Mildred: I am a general Ed sixth grade teacher with 26 students in the classroom. The iep for four students recommend a special Ed teacher and a crisis manager para on top of that I have 8 more students with ieps. I have been teaching with no assistance!
Mildred –
Do the student’s IEPs only recommend the teacher/paraprofessional support? Or do the IEPs explicitly require it?
If the IEPs only recommend the support, you can go to the Team chair responsible for these students to ask for the needed assistance. If that doesn’t work, go through your school’s chain of command – tell your department head you need help, then the principal, then a district level administrator, so on and so forth – until someone can assist. Your union may be a good ally to you here.
If the IEPs require the support, you can use this same process. You also have the option of filing a state complaint.
I had a similar issues with my child in middle school. I had my child removed from a disruptive overcrowded classroom. My child, the special ed teacher and I collaborated to have her removed so she may receive adequate instruction. My child and three other students received remarkable english and writing instruction in a small group setting instead of going to English class. The school had no choice as I pointed out that they were tracking certain classes with the lowest performing students with inadequate instruction. I was not going to settle for less. My child, due to that year of intense writing and reading, made remarkable progress. Mildred, I think it is going to take a parent to make a changes.