reports and interviews

Well it's time once again for report cards and parent teacher interviews. I was more than a little nervous about the entire project, to be perfectly honest with you. And so was Abby. I casually mentioned the night before that report cards would be coming home the following day. A look of total fear came over her face. Her concern, when I asked - what if I get a C?

Well what if you do? It's not the end of the world. We'll just work on the trouble spots, that's all. That seemed to make her feel a little less anxious, but only made me feel more so. It's not that I was looking for, nor expecting a perfect report card. I just don't want her to struggle. I want her to keep loving school as she always has. I don't want her to get discouraged.

So the report card came home and it was pretty great really. She did bring home a c or two. She also brought home an A- in communication. That's my chatty girl! And the rest were B's. The C's were in reading and writing and since she's in resource that was no big surprise to us.

Her teacher - who I was on the fence about at the beginning of the year - had the resource teacher sit in on our parent teacher interview. The resource teacher (Mrs. P), I liked her immediately. It was plain to see why Abby enjoys her time with her. As for Abby's teacher I truly appreciate the concern she is showing for Abby's struggles with some aspects of grade 2. I am grateful for her decision to be "pro-active and not reactive" in regards to getting Abby the help she needs to get back on track. When we talked about the cues Abby gives when she's getting discouraged and down on herself, the way her body language changes I could easily tell that Miss L has paid attention to Abby and recognizes the things in her that Mike and I do. On the flip side of that, Miss L also recognizes the things in Abby that are great. That she's "sweet, helpful and has a positive impact on the classroom". That art is a true love for her and she does well at it.

So what was the consensus of the interview? They will be putting Abby on an IEP - an individual education plan. Mrs. P said to realistically expect Abby to continue with an IEP until the end of grade 2 and that may be all she requires to get back to where we need her to be. An IEP will allow them to lighten Abby's workload, to keep her from being overwhelmed and becoming more discouraged. They will also be able to assess Abby on her comprehension of the work, rather than her completed work.

All in all it's good. We're moving forward, she will be getting the help she needs. We're just waiting for the paper work for the IEP to come home. It will list her strengths and weaknesses and what the plan is. Both Mrs. P and Miss L. are confident that this will help Abby tremendously. I'm looking forward to getting started.