While my daughter is one set of final exams (next week) away from
being a Senior in High School, my 13-year-old son
is almost a High School Freshman. Jessica is going to
Harker, a private college prep school
but Paul will go to Palo Alto High School
or “Paly”, an excellent public school. Paly is better able to
support Paul’s learning disabilities than Harker would be.
We are in the middle of Paul’s IEP (Individualized Education Plan) discussions
now. The IEP is set of documents in which the school, parents, teachers,
school administrators, and the student himself write down their needs,
expectations, and the support needed for a disabled student. Since we will
be moving from a superb 3-year special day class
at Jordan Middle School into a
new school in September, we want to be sure that we put together the
best possible set of classes and services so that Paul can succeed at Paly.
The discussions about classes next year for Jessica and for Paul could not
be more different. For Jessica, we have passionate talks about whether taking
Solo Vocal Performance or AP Biology-Environmental would be more interesting. That is, discussions are about how many hard classes Jessica can squeeze
into her Senior year.
For Paul, we are trying to balance his social and behavioral needs
against his academic and intellectual needs. Our discussions for Paul
are around whether he should take 1.1 Algebra
(the first half of Algebra I, a much smaller class), or Algebra I (closer to
his academic capabilities but a bigger and faster-paced class). Harker’s
Freshman High School math class is Algebra II (most Harker students having
completed Algebra I in 8th grade), so even if Paul takes Paly’s harder
Freshman math alternative, he will start High School a year behind his
Harker peers. If he takes the recommended math class (1.1 Algebra), Paul
will only be able to complete three years of Math in High School unless
he takes a summer school course. Math is Paul’s best subject,
where his test scores are in the Superior range. Imagine our discussions
about writing and spelling, where Paul is still working toward grade level.
Paul himself does not seem very interested in these discussions. His
focus this summer is getting confirmed in the Episcopal church,
reading as many books as fast as he can (he is currently
finishing Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring), trying to talk
me into allowing him to play video games all day (no way!), and growing
taller than me. Paul and I are almost exactly the same height today so
that last achievement will come all too soon.
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