After 14 years - what worked and what didn't?

OK, now what?

Yay, kids say! And in the words of crazy ol' Alice, "Schools out for summer.... School's out forever!" But, where did the time go, and how prepared are we for what's next? And the really big question..... "was the school experience a positive one?"

The intent of this blog then, is to give a, hopefully, balanced and thoughtful view of what 14 years of education in BC, specifically in Vancouver, has been like for a student with special needs - now that today is the last of it - graduation and all.

This is not a rant, although there will be times where it could be viewed as justified that we should rant, complain, have an outburst at least..... and probably we will. But we hope this venue will provide an opportunity for all interested parties that visit to learn from our experience and give them an insight into how they might act to change a process and delivery system that has many flaws and, unfortunately, not many gems.

We'll attempt to organize this blog to facilitate ease of navigation - that is the titles will indicate a what worked and what missed the mark. We'll try to provide some parent-perspective recommendations as to what can be done to improve on what didn't work - but we are realists and as such understand the need for fiscal responsibility on the administrators' parts, so don't expect to see any carte blanche approaches to the recommendations. BUT, we take real issue with what is presented as budget concerns masks other motivations. It makes no sense to abandon a path, with little time left before reaching a predetermined milestone, and risk the entire investment in the process, when other options are available [specifics related to this issue will come later]. If this action is intended, it's irresponsible, and if it's not then at the very least it's unprofessional and more likely displays a level of incompetence that should be addressed by more senior personnel.

Huge question now - don't know if we'll get a satisfactory answer to this, or even if one can be provided - "Why must so many dealings between parents and administrators, teachers, support staff and/or the school board be so adversarial?" This question must ring true with many parents viewing this!! Given a system with a growing user base and finite resources, that MUST be run efficiently for everyone's benefit, the need for transparency and REAL collaboration between all parties should be a given. But it's safe to say that many times we parents feel locked out the real dialog and instead have to contend with a fight to access what we had been told was either a service or plan that could be depended upon!

These topics and more we'll present and solicit response from any and all. Yes, we'll vent a bit, but more importantly we hope to provide some feedback and insight into how to make the experience better. For parents of younger children in or entering the public education system in Vancouver, we hope you will gather useful information from this blog.

Oh yeah, we think we really need to address one major inadequacy in the system.... in many places and many times, it's not the child's needs that come first - more then once we've had to deal with labor issues - namely seniority before training in regards to whom will be providing the supports. It's amazing that there are as many labour groups representing the employees in the system - BCTF, BCGEU, CUPE, BCPVPA, et al, but other than PAC, who do we have when we're trying to lobby for the needs of our child? Who do we turn to when a support resource - our SSW of 4 years leaves to work in another school, with only 24 hrs notice, giving no regard for the impact on the child? How should this even be allowed - without consultation? In the private sector, if you have a number of years of responsibility in your job function, would you be allowed to transfer to another department without due process of transition?

And what was the response from the administration - read the following excerpt from a newsletter sent to all parents - including us of course:

"....As a result of the district enrolment shortage, we were also affected by the loss of an SSW in our special programs. Reassignment of SSW support was required in order to support our Special Needs students. After considering all the needs of the school, and in consultation with the staff, a decision was made to place the extra FTE into counselling....."

So, plenty of consultation amongst themselves, but little to those impacted the most!! Sorry, we meant to say NO CONSULTATION, to those impacted the most. And a great big pat on their own backs for being so resourceful in reassigning those resources. Here's what was said just a bit earlier in that newsletter:

".....we have had an excellent start to the year, and our activities to date are testimony to our determination to provide a caring learning environment at Byng...."

Maybe for some!

And what was the direct impact on our son? Since there was no one there for support - in this case providing educational guidance, we were told he might as well stay home every other afternoon as there was nothing he could do without the said support. So you have a young person, who by the way had made a real connection with the SSW - after 4 years of close contact and support, who wouldn't - going through the real issues of abandonment [Google abandonment, and see the impact that fear has on a person] and compound that with being told to go home, there's nothing for you at your school! Hope the administration is proud of that example of a "caring learning environment"!

OK, OK - there will be ranting!

Just remember every child is unique - regardless of the label of whatever challenge, disability or syndrome that impacts their life. And if an IEP [INDIVUALIZED Educational Plan - note Individualized is capitalized for emphasis] is to be beneficial then it must address the specific and individual needs of the child - without any postscript related to what the system can afford, or is prepared, to deliver, which is really more the truth, isn't it?

More to come! Stay tuned and we welcome your responses.