Case Study on Stuck in the Middle
Christine Wallace
Answers
Stuck In the Middle
Christine Wallace is struggling to meet the needs of her general education class with the addition of two children with special needs. One of those children, Katy Alvarez, has it designated in her IEP that she will have the assistance of a special education aide while in Christine's class. Having Katy's aide, Ms. Butler, in the classroom makes Christine's job more manageable, but school administration is reassigning her elsewhere on a regular basis. Christine debates how to handle this delicate issue.
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On a Thursday morning in late October, Christine Wallace had just finished writing the math work for the day on the board when several children from her class knocked on her door. "Are the buses here already?" she exclaimed as she welcomed them into the room. In her fifth year of teaching at Bay Side Elementary, Christine enjoyed her Kindergarten through 2nd grade/continuous progress class. However, the half-hour of planning time before the children arrived in the morning was never enough to prepare for the day. Somehow, though, she had always managed to be ready. "That is," she thought sadly to herself, "until this year."
As more of her students drifted into the room, Christine noticed Katy Alvarez and her mother coming down the hall towards her room. "Good morning ladies!" Christine called to them as they approached. Katy looked cute, as always, in her new set of overalls with color-coordinated blouse, socks, and hair ribbons. "How cute you look, Katy!" Christine remarked as Katy held up her wristband for her teacher to see. "And look at that, your wristbands even match too!"
The wristbands had been the suggestion of Katy's speech therapist, Pat Jenkins. Because Katy had neuromuscular weakness involving her face and mouth, she occasionally drooled. While Pat worked with Katy to strengthen her lip control, the wristbands served as a reminder for her to wipe her mouth when necessary. Mrs. Alvarez tried to make them special so Katy would want to wear them. Mom's strategy seemed to be working; Katy was obviously delighted with her matching wristbands.
"Have a good day, Katy Bug," Mrs. Alvarez said as she kissed her daughter good bye for the day. Katy waved one last time before heading toward her desk and taking her seat. "Have you heard anything yet about when Katy will be getting her computer?" Mrs. Alvarez asked Christine as she turned to go.
"No, Mrs. Alvarez, I keep asking but I still haven't heard anything," Christine replied trying to sound as sincere as possible. "Mrs. Alvarez would really be upset if she knew that one hasn't even been ordered," she thought to herself as she finished her preparations for the morning. "I would just be happy if Katy's aide showed up for a change."
On a Thursday morning in late October, Christine Wallace had just finished writing the math work for the day on the board when several children from her class knocked on her door. "Are the buses here already?" she exclaimed as she welcomed them into the room. In her fifth year of teaching at Bay Side Elementary, Christine enjoyed her Kindergarten through 2nd grade/continuous progress class. However, the half-hour of planning time before the children arrived in the morning was never enough to prepare for the day. Somehow, though, she had always managed to be ready. "That is," she thought sadly to herself, "until this year."
As more of her students drifted into the room, Christine noticed Katy Alvarez and her mother coming down the hall towards her room. "Good morning ladies!" Christine called to them as they approached. Katy looked cute, as always, in her new set of overalls with color-coordinated blouse, socks, and hair ribbons. "How cute you look, Katy!" Christine remarked as Katy held up her wristband for her teacher to see. "And look at that, your wristbands even match too!"
The wristbands had been the suggestion of Katy's speech therapist, Pat Jenkins. Because Katy had neuromuscular weakness involving her face and mouth, she occasionally drooled. While Pat worked with Katy to strengthen her lip control, the wristbands served as a reminder for her to wipe her mouth when necessary. Mrs. Alvarez tried to make them special so Katy would want to wear them. Mom's strategy seemed to be working; Katy was obviously delighted with her matching wristbands.
"Have a good day, Katy Bug," Mrs. Alvarez said as she kissed her daughter good bye for the day. Katy waved one last time before heading toward her desk and taking her seat. "Have you heard anything yet about when Katy will be getting her computer?" Mrs. Alvarez asked Christine as she turned to go.
"No, Mrs. Alvarez, I keep asking but I still haven't heard anything," Christine replied trying to sound as sincere as possible. "Mrs. Alvarez would really be upset if she knew that one hasn't even been ordered," she thought to herself as she finished her preparations for the morning. "I would just be happy if Katy's aide showed up for a change."
This was Katy's second year at Bay Side Elementary School. Her family had moved from the Midwest last year when Mr. Alvarez, a Navy officer, was transferred to the military base nearby. She entered the school district classified as a child with a mild mental disability. Katy had left a full-inclusion program at her old school where she was in a general education classroom. A special education teacher joined the classroom regularly to work with Katy and other classmates with special needs as well as to consult with their teacher. Katy also received individual speech and OT services three times a week. The individual educational plan (IEP) Katy brought with her was over ten pages long and very specific. Her school had even provided her with a computer for her personal use both at school and at home.
Much to her parents dismay, at Bay Side Katy was placed in a special education class for students who were educably mentally handicapped (EMH), with 30 minutes of group speech therapy twice a week and 20 minutes of OT once a week. The Alvarezes were informed parents in regard to Katy's rights as a child with special needs. They were well versed on IDEA, the federal law on special education and understood terms such as IEP, LRE, FAPE and assistive technology. They made no secret of the fact that they were dissatisfied with Katy's placement in Marge Greiner's EMH class and openly criticized her teaching methods and room set up. They knew it was well within their rights to request a classroom placement at Bay Side similar to the one Katy had received at her old school.
At the end of last year, Katy's IEP meeting had been very tense and lasted for hours. The Bay Side Child Study Team sat on one side of the table trying to convince the Alvarezes that Marge Greiner's class was the best and most appropriate placement for Katy. The Alvarezes sat on the other side insisting that Katy be reassigned to a general education class. Although Janet Myers, the Exceptional Student Education Specialist for Bay Side, was reluctant, Katy's placement was changed. Her parents also succeeded in having it documented in her IEP that she would have the assistance of a personal aide while in her general education classroom. In addition, because handwriting was a problem, Katy would again, as her previous IEP specified, have the use of a computer while in class.