SEP's

Today we had our lovely SEP's.  I really dreaded this day.  I set up a time with his core teacher as well as his resource teacher.  I totally spaced scheduling an appointment with his specialty teacher but luckily she was free when we showed up.  It stresses me out - talking to his teachers, checking on how he is doing, see how he is acting.  I thought I was just setting up a typical parent-teacher conference with his resource teacher -but when we showed up there was the Principal, the resource teacher, and his speech therapist (his teacher would have been there but she had other parents to meet with).  It is always nerve-racking for me to be in a meeting with the principal.

We were a bit disappointed to find out Sterling had a couple of "issues" with his core teacher.  Apparently he got upset one day and tossed what is on his desktop onto the floor.  I was shocked - the little fart!  He got a lecture on the way home - you DO NOT treat your teachers like that!  hello - he knows better.  His resource teacher says he is always on task (my son?  on task?  without being told over and over and over again to start working??  What?  I'm pretty sure she must have Ster mixed up with another kid) and is showing some progress.  He passes his spelling test with FLYING colors.  Other than the first week when the words were like knight/night and weight/wait and he only got 9/15, he has been getting 100% most of the time.  If only he could comprehend things better.

We did find something out that totally floored us.  Sterling has good handwriting!  It is GREAT!  We looked at his spelling tests and couldn't believe that was our kid's writing.  Now we know that he can write much better - guess who is going to have to do that from now on?

I went into the SEP's expecting to be told that Ster may be held back a year.  Last year, the Utah Legislature passed a law dealing with kids in the first, second, or third grades.  The initial law included a clause that would allow for a child to be held back a year (in those grades) if they couldn't read at grade level.  Well, Ster is not at grade level - he is still about a half year behind.  One exception was that if a child was diagnosed with a learning disability, then that child wouldn't need to be held back.  But I wasn't sure if that part was true, so I worried.  It would not be fun for us if he was held back - and Ster would definitly protest that.  Anyway, in talking to the Principal, I figured out that was pulled from the law (wish KSL would have covered THAT tidbit) and that the testing was what changed and the reporting it to the parents was now required.  Needless to say, I'm a bit relieved that he doesn't have to repeat the 3rd grade.  Would it be good for him?  In some respects yes, but others no.  His core class is barely starting times tables - but Ster has passed off up to 8 and is almost done with 9.  If he had to repeat math again, we'd be in for a long year!

So another SEP is out of the way.  I can breathe a bit easier.