Seeking Help for 8 Year Old

As a teacher, I can validate what the school is saying. The IEP process is not quick. However, is she is not LD (learning disabled) and she is performing at her ability (that is, there is no discrepancy between her ability and how she is performing), there is not a whole the school can do in terms of special services. I know that private tutors can run anywhere from $35 - $50/hour in this area. Depending upon where you live, you may be able to find a college or high school student to tutor her for less. What I have seen some parents do is get a copy of the text for home and "pre-teach" the concepts prior to the lesson being taught at school.

You sound very much like I did with my now 4th grade son. 2nd and 3rd grades were awful for both of us. He struggled in reading and other language art areas. I tried to spend about an hour every night(including weekends) with him working of these skills. I had a copy of the textbooks at home so I could create the practice for him. I also went to his teacher with work that we did at home to see if it would count as the homework. It covered the same skills but I found ways that kept him interested and learning. The teacher was willing to work with us and this year has started much better. I am a teacher (who is staying home for another year with my youngest) and parents who came in with plans to help the student succeed, it was the best. It meant that both of us were working hard at helping the student. Talk to your child's teacher, try to establish a strong relationship, communicate daily about the homework struggles, find out if your child's textbooks are online(many are, with the teacher set a time limit on the homework(the average is usually 10 minutes per grade level, 30 for 3rd) and remember 3rd grade doesn't last forever. Good Luck.

Hi J.,
I don't have helpful advice about the school end of the situation, but rather the home end. I want to encourage you to stay positive with your little girl no matter how frustrating the situation. This can be a great opportunity for her to learn to work really hard to overcome a difficulty, but if she senses that she's a problem or frustrating you, it can completely turn her off from school for good.
Maybe work with her for an hour a night (I know, easier said than done) and then at the end of the week have a special time out with her to reward her for her hard work.
I know the frustration, but the two of you are a team, and you'll get through it together. :)
Good luck, J.! You sound like a great mom who really advocates for her child.
C.

Not sure what district you are in but they should have somethign called the flexible delivery model which would allow your child to get resource services w/o an IEP. I am a spec. ed. teacher and we just had a meeting of this sort yesterday though he receives my services in LA he is getting help in Math. They also have something called a 504 which allows kids accommodations w/o an IEP. Did you sign consent yet for testing? You need to do that ASAP and then they have to do it withing a time frame. 60 days maybe? If you have any more questions, let me know!

I'm a radiation physicist and would be more than willing to help out with the math as I'm good at it (it's what I do for a living). Let me know if you'd be interested. I'm in the Antioch area.

J.,
I am sorry to hear about your struggles with your daughter academically. I am a special education teacher and I find it sad that the school doesn't have any programs in place to assist your child. You, as a parent have a right to ask for testing and the school needs to determine through teacher data if IEP testing needs to be done and if there is evidence that she needs somesort of assistance the school, to make a long story short, has 60 school days to complete an evaluation. Now there is a lot to that, but you can start by contacting your districts special service department with your concerns and see where that takes you. I also know some tutors in lake county if your interested you can shot me an email.
Hope that helps.
K.

J.,
Document in writing your efforts to get help from the school for your child. The school has the duty to identify children who might need special services. There is a class action lawsuit right now with Milwaukee Public Schools which goes to federal court in November for their failure to identify and provide services for students who needed them. I would submit something in writing requesting the evaluation as soon as possible. I have a son with special needs who is now a Senior and it has not been an easy road obtaining reasonable services to which he is entitled.
My best to you.
C.