Meeting's done. It went well.
MrWiggly is doing very well academically. They have come full circle at the school and are now, I think, doing the best they can with what they've got. He started today with the new 1:1 aide for math. They want to use the Life of Fred books I bought and had been doing at home. They are interested in expanding their software to include some of the software we use at home.
The 3rd grade teacher has differentiated in reading by having his group move ahead in the text, so he is in a group doing higher level reading. She has added 5 challenge words to each weeks spelling test and sees him excited about those words (since he's already mastered the others on the pretest each week!). He participates in two different gifted pull out programs, one at his school and one at another grade school in our district. They all had good reports about his academic progress. Nice for a change!!
However, as the academics have improved the social/emotional stuff has deteriorated. He is now more aware that he is different. He is, according to the teachers, more noticeably different from peers in 3rd grade. They were concerned about his "aggression" with others (he shoved kids two days in a row right before Christmas break) but we brought up the bullying and teasing he is apparently enduring. They all got quiet and took notes.
Good news is the social worker is going to meet with him weekly AND do a classroom program on bullying and name calling. MrWiggly loves getting out of the classroom to chat with an adult, so he's eager to see her! Hopefully the teachers can address the teasing and stop that ASAP.
The one thing that bugged me was when the principal commented "we excpected social and emotional problems with academic acceleration." I was quick to point out that MrWiggly is having his problems with the 3rd grade NOT the junior high kids. It's keeping him back that causes the problems NOT accelerating him!! The social issues are because he is just different from all the other kids. He's not found a single friend that is a true peer. The bottom line is we need to keep moving forward on looking at other school districts for the sake of peers. MrWiggly is too extroverted to thrive here. He needs friends.
So, overall it was a good meeting. Advocacy has worked - his needs are being met better with each meeting we have. But the journey continues. I hope our story helps others just as everyone else's has helped me! Thanks to all of you for the support and encouragement!
