I attended Eliana's annual IEP meeting at her school. The goal of the meeting was to assess Eliana's progress and make new goals for fourth grade. Eliana has made progress but remains below grade level. I believe the team in place is doing a good job, and the agreed-upon goals are appropriate. I am happy that Eliana has outside support, including her work with Pat Meyers and me. I do believe she will benefit from the scheduled psychoeducational testing.
Assignment
none
Session Minutes
120
Minutes Student Attended
0
Lesson Comments
Judie, I will talk to you when you get back into town, but in general, I am pleased with the team at The Conservatory School. Eliana is getting small group for reading every day and language therapy with an SLP twice a week. She is pulled from art and PE, so no essential class time is missed. Pat seems frustrated, but Eliana is making progress. As we know, it is difficult for a child with learning disabilities to make a year's worth of progress, and nearly impossible in a traditional school setting to make more than a year's progress in a year. I am happy that you pushed for psychoeducational testing, as the school was not eager to do it at this point. We can push for that through the school district before middle school (i.e,, request it at next years meeting.). I think that Eliana is getting the maximum amount of services available. On another note, the dynamic between Pat Myers and the parents is awkward to observe.
Reid's teacher from St. Ann's joined us to discuss Reid's progress and brainstorm ways to support him. His teacher praised Reid's intelligence and attitude but expressed concern about his executive-functioning skills, especially as he enters 5th grade with a less structured teacher.
I met with Colson's parents to describe my work with him. Specifically, the results of my testing and the scope & sequence of a typical session. We agreed that Colson would benefit from additional Orton-Gillingham tutoring, schedule permitting.
Met with Chris' mother and discussed his performance in Drum Class. Among the topics discussed were Chris' positive attitude and willingness to learn, his strong work ethic, and his interest in music and films. We talked about a couple of the songs Chris has worked on (Hello and No One Knows) that demonstrate his musical sensibility and the improvements to his playing, as well as a couple of the techniques and drum-set fundamentals that we've been working on.
Eliana remains below grade level, but her iReady scores have improved 47% (from kindergarten to 2nd grade level). Her PM2 overall is 154 and should be 182 (however the reading portion is at 184). Nonetheless, she will not be retained again. Eliana is utilizing her accommodations (extra time, questions read aloud if needed, verbal encouragement). Teachers express concern over her inattention, language impairment and poor working memory. Suggested to mother that she go to the pediatrician to follow up on these concerns. Her annual IEP meeting should be coming up in April; we would like to attend. In addition, she is due for a pyscho-eduational assessment (last one was three years ago. Follow-up: get copy of psycho-ed, make sure she is scheduled for re-assessment, schedule and attend IEP meeting, get math vocabulary for her to practice in tutoring, and schedule Eliana to talk to school counselor to manage self-esteem.
Judie and I met with Pat Myers and Michelle from Holy Ground PBC, a charity interested in sponsoring a child for tutoring. We discussed the student, Eliana Coney, who is in second grade but lagging behind her classmates. I explained the Orton-Gillingham method. We agreed upon two days of tutoring per week, subject to Holy Ground board approval. I wrote a letter to the board explaining the scope of services.
Judie and I met with Cade's team at Trinity School, including his classroom teacher, assistant head of school, head of school, grandfather, and mother. We strategized how to best support Cade and avoid retention. The plan is for the Batt School to coordinate with Trinity School through the rest of the school year and throughout the school year to help Cade catch up.
Judie and I met with Reid's teachers and mother. We discussed appropriate accommodations for school and brainstormed how we can support Reid's academic process this year. We agreed to the following: Reid's teacher will email suggestions weekly, I will assign tutoring homework, I will teach cursive and keyboarding. We will help Reid to stay more organized to bolster his executive functioning.
