Backup Plans for When Advocacy Goes Awry

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 This past year has been a learning experience for me as far as advocacy goes. I am familiar and comfortable advocating for my kids with principals, in IEP meetings and with their teachers. Recently I went outside my comfort zone several times in hopes of saving Sensi's school from elimination. 
 

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I talked with the Special Education Executive Director, the Superintendent and other administrative types to help establish that there was something worth keeping at Sensi's autism program.  The Autism Program parents presented our case to the school board. I personally talked with the administration staff twice after the school board meetings.

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Unfortunately, something happened that I didn't see coming. The teachers knew that they would be moving to different rooms in the building, and since they lost 6th grade to middle school they also lost one room. So they will have one room for K-1, a room for 2-3, a room for 4-5 and a resource room for the kids who are not needing to be in a level three setting most of the time but are still needing support outside of the regular education classroom. With the loss of a grade there was also a loss of a teacher. The way the district handled that situation was unfortunate, since that set the stage for the Autism Program's teachers to start an exodus out of the school. 

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 Up until now I was willing to fight for program and the teachers since essentially they ARE the program. Not to say that other teachers trained in autism education wouldn't be acceptable, but what made that program really special was how all the teachers and aides worked together to get some wonderful progress from our kids. 
 

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I thought we had successfully navigated the situation; we had reassurances from the district that the Autism Program would stay intact. What they couldn't assure me what how the teachers would take the news that one of their own was being eliminated from the roster. For the teachers it seems as if it was their last straw, for me I know it was. After all the meetings, stress, effort to convince the district to keep the program, the teachers essentially eliminated their autism program themselves by making it clear to the parents that they didn't intend to stay.
 

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Luckily, when the whispers of eliminating the program where starting I looked into other schools and other districts. I toured a wonderful school in another district that had all that Sensi's current program offered, but not the special extras like Girls' Club. I thought we wouldn't need that placement after we advocated to save Sensi's school, and were assured that it would stay as it is. But I looked just in case our advocacy efforts were not enough. I had told them we didn't need to take the placement last month. I am relieved that she still can have her spot, they hadn't filled it with another student. We are starting her new school in the Fall.
 

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The drive to the new school will be just 5 minutes longer than the current commute we make now. The new program doesn't have a girl's club or an annual play production, but it will have stability. They are set to grow; as more of our kids are coming into elementary school they are planning ahead for them. They have an established program that is responsive to our kids' educational needs. I am looking forward to working with them this summer to transition Sensi to her new school.

What I have been doing: Part II

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Preparing to face the school board was not something I took lightly. I am not the best public speaker. Saving Sensi's autism program was so important to me that I did it. I prepared myself with a fresh haircut and a new blouse. I wanted to feel confident standing in front of everyone. I practiced my talking points, and felt that I was comfortable with them.
It was good another parent talked to one of the school board administrators and got the scoop on how it works. I had an idea of what to expect. Knowing I would be standing up in front of the school board and an audience of parents and teachers was something I needed to prepare for. Knowing I would be standing at a podium with a light display telling me how long I had to talk helped; green went on when you started speaking, a yellow warning light next, then when it turned red you may finish your sentence then stop speaking. I would only have 3 minutes to talk, it made it seem not as bad as previous public speaking I have done.

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The parents all met before the open comments section at the meeting. We signed up in the order we wanted to speak and waited. We were introduced to the executive of title one funded programs who gathered us up to tell us that we may not want to speak after we heard the news he wanted to relate to us.
The news was that the children currently enrolled in the autism program could stay there, except area E. That is my neighborhood, the one with the problematic special education program that I have mentioned before. I told the administrator it was an unacceptable offer. I wanted to know why our children from area E would be excluded from this plan? He did not have an answer. We gathered after this news and decided that we would still stand up and respectfully state our grievances.

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I had volunteered to cover the second part of our talking points list about what makes the autism program so special. I finished my list and seeing that the light was still green, I added my own ad lib about Sensi's progress from being reluctantly verbal to being the narrator of the winter show. I must say that it was gratifying to see that the stories we told the school board moved them emotionally. I am even more gratified to say that they sent us a letter saying that the current students will be grandfathered in to the program and it will stay in its current location and format for now.
There are still some issues to be ironed out with the school district for children in special education, and we will continue to work on those concerns. For now I will say thank you to all of you who listened and cared.

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http://www.twincities.com/ci_22512275/st-paul-schools-breaking-up-autism-programs-concerns