The Battle Ends: Summer School Results

Summer school ended. Ryan and Nick both earned As in the computer class. Wish it were that simple!

The class was very frustrating for the boys and us. This class consumed our summer vacation time. We spent hours with the boys and their assignments. Ryan caught on fairly well, but Nick was extremely frustrated.

My husband and I shared Nick's frustration, but ours was directed at the teacher and administration. We met with the teacher and principal or vice principal several times. Our main concern was the content of the class, not the speed of the class. The course catalog described an introduction to the computer. Instead, this class demanded a creation of a small business, which entailed business plans and goals and much more. I won't go into the details here, but the frustration was really due to the administration focusing on the speed of the class, not content.

Before I had signed up the boys for this class, I had talked with numerous people at my boys' schools. I talked with counselors, psychologists, case managers, and teachers. They all agreed that this beginner computer class would help my kids throughout high school. It would also be a needed life skill. All were on board.

My husband conveyed this to the summer school hierarchy. The vice principal of the regular high school was called. (I assume this as we never saw her on the summer school campus.) She told the summer school principal that we never spoke with her.

I felt like I was thrown under the bus. After that call, the summer school administration refused to work with us, even though we had an IEP. They simply stated that "this is what we're going to do." We had no more say.

We could have hired an attorney and fought it. However, the energy and money to do so would have been more than we could generate. Maybe the school counted on that. My husband and I decided to spend that time and energy teaching the boys ourselves. THAT is why the boys earned As in that class.

This makes me rethink the home schooling vs public schooling. Parents always remain the primary educators, no matter what!

Ryan's Success in High School

One of the big decisions we made over the summer was to register Ryan at the public high school. He was home schooled for junior high, and he attended a transition program last year. He is a sophomore, and he is attending the local public high school. Although he has autism, he is mainstreamed in most of his subjects. Only biology and study skills are "resource classes", that is, special education.

We decided to try school on a weekly basis. Each Friday we evaluate Ryan's progress in academics, socializing, etc. The first day Ryan loved school. The second day he wanted us to take him out. I reminded him that we had a commitment of one week. Of course, if something unacceptable happened, we'd take him out immediately. That was not the case. Ryan just felt the transition was tough that day.

It has been four weeks now. I did have to ask the teachers for copies of notes, which I cited as "special accommodations" in his IEP. (Briefly, an Individual Educational Program (IEP) is a goal oriented program for special needs students, made for that specific individual by a team comprised of teachers and parents.)

Here is a synopsis of what the teachers have to say about Matt:

FROM HIS ENGLISH TEACHER:

Ryan did much better on his spelling test on Friday, earning a 22/24, so his extra studying definitely paid off. As far as class goes, I've been trying to get him copies of all lists and definitions so that he can study the terms exactly as they will be used on the tests. Other than that, he appears to be doing well in class.

FROM HIS BIOLOGY TEACHER:

Ryan is a joy to have in class. He works very hard.

FROM HIS MATH TEACHER:

Ryan has been doing fairly well in class. He is shy and quiet, but always paying attention. I do have to make sure he is writing down what we are going over in class sometimes. I have an itinerant in the classroom with me now, so we will do our best to keep Matt on task, especially with the note taking.

Conclusion: In the academic realm, Ryan is doing beyond what any of us imagined! Some of these comments almost had me in tears. No teacher has ever said that Ryan is a "joy" to have in class, or that he works hard. I truly consider this a miracle. If people could see what Ryan was like ten years ago to whom he is today, they would not believe him to be the same person! The hard road is worth the journey!