Special ed Forum - Dee Jacobson

Forum on Special Education
Is anyone interested in attending an open Forum on Special Education for the Fredericksburg City school system?

The purpose would be to provide education and information on the topic as well as address some of the stigma associated with needs as related to special education.

The forum structure could be a panel of administrators, teachers and parents from the advisory board.
The audience could be anyone in our community who has a child who is receiving or would like to be considered for Special Education Services as well as any employee.

The suggested format would be a 45-minute presentation on policies and procedures, followed with a 30-minute question and answers session. Additional time could be available for public comment.

9/07/2008 11:11 AM

End of Year Testing

Now that the end of the school year is fast approaching, I would like to invite anyone to comment on the end of year testing....SOLs, the VGLA, VSEP or the VAAP. Do you, as parents and teachers, feel that you have been properly informed about test dates, scoring, material covered, AYP, how scores affect your child and their school, reporting, etc. Feel free to tell me your story if you have one, or ask a question - someone MAY have the answer....

Computers as Teachers

Well, it seems that computers are taking the place of reading and math at Walker Grant for many of our students.

Within the next few weeks, all math students will be required to spend one math class per week in the computer lab on a program called SuccessMaker.

All Special Education and ESL students will be substituting reading class and ESL classes EVERY DAY with a reading program called FastForWord.

Don't our children spend enough time sitting on their bottoms staring at a computer screen?

adv chem @ jm

hello it seems this website is not being used much . So I was wondering if anyone had a child in adv chem and how it was going. First period is the class I am most interested in. Thanks plesae feel free to give me a call also 760-9151

New School Building

Budget talks begin soon. Maybe it's time for a new elementary school for our younger students since the city has built 2 new buildings. Accomodations for everyone.

Counselors are too busy?

I received this comment from a concerned parent today. Maybe one of our counselors or administrators out there could provide an answer to her concerns.
Are our counselors too overworked to take time to see our children?

Hi, I'm concerned about the amount of time testing is taking from guidance counselors. My daughter was in a difficult situation at school (a city school not walker grant) and I was told the guidance counselor would see her once a week. That never happened, and the guidance counselor prevaricated about the situation when I asked her how my daughter was doing. Several months later when confronted with the fact she had not seen my daughter even once, she told me she was too busy with testing to actually do what she promised. The principal did nothing about this situation after I told him my daughter was not being seen. The superintendent did nothing when told about the situation. Just sign me discouraged mom.

Vocational Education

One of the first issues I'd like to address is the dire need for vocational education in Fredericksburg.

Many of our children in the school system would benefit from a program that teaches auto mechanics, woodworking/carpentry, plumbing, electric, welding, and other such trades.

With the focus on NCLB, we have fallen into a strictly academics-oriented school model. This model simply isn't working for all children.

What is needed is a community-based program within our high school, or the possibility of a charter school, that will fill this void. There are many models for votech high schools - I've looked at some in Massachussetts and Connecticut. These are charter schools and are either state run or are associated with a local school.

I'd like to hear any ideas on this subject.