Home Ec

[twinturbo]

I've seen the amount of nose picking in my older son's class. There's more than allergies that makes me scream no about food projects. Who knows about potty breaks, wiping. Ugh. 

[Beach Girl]

What grade is your dd in?  This sounds like middle school.  Have you asked her what she wants to do?  By middle school, it seems like she should have input into the decision---trying to get a medical exemption versus trying to make it work. 

I don`t think they are going to agree to all wear gloves and if they did, somehow word could get out that they all have to wear gloves due to dd.  That could be really embarassing.  I think that if your dd really does not want to take the class, there must be some way to get a medical exemption.  Even if it is a required class, if a class were unsafe and you can get a doctor`s letter saying that, I don`t see how the district can refuse the accommodation of coming up with a substitute.  Maybe an online class in another subject?  I don`t think they can force someone to take a class that jeopardizes their safety just because in general it is a required class.  Kids in a wheelchair don`t have to take regular PE even if it is required.  They can take adaptive PE.  They should come up with something like that for your dd if she does not want to take the class due to the allergies.  I would really talk to her about this.  I think if your dd does not want to take the class, they are really obligated to offer some alternative other than having to be excluded for lab after lab in various ways.  But is is really up to your dd whether she wants to try and make it work or not.

[maeve]

Beach Girl,

I have included my daughter in deciding how to handle this. I waited to reply to the school until I spoke with her and I discussed the doctor's email with her as well.  I've included her in decisions about her allergies from a fairly young age, but she's pretty mature for her age.

Please read the thread. I've posted more than once that this is a required class and that we have no option to change it for another class. I've also mentioned that cooking labs are not done consecutively but rather are interspersed throughout the semester. So we do not have the option of finding either additional band, etc. for her to do during those times. We're also dealing with a severely overcrowded school. DD's safety is important but I personally also believe in being cognizant of the challenges the school has in trying to meet her needs (and that she's one student out of 1,640).  This middle school has, to date, been very good with 504 accommodations and thought of some we didn't think to ask for (such as purchasing a "skin" for use just by her on her keyboard in keyboarding last year, purchasing a lab coat and goggles for her use in science). They have shown good faith in the past and I should work in good faith with them.

[maeve]

 


Teacher still will not provide list of what recipes will be used. Provides (through 504C) the link to all the recipes but she indicated in a previous email that not all those recipes are used and that some are for the 8th grade home ec classes.

Now, I find out from DD that she feels like she's being singled out by the teacher. In the first week of class, they were provided with a form parents had to sign indicating we'd read the teacher's rules for the class. The form also included a section to list the student's allergies. This was given out on Tuesday, the due date for the form was the following Monday but their next class and first opportunity to hand it in was Thursday.  I'd not completed the form on Thursday and when DD enters class that day the teacher calls out to her in front of the class, "DD, allergy form?" When the form was finally handed in the teacher could not read my handwriting in one part (you can see for yourself in the picture below; the word in question has a box around it), the teacher called DD to the front of the class to go over the form. DD has been able to figure out that two other students have allergies because the teacher called those students over to a corner to discuss their allergies (but DD said teacher's voice is loud so she could overhear that one kid is allergic to soy). DD said that the other kids allergies are "not as severe". How would DD know this unless this was also openly discussed in class?

I had some communication back and forth today with the 504C. He's acting in good faith but I'd had it when he forwarded the same link to the recipes I'd been provided before in response to another request for specific information. It's the teacher who's the problem here. So in response to that link, I emailed him back (and BCCed DH) stating that if I did not get the recipe information I'd requested that I want DD removed from this teacher's class.  That was before I knew about the teacher singling DD out and making her disability apparent to her classmates.

The teacher called out to DD in front of the class "DD, allergy form?" before the deadline for the form to be returned and then when she supposedly couldn't read my handwriting, calling DD to the front of the class to discuss it with her. However, the other kids with food allergies, she's pulled aside in a corner of the classroom to go over it (though DD says the volume of her voice is loud enough that DD could overhear). There's another incident that left DD feeling as if she'd been singled out but she cannot remember the specifics.

DH and I are likely going to request that DD be removed from this teacher's class. However, I will not have the rest of DD's schedule upended to ensure she take home ec. Her other teachers are awesome, and she's thriving in their classes. The school system may just have to exempt her from the FACS requirement and let her do another study hall for this semester.

[CMdeux]

er-- yeah.

If she's so great with allergies, then she should have been able to fill in the blank nicely on that form, even if she COULD genuinely not read your writing.

Wow. 

Retaliatory much?

I'd mention that with the 504C, honestly-- that your DD is feeling as though there has been retaliation because of her allergies.

Not because you want to sound combative-- but because this is NOT acceptable conduct with young adolescents.  I mean, it's not acceptable with younger children either, but with this age group in particular, it's about fitting in and not having your differences called out by the adults in your life...

ouch to the "called to the front of the room" over "allergy form."   

[Macabre]

Yeah, it seems she's being a bit, how shall I say it?  Reactive.

[maeve]

Oh I should mention that this calling out DD for the allergy form happened AFTER I had received an email from her that stated "I wanted to touch base with you before our meeting next week. I remember that we met at the beginning of the year as well. Please be assured that I have had other students with allergies and am aware of the precautions. The recipes on the website aren't always used and some of them are for the 8th grade classes. I have a list of all students' allergies. When there is something we are fixing that the student can't have or be around, they sit out and watch. Sometimes a student has to leave the room and do an alternate assignment. This is basically all I need to know. I will see you next week, but hope this will get things brought out in the open sooner. Please let me know if she is to sit out and watch or needs to leave the room. I will see you next week!"  That email was sent 17 January and DD was called out on 6 February over the allergy form.  I sent an email outlining what precautons would be needed on providing info on DD's past reactions on the evening of 6 February.  DD handed in the form on 10 February, which is when she was called to the front of the room.  Of course, the fact that DD reacts on contact, etc. was also discussed at our meeting in August, was included in a one-page handout I created in addition to the 504.

[ajasfolks2]

I know time is of the essence and that it is hard to schedule meetings with school personnel . . . however, this teacher needs to be set straight, IMHO.

I read condescension and bitterness all the way through her words and actions.

And I'd have to agree that we would want our child out of this teacher's classroom as well.

~ ~ ~

Based on our experiences and yours -- and some I've heard about thru the grapevine . . . sounds to me like the county needs to work, over all, with it's middle school FACS/FLE program and the "cooking" part -- to reconsider what it should be and the type of modifications that may be needed for food allergy as we go forward.  (Oh, and don't get me started on the lack of nutrition and meaningful lessons in the class . . . would like to see them learn how to prepare fresh fruits and veggies, duh!)

[twinturbo]

My thought is this: You've satisfied the condition of attempting negotiation. An accommodation is a change in elemental form. The change you are negotiating is not around the subject of food preparation but what will be prepared and how. There's been less than zero reciprocation, from what you described (a) a refusal of teacher whose job requirements include reading 504 plans (b) ignoring direct requests for curriculum syllabus (c) rejecting any attempt at developing effective, necessary modifications to program that did not not alter fundamental nature (d) violating FERPA outright (e) at least some retaliatory statements.

You are measured, careful and extremely intelligent. There's been nothing I've seen anything you post that would lead me to believe otherwise. The bridge has already been burned from the other side. All choices involve moving on to another solution at this point, therefore it would not be out of line to start documenting in exchange with the teacher what has transpired in specific violation of 504, FERPA in your customary measured manner. It will not matter if this teacher individually understands at this juncture because in order to move the next chess piece in place the attempts at this level in the chain of command need to be concluded.

[maeve]

Here's a draft of the next missive:

Mr. 504C,
Mr. Maeve and I would like to respectfully request the removal of our daughter, DD, from Mrs. Teacher's class and that she be exempted from FACS. We understand that there is likely not another class in which DD can be placed during this block. As such, we request that she be placed in an additional Resource block so as to minimize disruptions to the rest of her schedule. She is thriving in all her other classes and has bonded with those teachers. Further, the other classes in her schedule are her academic classes, including one for high school credit, and have a direct impact on her high school course of study.  We request that this action be taken for the following reasons:
•   FERPA violation
•   Retaliation/bullying of DD because of her allergy
•   Unwillingness to provide the information needed to create appropriate accommodations to ensure DD's safety and participation

On January 17, Mrs. Teacher sent Ms. Maeve an email in response to a meeting scheduled for January 22 to discuss DD's food allergies in advance of the start of FACS in the spring semester. In the email, Mrs. Teacher stated, "Please be assured that I have had other students with allergies and am aware of the precautions. The recipes on the website aren't always used and some of them are for the 8th grade classes. I have a list of all students' allergies." Ms. Maeve had previously been directed to Mrs. Teacher's web site for the recipe information. Ms. Maeve reviewed those recipes and indicated in an email to Mr. 504C dated January 16 that she had reviewed the recipes and had questions about how the class operates. Please note that Mrs. Teacher states that she has "a list of all students' allergies."

On February 4, students in Mrs. Teacher's FACS class were provided a form (see attached photo) that parents were to complete and which was to be returned no later than Monday, February 10. On February 6, Mrs. Teacher called out to DD in front of the class "DD, allergy form?" before the deadline for the form to be returned. I had not completed the form, so DD did not have a copy to hand in. DD handed the form in on Monday, February 10, the due date provided when it was distributed. After handing it in and during class on Monday February 10, Mrs. Teacher called DD to the front of the class to discuss the form with her because Mrs. Teacher told DD she could read Ms. Maeve's handwriting. (The word in question has a box around it in the photo.) When dealing with the other students, Mrs. Teacher has pulled those students aside in a corner of the classroom to address issues. Though, DD says the volume of Mrs. Teacher's voice is loud enough that DD and other students could overhear, and DD was able to overhear that one of the students is allergic to soy.

It is our belief that the February 6 incident represents a FERPA violation because Mrs. Teacher disclosed DD's medical condition to her classmates who did not have a need or right to know the information. We further believe the February 6 and February 10 incidents, indicated a singling out of DD because of her allergy. Discussion between student and teacher about allergies was handled differently for DD than her allergic peers.

Ms. Maeve received a phone call from Mr. 504C on Friday, February 7. Ms. Maeve was unavailable at the time and Mr. 504C left a voice mail in which he asked whether it would be possible for DD to wear gloves during cooking labs to ensure her participation. Ms. Maeve returned Mr. 504C's call on Monday, February 10. Mr. 504C mentioned that he, his admin, and Mrs. Teacher were discussing what can be done so that DD can participate in cooking labs and that wearing gloves was suggested. Ms. Maeve replied that this was not a viable solution because it would single DD out and that having the class all wear gloves probably wasn't feasible as well because the students would likely figure out why they were wearing gloves. During the conversation, Mr. 504C said that Mrs. Teacher had sent him a list of the jobs/roles for cooking labs and that they were trying to determine which DD could perform. Ms. Maeve said that she had not received such information, nor had she received information as to which recipes would be used which she found to be unacceptable. Mr. 504C said he would forward the list of roles to Ms. Maeve right away. Ms. Maeve received the email with the job duties at 12:37 p.m. Ms. Maeve replied at 12:39 p.m. thanking Mr. 504C for the information and again requesting information on which recipes would be used in class so as to tailor which duties DD can perform. Mr. 504C sent an email at 4:04 p.m. with a link to the recipes on Mrs. Teacher's site. Ms. Maeve sent an email at 4:09 p.m. stating that she had reviewed the recipes on the site in December and that she did not understand why she could not get information on which recipes would be used this semester.

We believe that we have acted in good faith to work to school staff to obtain accommodations and have repeatedly requested the specific information that is necessary to create those accommodations. However, we have yet to receive that information and have found staff unwilling to provide that needed information. In addition, staff were meeting to discuss accommodations for the class without seeking input from DD's parents.

In summary, we request that DD be removed from Mrs. Teacher's class, that she be exempted from FACS, and that she be placed in an additional Resource section for that block for the semester. We request that this action be completed no later than February 21.

[CMdeux]

 

[momma2boys]

 

[twinturbo]

Mrs. Teacher called DD to the front of the class to discuss the form with her because Mrs. Teacher told DD she could read Ms. Maeve's handwriting.

You want "coudn't" instead of "could", I think.

Strong letter (as usual  ), no real suggestion other than Mrs. Teacher suggested DD sit out instead of participating as an 'option', and Mrs. Teacher not reviewing 504 at time of meeting or previous to this class to become versed in the plan. Staff could help reduce redundancies of effort and streamline communication by using the 504 information already in place to fine tune accommodations. But not at the cost of making the letter too busy. There's nothing wrong with it at is.

Gonna see it and raise one letter of clarification from OCR to NSBA response to OCR's "Dear Colleague" letter on bullying. It point-by-point clarifies NSBA's (mis)perception that Dept of Ed's expectations for SD's responsibilities to address bullying was too broad. http://www.nsba.org/SchoolLaw/Issues/Equity/ED-Response-to-NSBA-GCs-Letter-to-ED-on-OCR-Bullying-Guidelines.pdf. Russlyn Ali's response is a work of beauty to be appreciated like fine art.

[maeve]

Thanks for the catch twinturbo. While we have in the 504 that we must be notified ahead of time of lesson plans involving food. I had planned to discuss specific accommodations for home ec at our start of year meeting/504 review.  The teacher was unprepared/unwilling to go into specifics at that time and referred me to her web site for the recipes. It was agreed we would meet before the start of the second semester to discuss accommodations. I lost track of time and didn't email about scheduling it (though the school should have been on top of that as well) until the week before the semester start. A meeting was scheduled and was snowed out. The 504C tried to reschedule but it seems this teacher is quite hard to schedule. Two days after our snowed out meeting, I got a call to see if I could meet within an hour. I said no. My DH wanted to be present and he'd been at the house the whole morning waiting for the school to call but he had to go to the office. I was in the middle of something for work and could not drop it.

Since then it's been emails back and forth.

So there's more to add from this afternoon: DD had home ec today. When she arrived to class, she sat at her usual table with her friends. Her teacher called her over to her computer and told DD to sit across the room (far away from the demo table) at a table by herself because today's lesson would be a measuring demo in which the teacher would make cookies containing egg.  DD asked why she couldn't sit with her friends and said that she could not handle or eat the cookies but that she would be fine sitting with her friends closer to the demo table. The table the teacher tried to exile her to was far across the room and likely would have made observing the lesson nearly impossible.  I think I'll be adding that to write-up.

Twinturbo, thanks for the link to the letter.  I'm reading it now.

[CMdeux]

I'm really sorry that happened to your DD, maeve.

On the other hand, I guess that does prove the point that there is some retaliation happening, though-- nice that you weren't given notice, either.