Yes, Sometimes, No, Yes, No, Yes

And that title pretty much describes the answers we've been getting as to whether Lira will be getting ESOL services. I was going to post a blog on Saturday after I was told in confidence that the ESOL teacher said he had no time to schedule for Lira. The more I thought about it, the more frustrated I became. He finally responded on my 3rd email yesterday; 4 days after I sent it. Now he IS able to see Lira twice per week. I was expecting this, but his email annoyed me a little bit. Before I tell you why, I'll copy and paste it here so you can read it:

"...with regard to Liras language development and progression from late spring/early summer to now, it is not expected that she would have made significant gains during a time of minimal academic activity and support. I have scheduled her for two days a week (Monday and Tuesday) of individual support inclusive of reading, writing, and oral language development. Since she is the only ESOL student in that class and lower emergent literacy levels are common at the first grade level, she will not be receiving individual support every day. We have 155 ESOL students and three ESOL teachers at our school. What I can promise you is that her support will be meaningful and focused on the days that I meet with her. Lira is actively engaged in her learning and pleasure to work with. I look forward to working with her. If you have any further questions feel free to contact me."

So, how would you reply to this? The first part that annoyed me was his assumption that she had little academic activity and support. She went to ESOL summer school AND I home schooled her!! She made tremendous gains between the two test dates and he didn't answer my question as to why he thought these gains were not evidenced in the testing!! I was also annoyed when he said how many ESOL students there were and how many teachers, as well as Lira's placement in her classroom. So does this mean that if she were placed in the classroom across the hall where there are many more children requiring ESOL support, she would be getting it more frequently? Is it my fault that there are only 3 teachers providing services in the school? My take on this: My daughter qualifies for services. Therefore, they MUST be provided. End of discussion.

Sigh.

Other than that, nothing too exciting to write about. Timmy's loving his karate lessons and Lira's loving her gymnastics classes. I'm exhausted right now, but when I get some more energy to write more, I'll have to tell you about the need for teaching the kids the story abou the boy who cried wolf!