Very Special People

very

special people

How to prepare for an

BY MELISSA ERIKSON

The more a parent knows about a child’s IEP — Individualized Education Program — the more involved they can be in getting the best services and support available. The IEP process can be complicated and nerveracking for families, especially this year as schools reopen still dealing with COVID-19.

“If evaluations and timelines are delayed some parents may find themselves in limbo. They will be geared up (to address a child’s needs) yet find themselves in a holding pattern,” said Amanda Morin, author of “The Everything Parent’s Guide to Special Education” and an expert on the Education team of Understood.org. IEPs can be confusing, overwhelming and filled with technical jargon, but one of the most important things to know is that, as a parent, you are an equal partner by law in the decision-making process, Morin said.

An IEP is like a to-do list with specific details about what a child with special needs should accomplish during a school year. A team consisting of parents, teachers, administration, specialists and other support create a plan with “SMART goals that are specific, measurable, attainable, result-oriented and timebound,” Morin said.

Before getting an IEP, a child must first be evaluated, and either a concerned parent or someone at the school can start the conversation. To request an evaluation a parent must put it in writing. From there a school will conduct an evaluation to determine whether a child qualifies for special services and support.

Next, parents will receive a written report that contains lots of numbers and data, Morin said.

“Take a deep breath and flip to the back page and read the summary and recommendations first. Then go back and read it from the beginning,” she said. While the report may feel like a cold-hearted look at a child’s ability, the summary is filled with great observations that will let parents know the school is looking at a child’s strengths and not just deficits, Morin said. “Highlight anything that stands out or that you don’t understand,” she said. Take those flagged questions with you to the IEP meeting. Parents are allowed to bring outside help to the meeting such as a therapist or case manager who has special knowledge of the child, or a supportive friend or someone who can take notes, Morin said. Let the school know who will be attending. “It’s emotional. It feels like high stakes for your child’s education,” so having someone supportive there can be invaluable, she said.

Typically, the meeting will have an agenda so a parent should know what to expect. After introductions the evaluation is explained, and a parent has time to ask questions. A parent may ask something like, “Is this typical for a child of this age or not to be expected?” Other good questions include asking what a child’s typical day looks like at school or to explain how a child is being assessed.

The parent also gets time to make a report and share what teachers and staff don’t get to see at school, for example, if a child is exhausted after the school day or if they struggle with math but love chapter books. “Describe their strengths,” Morin said.

Together the team and parents come up with goals and specialized instruction for the school year. As a child grows, he or she needs to get on board with the plan, too, Morin said.

Parents should be aware that an IEP is not a checklist. “They shouldn’t hear, ‘We offer this or that,’” Morin said. The IEP should include services and accommodations that best support a child’s ability to learn just like the general school population. “The goal is not to make a child feel different; it’s to make a child feel successful,” Morin said.

Many parents are hesitant to talk about special education services their child receives, but Morin suggests they should be more open to lessen the stigma.

“You’re not alone. There is a support system out there. Be informed, empowered and keep shaking things up. It will only help you and your child,” she said.

Considering homeschooling?

Many parents are exploring the option

BY DEBBIE LAPLACA

For most parents, August is typically about backto-school clothes, filling classroom supply lists and awaiting word of their child’s schedule or teacher assignment.

In this COVID-19 tainted year, however, many parents and guardians will spend these few weeks before the state re-opens its public schools focused on health risks and questioning whether they should keep their children home.

“People are scared. Worried and scared,” said Bill Heuer, director of the Massachusetts Home Learning Association.

The MHLA was founded in 1987 as a voluntary organization that endorses home learning as an alternative to public or private schooling. Roughly 5,000 people engage in the association’s website and social media platforms.

Heuer said most recently the association has been conducting ZOOM sessions to answer parents’ home education questions. COVID-19 concerns, he said, is prompting people who were considering it in the past to make the change this year, while others are exploring the option for the first time.

“Homeschool is a family lifestyle change and we tell them they have to make their own family choices,” he said. “They can file for an approval now and change their minds before it’s time to send them to school.”

Ashtyn Patraw of Webster has made an application to home school for the first time this fall.

“After careful consideration, correspondence with our school, St. Joseph School in Webster, and hearing the current planning information provided by the state, my husband and I both decided that school just would not be a place we were comfortable sending our daughter,” she said. “We feel that masks and social distancing guidelines within schools will have detrimental effects on the mental and emotional wellbeing of our children. The threat of more cancellations and distance learning also was a huge factor.”

Patraw said St. Joseph plans to use fogging machines, disinfectants, masks, and hand sanitizers that she believes pose a “concerning threat to a child’s immune system.”

The Patraw’s daughter started her third year at St. Joseph last fall. When the pandemic closed schools in March, at home learning began.

“Remote learning left a lot to be desired for us. We tried it for four weeks or so and it was just a mess. It ultimately ended with me purchasing my own curriculum, reviewing and finishing our daughter’s year entirely on my own,” she said.

The process for withdrawing from a parochial school differs from a public school in that Patraw made her home education application to a member of the town school department, who she said has been “very kind and helpful.” She expects a decision on her submitted plan in August.

Homeschooling doesn’t have to be an all or nothing educational path for children.

Some families, Heuer said, choose to home school their child through all or some of the 12 grades, while others may send one child to public school and educate a sibling at home. Then there is the “partial home schooling” where one or two subjects are taught at home and the remainder at school.

“Once you choose homeschooling you can go back to public school anytime,” he said.

For Amy Stanley of Charlton, homeschooling the past two years was a family decision.

“It was my daughter’s request since elementary school, but due to the wonderful school system in Charlton we felt she was receiving an adequate learning experience and education,” she said. “We waited till 7th grade to homeschool. We wanted to make sure she had a strong academic foundation before looking into a homeschool curriculum.”

Although her decision two years ago didn’t include health concerns brought about by a pandemic, Stanley said she has heard from many parents that they plan to homeschool if their child is required to wear face masks.

“The Dudley-Charlton Regional School District made the process to homeschool rather simple to do. Their requirements were clear and easy to understand and reporting progress reports were easy to do,” she said. “My daughter was allowed to attend any school function she’d like, such as field trips.”

The Stanleys homeschooled their daughter through Grades 7 and 8. She will be attending Bay Path Regional Vocational Technical High School in Charlton this fall.

Dudley-Charlton Regional educates roughly 3,800 students. Superintendent Steven Lamarche said the Stanleys were among 24 applications approved for homeschooling this past academic year.

As for the upcoming year, Lamarche said, “We’ve

had more inquiries about homeschooling, but we haven’t had an official uptick in formal requests.”

In a 2017 report, the U.S. Department of Education said homeschooling was growing in popularity with about 3 percent of U.S. children ages 5 through 17, or roughly 1.7 million students, being homeschooled at that time.

The COVID-19 pandemic is expected to up those numbers.

Massachusetts law says children shall attend a public or private day school each year or receive advance approval from the residing school system’s administration for a home education program.

Maura Mahoney approves homeschooling plans for the Worcester Public Schools, where about 25,000 students are educated.

Roughly 105 Worcester families made applications to homeschool 65 students this past school year.

As for the upcoming school year, Mahoney said, “I’ve certainly had more calls for new plans. There is no deadline for parents to submit their plan. They can submit at any point.”

Parents are asked to detail the proposed instructional program to be taught at home, including subjects and materials, such as the textbooks.

The proposed instructor must provide their academic background, life experience and qualifications as it relates to the program being taught.

To ensure a child attains minimum learning standards, an end-of-year submittal must give evidence, such as standardized test results, daily logs, journals, progress reports and dated work samples.

In the Worcester school system, home-taught children may participate in the annual standardized achievement testing.

As for athletics, the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association has ruled that homeschoolers may join their residing school’s sports teams, but individual school systems decide if they will allow it. In Worcester, homeschooled students are eligible to participate in school sports if there is availability.

So how do homeschooled children fare beyond high school?

Parents and students from the home-schooling community say the nontraditional method yields teens who are more independent and better prepared for college life.

According to college admissions counseling group College Transitions, standardized test scores are more important for homeschoolers than for traditional high school students entering college. The good news is a study found that homeschooled students outscore their peers by an average of 72 points on the SAT. And, once accepted to college, the graduation rate for homeschooled students is 67 percent, nine points higher than the 58 percent for traditionally schooled teens.

The Coalition for Responsible Home Education says anecdotal feedback from the first generation of homeschooled students, who are now adults, indicates that those who were homeschooled responsibly do well in college and professional life.

Meet four homeschooling families

Local moms share what it’s really like to teach their kids at home

BY AMANDA COLLINS BERNIER

Last year, nearly 8,000 families in Bay State homeschooled their children, a number that’s been slowly on the uptick for at least the last three years.

With uncertainty of the upcoming school year, more parents than ever are looking into the option of homeschooling their children. But what’s it really like? We interviewed some local moms to find out how homeschooling works for their families. For the full interviews, go to baystateparent.com.

All three girls have been homeschooled for the past three years.

The MacMillan Family

Salisbury

Homeschooling: Madison age 8, Bridget age 8, and Charlotte age 5, for the past three years.

Give us an idea of a typical day for your family?

We do not have a specific time we sit down at a desk and call it school. We are a very active family and do a ton of field trips. Sometimes we are doing some workbooks on our way to a playground, because the weather is perfect, or perhaps we are writing and sketching next to the lion exhibit because we took a trip to our local zoo. Other days, we are doing more book work, or games filled with learning, such as money themed math games, while others may be completely filled with science experiments and cooking in the kitchen.

How do you select your curriculum?

I sit down with my daughters and ask them what are the things they want to learn more about, the places they want to go to, and the community service project they want to work on. Last year, all three girls wanted to learn about dinosaurs, fossils and rocks, so we did. We went to the Science Museum, watched Dino shows and movies, we completed fossil digs and made model dinosaurs and we took an overnight trip down to Connecticut to the dinosaur museums, and Mystic Aquarium to see the exhibits there. It is incredibly important for my daughters to be involved in our curriculum because they are eager to learn, they like hands-on things.

What are some challenges you’ve had to navigate?

The first big challenge was being easier on myself. I had built such a fear I would fail my children if I homeschooled them. I kept thinking about how they would not build the social skills, they would not be as good in math as they should, after all it is my least favorite subject, or that they would be too sad and want to go back. Once I let that fear go, homeschooling wasn’t scary at all, I discovered that the possibilities are endless, the adventures even greater, the fun was just beginning.

What’s surprised you most about homeschooling?

The biggest surprise to me about homeschooling was how much more of a social life my kids have! Our weeks are packed with tons of options to get together with our homeschooling community. There are nature groups, book groups, seasonal groups, playground groups, gym activities….the list is so long. We are in many groups from 4H, to Girl Scouts and a book writing class, to a gym class, karate and dance. They have attended gymnastics and cooking in the past as well as swimming and a sewing class. We utilize our local libraries because they offer so many amazing opportunities, classes or events.

What advice would you have for a family considering homeschooling?

Take a leap. There is such an adventure waiting for you. To be able to watch your child blossom and grow is one of the best opportunities that you can be given. It may seem so scary, and so much work but aren't the best things in life sometimes hard?

Haileigh Hill.

The Hill Family

Monson

Homeschooling: Haileigh, age 9, and TJ, age 16, for the last four years.

Give us an idea of a typical day?

We school year-round. A typical day for us begins at 9:30. They independently work on worksheets to review past information in the morning that I have previously taught them. I typically leave it in a folder for them and they enjoy the sense of freedom in deciding which worksheets they want to do first. Around 10:30 we begin to work our way through math, science, history, and English whether it be together, online, or within a group class with friends. Some days we are done by noon, other days they get immersed in learning and will be involved in researching it further and learning more until 3 or 4 o'clock. We also make time for reading every day. There are special field trip days when we go on outings with the homeschool field trip group I run, Outstanding Homeschool Adventures. It allows us to connect with homeschooling families and experience some hands-on learning/fun together.

How has homeschooling changed as your children have gotten older?

As you school them you learn what works best for them, and as their learning style changes you have the freedom to change your teaching styles to compliment that. When their interests change you can change your curriculum to support their new found interests and foster their learning even further. With homeschooling there's endless

TJ Hill.

room and opportunity for growth and change.

What’s surprised you most?

Just how easy it could be. I was so overwhelmed with the concept of needing a curriculum, a schedule, a plan and it took another homeschool mom to remind me “you are not the public-school system.” Hearing that it allowed me to stop obsessing over figuring everything out right away.

What advice would you have for a family considering homeschooling?

Try it! Worst thing that could happen is you decide public school is the better option for your family and you reenroll your children. Join a few Homeschool Facebook Groups. Ask what groups are in your area. Go to the homeschool park days and talk to other parents while your children play. Come on a field trip or to a class with OHA! The more you get involved in the homeschool community the easier it will be. Feel free to reach out to me through the OHA (Outstanding Homeschool Adventures) page. If I don’t have the answer, I can absolutely connect you to someone who does.

The Sedlier Family

North Brookfield

Homeschooling: Ducati, age 9.

Give us an idea of a typical school day?

We homeschool yearround. On a typical day, we get up around 8:30 a.m., have breakfast together then write our “to-do” list for the day. I write down the subjects we have to do for the day and then my son adds things he wants to accomplish that day. It might be a game he wants to play together, a place he wants to go, or something he wants to do. Typically, if we are not doing a field trip learning experience, we pull out the structured work for the day, such as math and any writing assignments. Then we take a break to read, then, we have lunch together and then do our errands or an activity from the list.

Science and social studies come in the afternoon. These

The Sedlier family: Matt, Dawn and Ducati.

activities are usually hands-on or through biographies and science programs. We do a lot of field trips and spend many days in the world learning.

Where did you get your curriculum?

I go to the mass.gov website and look for the educational standards for the grade. I print them out for each subject and then decide what materials or programs we can use to best teach the subject. Math is the most structured, I usually look up the lesson on MathAntics YouTube Page, or Khan Academy. For the other subjects, I look online at the beginning of the year to find resources that I can use to teach him in the way I know he learns best.

What are some of the challenges you’ve had to navigate?

Challenging my own attitudes about how learning occurs. Society tells you that kids learn at school where there is an organized curriculum and that only qualified professionals are capable of teaching them. The truth is, I don’t have to know everything. I have to have a desire to help my child succeed. I have to be his learning guide. Let him ask questions then

spend as much time as it takes finding the answers to those questions.

What about socializing with other kids?

All the homeschool kids we know, and we know many, are active, fun, and welcoming kids. They can naturally interact with kids of all ages because they don’t get limited to their own age all the time. My son takes acting classes, participates in theatre groups and gets to work on student films, TV projects and commercials. He attends a homeschool class at a local farm-based program, and we belong to some local homeschool groups that group activities.

What benefits of homeschooling have you seen in Ducati?

Having had children in public school for years and now doing homeschool, I can say that the biggest difference is in the stress level of the kids. My public school kids were always stressed and my homeschooler isn’t. The ability to individualize education, to allow extra sleep, breaks or food when needed truly helps children be able to listen to their bodies.

The Miranda Family

Lexington

Homeschooling: John, 11, for three years.

What’s a typical day like?

There is no typical day, really. Some of the learning experiences are set up weeks or months in advance and the rest, we fill in. An opportunity may come up that starts the next day and we will ask our son if he’s interested. If he is, then we sign him up. We both work full-time and run our own businesses from home, so our daily schedule is reflective of what’s going on with everyone in the family on any given day.

Where do you get your curriculum?

We don’t follow a set curriculum, we follow our son’s interests. This year, he was showing a strong interest in history, so I looked for classes online for art history, found resources for science with a historical context, and introduced him to the history of math through mathematicians. He attends classes for art, science, natural sciences, French speaking, including a special class for cooking French food. This also Shannon, Dave and John Miranda.

challenges my French while trying to read his recipes!

How has homeschooling changed as John has gotten older?

We’ve seen the anxiety that developed while attending public school gradually fade away and watched him grow to embrace his curiosity. When he was eight, we introduced him to as many new experiences and ideas as possible. Now that he is 11, our role is more as facilitators to what he wants to learn while also filling in the gaps like learning note-taking or researching facts that we know he will find useful and supportive in whatever he decides to do.

What’s surprised you most about homeschooling?

We were surprised by how self-motivated kids can be if you give them input in their own learning. That is not to say we never have to push, but we found that if a child has real input in their daily life, they are less likely to “slack off.” We also realized we had forgotten how much we, as adults, love to learn. It has forced us to look at our own education, question where we could have gone if we had the freedom to learn as opposed to being educated. In homeschool circles it’s called “de-schooling,” so taking a hard look at ourselves helps us to help John think about life differently than we did.

What advice would you have for a family considering homeschooling?

It’s like jumping into a cold New England ocean, hold your breath, take the leap and know you will adjust to the temperature. There are so many resources to choose from, however, your decision starts with what’s going to work for your child and your family. Ignore negativity, doubters, and naysayers. There are many more who will “get you” and cheer you on. Connect with others in your area, ask as many questions as you need to, include your kids in the decisions and enjoy the ride.

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