). Then SD's geometry teacher tutored him once a week before school in the three areas he lacked... all while letting him move on with geometry in the meantime.
The same geometry teacher has not just taught, but has mentored SD. He tells me, "Oh, I'm more about kids than about math." He's someone SD trusts and will talk to. And I guess he's a good teacher, too.... SD is averaging 100% in his class.
The school nurse has put up with every imaginable diabetes- and ADHD-related problem all year... including a period of non-compliance with ADD meds and the time SD went on a field trip without his glucometer.
The PE department gave SD credit for the off-campus hours he puts into karate each week, freeing him up to take another elective during school hours.
The 504 coordinator got SD the perfect accommodations (for diabetes, ADHD, and dysgraphia -- all three!) within days of learning there was a need. This included calling a meeting of the principal, the GT coordinator, the nurse, the math teacher, my husband and me... and it was accomplished practically overnight. With the accommodations in place to help him with his weak areas, SD went on to make the all-A honor roll and the National Junior Honor Society.
The GT (gifted/talented) coordinator has worked with SD and me on several different levels all year, making sure SD is exactly where he should be. She has also guided him through an individual studies course where he has researched his own diabetes and looked into the research being done towards a cure.
A science teacher and a math teacher have taken my 12yo daughter "under the wing" and helped her transition from a life of home schooling through the culture shock of public middle school.
I could just go on and on and on. None of my kids were typical, they all three required special placement and accommodation, and they all needed extra attention as they made the adjustment to this new way of life. And we didn't even enroll until the day before classes started!
If I had a lot of money, I'd buy every one of them a gift certificate for dinner at the best steakhouse in town. But since I don't... any ideas??
The school counselor went above and beyond to get us enrolled at the last minute, to help the kids adjust, to talk them through the bumps in the road, to place them in appropriate classes, and to ease me into this whole new world of public school mothering. Next year, she is even arranging to bus SD from the middle school to the high school so he can take the Algebra 2 class he needs. He will be the ONLY kid in the middle school who needs it, but she's making it happen.
The head of the math department evaluated SD on the first day and placed him in an advanced class (he was two years ahead) the very next day. (We were told it could take several weeks.)
The counselor ordered a math placement test for SD's Algebra 1 (which he was six weeks short of finishing in homeschool -- we got behind when he was dxd). Then SD's geometry teacher tutored him once a week before school in the three areas he lacked... all while letting him move on with geometry in the meantime.
The same geometry teacher has not just taught, but has mentored SD. He tells me, "Oh, I'm more about kids than about math." He's someone SD trusts and will talk to. And I guess he's a good teacher, too.... SD is averaging 100% in his class.
The school nurse has put up with every imaginable diabetes- and ADHD-related problem all year... including a period of non-compliance with ADD meds and the time SD went on a field trip without his glucometer.
The PE department gave SD credit for the off-campus hours he puts into karate each week, freeing him up to take another elective during school hours.
The 504 coordinator got SD the perfect accommodations (for diabetes, ADHD, and dysgraphia -- all three!) within days of learning there was a need. This included calling a meeting of the principal, the GT coordinator, the nurse, the math teacher, my husband and me... and it was accomplished practically overnight. With the accommodations in place to help him with his weak areas, SD went on to make the all-A honor roll and the National Junior Honor Society.
The GT (gifted/talented) coordinator has worked with SD and me on several different levels all year, making sure SD is exactly where he should be. She has also guided him through an individual studies course where he has researched his own diabetes and looked into the research being done towards a cure.
A science teacher and a math teacher have taken my 12yo daughter "under the wing" and helped her transition from a life of home schooling through the culture shock of public middle school.
I could just go on and on and on. None of my kids were typical, they all three required special placement and accommodation, and they all needed extra attention as they made the adjustment to this new way of life. And we didn't even enroll until the day before classes started!
If I had a lot of money, I'd buy every one of them a gift certificate for dinner at the best steakhouse in town. But since I don't... any ideas??