This is not a typical Mommy Reality, but it is a very true one for me!  This is going to be a long post, but a story worth telling … and an ending worth reading.  So without further ado …

Three years ago our oldest son, CJ, had a very rough year at school!  He was in third grade and we had just changed districts.  We knew this would be difficult for him since he didn’t handle change all that well, but we also knew that the district he had been in was NOT one that we were comfortable with them continuing all the way through to Jr. High or High School. 

For quite some time we had been trying to find a way to move back into Hubby’s hometown and raise the boys in the schools there.  So we finally took the leap and registered them in the elementary school we thought they’d be in – in a complete act of faith.

There’s a long story involved in why they were in a different elementary school for that first year in the new district, but it turned out to be an agonizing and long year for us. 

CJ is not a kid that just jumps into action the first month of school, things don’t really click with him until sometime in November … ever!  I’m used to it now, but with a new school, everything was a little odd.  When they tested him in the fall he was on the upper end for scores, but by the first conferences, they were concerned about his “lack of attentiveness” and “need for help”  and they wanted him tested. 

This was the beginning of a long, grueling and heart wrenching school year.  One where teachers felt like there was something “wrong” with my child and they didn’t know how to fix it or make him better.  By the end of the year I was ready to quit.  They met with us again and still wanted him tested.  We made it very clear that although we would allow them to do some academic testing there was going to be a limit. 

Right before the end of the school year he did receive the testing and basically we found out that he is dyslexic.  Although I don’t think that’s all there was to it, it was enough to get him into some reading help with an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) to try and get him back on track.

The following year we switched to the elementary school we are still in and LOVE!!!!  We have met some great teachers along the way.  The first year in this elementary for CJ was a bit shaky too though.  I can’t tell you how many times I said “here we go again” that year!  I met with the principal of the school at the first sign of issues and since it was our first year there she was hesitant to do much to help us. 

The teacher of the reading education he was now receiving was AWESOME … seriously!!!  He has worked with her through 4th, 5th & 6th Grade and WOW!  But I’ll get back to that.  The same CANNOT be said of his 4th grade teacher.  It was her first year teaching full time (she’d been a sub until that time) and she treated him like he was a pain.  I won’t get into it much more, suffice it to say that she wasn’t asked to return the following year. 

The principal “got it” by the end of his 4th grade year.  I think she finally realized that I wasn’t one of those parents that found any little thing to complain about … in fact, she hasn’t heard from me again since!!!  She met with me before final placement for CJ’s 5th grade year and the subsequent results changed our lives!

When CJ started 5th grade he hated school and thought he was stupid.  His teacher that year had worked in the corporate world for many years and when she decided to start a family she also chose to become a teacher.  She was a ray of sunshine who entered the classroom believing that her students were each magnificent individuals with amazing abilities and futures.  I cried the first time we met with her as she perfectly described our child’s strengths and weaknesses and what she was doing to encourage him in both. 

He wasn’t a pain to her, he was an individual and in her opinion he was brilliant and she told him so!  She knew, as we did, what he was capable of and instead of letting him slide by with complacency and lackluster work, she required him to live up to his abilities … and he DID!  By the end of the year he had more confidence than I had ever seen in him before and was doing fantastic.  I could go on and on and on about her and the blessing she was to our son, but I must move on!

Here we are now with him in 6th grade.  Still barely meeting his goals for reading and still in the program.  I had desperately hoped that somewhere along the way the IEP would become unnecessary and would be dropped for the following year, but it never happened.  More than that though I desperately prayed that above all else the IEP would disappear by the time he enters Jr. High in 7th grade.

The test that was given to CJ three years ago has to be given every three years until the child is determined to no longer qualify for an IEP (at which time the IEP disappears as though it never existed).  Time to retest arrived a few weeks ago.  The school counselor set it up with me, conducted the test and scheduled a meeting for Hubby and I to go in and discuss the results.

We arrived at the school understandably nervous.  But when we sat down for the meeting we were immediately told “Well, this won’t take long, we have nothing but good news to report.”  Could it be?  Did I hear her correctly?  What exactly does that mean???? 

The bottom line …. he doesn’t qualify for ANY services.  The IEP is no longer valid and will be dropped immediately.  He will have no special services setup for him as of the first day of Jr. High. 

AN ANSWER TO PRAYER.  Not to be taken lightly in my book!

We couldn’t have been more thrilled with this information, but the good news went a little further for us.  You see in giving the test, the counselor had to work one on one with our son for a fairly long time a couple of days in a row and she said that it was a delight to work with him.  I think we must have looked at her rather blankly (are you talking about my son?) so she told us that she usually has to work with children who are disrespectful and very unpleasant.  “He was so polite and kind and did just what I asked him with a great attitude.  You have a very nice young man there.”  Wow!  So, can I see that a little more at home?

I didn’t actually realize the enormity of this until later that day as I drove CJ to Youth Group.  Suddenly it hit me like a ten ton brick … I prayed for this, exactly this, that all of education plan would be dropped by the time he entered Jr. High …. and it happened!  I was stunned, overwhelmed, and I cried!  Explaining the feelings and the miracle of those results to my son was a blessing for me … and him! 

So, if you’ve stayed with me through this entire book-of-a-post I just want to say … Lean on Him and trust your cares to Him.  Be amazed at His awesome gifts along the way.  He hears the heart of a Mother and Father and wants nothing more than to see His children be blessed.  He loves your children even more than you and sometimes all we have to do is ask and trust and let him take care of the rest.

Be blessed this week!

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This entry was written by Shera on Sunday, June 8th, 2008 at 10:40 pm and is filed under Faith, Family, Life With Boys, Mommy Reality, Raising Children, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.