There was one more thing I wanted to implement to try to improve the school situation, but since it had taken so long to get the plan in place to start with, I didn't want to try to get it added as an official accommodation just yet.
At Kate's previous school each child was given a student planner in which to write down their daily homework, which the parent would then review and initial each day, keeping abreast of what homework was being completed, or not. There was also space for notes back and forth between parents and teachers. Kate's new school did not use these, but has a loose sheet called Peek-at-the-Week on which kids were meant to write their homework instead. Well, the Peek being an individual, loose sheet, Katie inevitably lost/forgot it 99% of the time, so instead I bought a tough notebook with a folder inside to use in it's place.
I spoke with the coordinator and he approved its use, so the first day I sent it I wrote to her teachers:
In addition to the measures outlined in the 504 plan, I would appreciate it if we could use this notebook for regular communication about things for Katie. I was told she would receive a wipe-off checklist for when she gets to her desk in the morning (re: turning in finished homework, etc) and one for organizing at the end of the day. So far she reports that she hasn't gotten anything like this. Can you please check into that?
She has a hard time remembering to give me parent notes that are sent home, so please see that anything like that is put in the folder in here so I have one place to look for all communication.
Enclosed there now is the signed copy of the 504 plan which she was supposed to turn in a week ago and I just found at the bottom of her backpack while writing this!
Please feel free to write any notes to me, or else please just initial & date so I know you saw this every day. Thank you -
I thought this was a reasonable request and was hopeful it would open communication so I would have a better handle on how things were going each day. The two main teachers endorsed its use the first day I sent it to school, but it was tough getting it worked into the routine. Neither teacher had bothered to take the signed 504 plan out of the enclosed folder and pass it on to the services coordinator over the next two days and I had to write another note asking them to do so! When Katie repeatedly brought it home unsigned I wasn't sure if she wasn't showing it to them each day, or they just weren't signing, so I wrote again, saying "If Katie doesn't show this notebook to you on her own PLEASE ASK FOR IT!" One teacher began to use it fairly regularly, but her homeroom teacher rarely did. A permission slip and check for a field trip sat in the folder for a week until I wrote another note asking them to check it every day. One teacher included occasional little notes about behavior/emotional problems on some days, but her homeroom teacher only ever just initialed, so I wasn't kept aware of these issues in his class.
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