A Day of Disappointments

As I sit here, I can hardly believe that I'm writing this next blog about this topic, since it's only been a month since Caleb's "Most Improved Award". How different a couple of weeks makes sometimes... (not always for the positive)

What a day it's been.... We just got back from a meeting with Caleb's therapists. They are advising that Caleb be bused to a special autism school that's over an hour away. Not really because he can't fit here in our home school district, but because the staff and school are set up in such a way that we're all beating our heads against a wall. This staff of teachers are frustrating and infuriating. They are overmaxed with their numbers of kids, of that I understand. But....they just don't understand autism, nor are they willing to expend the extra energy setting things up to make Caleb successful. The therapists think Caleb could be much more independent, successful, and educated in the autism school than he could be in a school with this many red flags. One...his class size of 30.... two...his stubborn, unknowledgeable teacher (this is my addition), .... three... the lack of resources in our school......4...the complete change of all administrative personal for the second year in a row.... and the list goes on and on. One part of me wants to pull all of my children and put them in another school (and I would if my husband weren't considering applying for the principal job). Another part of me wants to make these subpar teachers "put up or shut up" so that the next autism family that comes through is more successful. But, the last part of me (the biggest part) wants to see Caleb successful and appreciated for who he is. And...if that's in another school, then so be it. I did tell my husband, however, that he had to promise me one thing....that my youngest twins WOULD NEVER have Caleb's current teacher for any grade! That he would appeal to the masses, if need be, so that I never have to deal with her again! You just can't teach a person, such as her, how to be compassionate or how to love each child just because they're human. Instead, she sees Caleb as a behavior problem, and a detriment to her quality of teaching. Thankfully, we have a number of months to decide which direction to take. We also plan on looking at nearby school districts to see what they have to offer. For now though...pray that we make the right decision!

An AWARD for Caleb!

We're SO excited! Caleb got an award for this marking period! He was MOST IMPROVED in his first grade class! We were a little sad that we didn't know anything about him receiving an award so we could attend the awards ceremony. But....nevertheless....we were thrilled at his acomplishment! Here's the picture we took of him at home with his new award :)