Does your child have problems reading?

Do you suspect your child is very bright but cannot keep up with other kids when he/she reads? Does your child reverse letters e.g., b/d p/q and can never keep seem to get them right? Did someone in the family such as dad, mom, grandpa,grandma etc. have trouble reading yet appeared very bright in other ways such as running a company or making money? General Patton and Charles Schwab are famous examples of people who had dyslexia- or disability with reading. These are examples of classic dyslexia.
People who can do math and other subjects well but have extreme difficulty decoding words or remembering and processing (comprehension) what they read, likely have a learning disability in reading. It is very important that this difficulty is caught early in ones academic career, the earlier the better. We are now looking at ways to screen kids in kindergarten and get them into intervention right away to remediate this potentially tragic disorder. Tragic in the sense that almost everything in academics and in ones career hinge on the ability to read well. The difficulty some parents have is when their child is so bright, they often can compensate for poor decoding skills by having a strong memory or other skill. Therefore, these type of kids may be bypassed for evaluation due to the fact they may still be keeping up with the class because of their high intelligence. I suggest that if you suspect your child is struggling with reading, immediately contact your resident public school principal for a student study team conference or see a private licensed educational psychologist. The prognosis is very good if caught early enough with the right kind of interventions.

There seems to be a lot more fatter kids than ever before!

I have to say that working at an elementary school this past year has opened my eyes to the reality of obesity. When I was that age, there was always that one really fat kid who stayed that way all the way through school. Do you remember that? Of course this was 30 + years ago. Now, even though I'm at a realitivly higher socio-economic school, I'm astounded at the number of fat kids on the play ground. I'm not saying the moderately over-weight (which there are alot more too), I'm talking about the morbidly obese kids. Instead of that "one kid", there are dozens. What are we doing to our kids? This is one more motivation factor for me to get into shape! How can I be an example unless I myself am in shape? "Do not judge others without first pulling the plank out of your own eye"! Given all of that, parents: Please be aware of what your kids are puting into their bodies. I urge you to not put your children through a lifetime of regret and shame. Let's all make an effort to eat right and excersize more. I know I am.

Kids should read at least 60 words at the start of Kindergarten

That's right. That is what the latest research on early literacy is saying. Students are behind if they cannot read 60 words by the time Kindergarten starts. Of course, the kids that can't do so likely will recieve intensive one-on-one intervention 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week, on top of their regular instructional day. Regular instructional day. In kindergarten! I can't believe I am saying this! But yet it is true. This is what the latest research on "response-to-intervention" is saying. I spent the last 6 weeks in the library researching everything I could find on the subject. So Parents, be ready. If your child is not reading by the time Kindergarten starts, he or she is considered at-risk!

California High School Exit Exam: An Alternative

This year (2006) special education students will recieve a waver from needing to pass the high school exit exam for this year only. However, all other seniors will have to pass in order to recieve a diploma. I do believe all students must be accountable for knowing a certain amount of information and how to read, write and do math at a basic level. Not all students can do a paper and pencil type test to demonstrate their level of compentancy. I believe students should have a choice of assessment. I have been involved in a great deal of research demonstrating that doing a qualitative senior project carries a great deal of more weight with employers and higher education professionals than paper and pencil high stakes testing. Senior Projects involve a rigorous research20-page paper, extensive interviews with professionals in the field the students are researching, and a presentation in front of a panel of judges that include teachers, school board members, parents and peers. That takes care of the reading and writing assessment. The math assessment should be done with the high school math curriculum with the math department chair signing off on the students basic proficiency level. I think this is a far better assessment alternative than the California High School Exit Exam.

To Parents of Special Education Students

As a school psychologist I cannot stress how important it is to know your rights! You must be handed a copy of the parent rights before assessing your child and at every IEP meeting. When you get the rights, be sure to read them and understand them! I can't stress how important that is. Many parents trust the school district to do the right thing for their child and are agreeable to the recommendations of the schools faculty. In many cases that is true. The faculty does have the best interest of the child. However, in many cases I have seen, the faculty or administration do not have the best interest of the child in mind, but their own interests. An example of this was where a special education student was sent to the continuation school after swearing toward an administrator. The parents, in this case, was railroaded to sending their student to the continuation school. This, in my opinion, was not in the best interest of the student. He was in challenging curriculum and doing well. To be sent, without proper procedures, was down right wrong. If the parents were aware of their rights, or sought legal advocacy, this would have turned out different. Parents, know your rights! SB

Bush and No Child Left Behind: What Really is a Solution

The NCLB- no child left behind act requires increased standardized testing for all school aged children in Reading, Writing and Math. Instead of more students being successful and ultimately going to college, the opposite is true. High school dropouts have increased. In LA unified, the number that is bantered around is 50%. 50% dropouts? I was asked the other day what is the one thing that would make a greater difference in these kids lives- to help kids succeed.
My answer is smaller class sizes and increased pupil support sevices. Think about your home life. Many of you had a parent or friend of the family, some influencial adult take you under their wing and talk to you, encourage and giving support. Thats the number one thing. If all kids have one advocate to turn to, someone that watches over them, the students will respond and have the best chances of succeeding in life.
Smaller class sizes and increased pupil support services will help immensly- more than ram-rodding more information in a calculated rote manner. People need human touch for nurturing. Our students could do much better with individualized caring instruction. SB

Teachers: The Writing is on the Wall.

Did you know that you (teachers) will be responsible for all of the interventions/ remediation for all students including the ones with disabilities and the ones that should be in special education? You will be responsible to track, with data points, daily progress using excell or other spreadsheet programs. If a student is falling behind, you are responsible for implementing the intervention and remediation program using only "highly researched"and empirically based methods. The onus will be on you with the new IDEA laws. If, and only if, the students fail to make adequate progress using these methods (after 3 tiers according to one model) THEN the student will be referred for testing and special education. This is coming down the pike starting this year since the new IDEA law was instituted. My question is, what about the teachers? How are you supposed to fit this in your enormous schedule? It takes money, and lots of it to institute this and take the pressure of teachers. sb