Can School Districts Really Ignore Students Who Need Help?

On Disability Scoop this morning, there was an article on school districts and their obligation to identify students with special needs under the “child find” clause of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  But this school district (in Compton, CA) was more worried about being liable for  “educational malpractice” than getting this student help. This case was about a girl who was promoted to 11th grade after testing below the 1st percentile level and who performed at less than a 4th grade level as a 10th grader. Counselors and teachers noted issues, but no one ever suggested she get evaluated.

Yes, budgets are tight; yes, there are many students who need help, but what are we educating our children for, if not to get an education and not just be shunted through school, grade after grade even though there are signs of trouble.

School District’s can’t ignore students who may need Special Ed services and then claim they had no duty to notify the parents. In this case, “[t]he School District asserts that, because it chose to ignore Addison’s disabilities and take no action, it has not affirmatively refused to act. The School District therefore contends that the notice requirement does not apply… We reject this argument.” Thankfully, the 9th Circuit rejected this argument outright. Frankly, I don’t know how that school district made that argument with a straight face – “we ignored it so we have no duty to notify the parents of an issue???” Really? If that were true, school districts would ignore every issue and claim no duty to do anything about it. THE Court went on to say, “[t]he School District’s wilful inaction in the face of numerous “red flags” is more than sufficient to demonstrate its unwillingness and refusal to evaluate Addison.”

There are many reasons the signs may be missed that a child need special ed services – but something seems off, you just can’t put your finger on it. Sometimes their performance (or lack thereof) may be attributed to behavioral issues or to something the child will grow out of. At the end of the day, we all (the parents, the child, the School Districts, and society as a whole) have a vested interest in educating every child. This case was decided on the pleadings, meaning that facts weren’t presented, that means there aren’t a lot of factual details presented.

The few facts that are mentioned in the case directly: “Addison’s mother was reluctant to have the child “looked at,” and School District officials decided not to “push.” Instead, the School District referred Addison to a third-party mental-health counselor. The third-party counselor recommended that the School District assess Addison for learning disabilities. Despite the recommendation, the School District did not refer Addison for an educational assessment, and instead promoted Addison to eleventh grade.

In September 2004, Addison’s mother wrote a letter to the School District explicitly requesting an educational assessment and Individualized Education Program (“IEP”) meeting. The assessment took place on December 8, 2004. The IEP team determined that Addison was eligible for special education services on January 26, 2005.”

There are many lessons to be learned in this case — put requests in writing, find out your rights as parents (read the handbook that the school district hands you), don’t trust that school districts or school administrators know the law,  inform yourself and don’t stop asking questions about how your child is going to be helped, specifically.

What I find most fascinating in this case is that the Supreme Court is requesting the Obama administration to weigh in on the situation. I think the Supreme Court is capable enough to balance public policy needs versus what the law plainly says and requires.

If you have thoughts on this issue, please share them in the comments.

Gotta See – Atlas Shrugged Movie – Premieres Friday April 15th

I wrote awhile ago about Atlas Shrugged and our current government collapsing under its own weight – See Atlas Shrugged Coming True. I am excited that the movie of Atlas Shrugged is debuting tomorrow, appropriately enough on tax day, April 15, 2011.  You can go to the movie website and “Demand” it for your area. The filmmakers are working hard to distribute the movie to a wider audience and in more theaters. It is the first movie in a planned trilogy, and funny enough, Part One covers about a third of the book.

My original impetus to write about Atlas Shrugged stemmed from an article in the Wall Street Journal. It was called Atlas Shrugged: From Fiction to Fact in 52 Years. It seems to me that it was fact in the 50’s and it is still fact now – the government can’t get out of its own way. The budget crisis continues – especially in the State of California and on the Federal level. With the threatened federal government shut down this past week and the emergency meetings to broker deals and get enough funding for the government to stay open, something in our government structure needs to change.

This morning the editorials, even in our local paper, read this way – Republicans are big spenders, Reagan’s spending rose 108%, Bush’s spending rose (by some other high percentage), it’s their fault the National Debt is in the trillions. I read this with interest because to me, both the republicans and the democrats tax and spend. Both parties spend on pork barrel projects. Both parties put taxes in place to keep up the spending. Both parties put tax cuts in place even with spending in place. Tax cuts come when they need to look good in an election year. These shenanigans all make a nice smoke screen for a deeper issue — the  two party system we have in place doesn’t work. It doesn’t represent the views of the people. Other parties want to get their messages out and heard, and have a seat at the table to solve some of our long-standing problems. Having other parties involved in election debates, not just the running for office, would bring other viewpoints, other suggested solutions to the forefront as well as garnering more votes and maybe a few seats – just look at the Tea Party as an example in the elections last Fall.

Having every congressman and senator read Atlas Shrugged, as suggested in the Wall Street Journal article, is a good  start. And maybe they could watch the movie tomorrow as a quicker start than reading the 1,168 page book! I think I’ll have to put Atlas Shrugged on my summer reading list for a refresher!

Let me know if you go see the movie and what you think of it!

Gimme 5 – Eating Healthy While Traveling

Today’s Gimme 5 is about Eating While Traveling. It is so hard to eat the right things while traveling. The grab and go is so easy – unhealthy carbs become your best friend while traveling. (I think we had pizza in each state as we drove across country this pasts summer.) And it is so easy to eat out all of the time and over indulge in great food while traveling!  I have worked really hard the last 15 months to lose weight and change my habits. One of the hardest things to change is how I eat while traveling.

 

Today’s tips are about the changes (like NOT ordering the burger and fries) I have made that have worked for me to keep me from gaining weight – I’m not sure it helped me lose weight, but at least I didn’t gain any! With Spring Break coming up, I wanted to share these tips for eating healthy while traveling!

1. Plan ahead – I think this one is probably the hardest one to do on a consistent and regular basis. Think through whether there will be food where you will be while you are traveling (think plane, train, and automobiles) and where you will be going (airport, train station, or hotel). Will there be food on the plane? Will you have time to get anything before your flight or afterwards? Flying to the East Coast often means that I get in really late and often don’t have time for a regular dinner. I either have to bring something or plan to stop on the way to the place I am staying. All of this is a long-winded way of saying plan ahead.
2. Bring Your Own – Along with the first tip of planning ahead, I usually bring food along. I don’t really like the food on the plane – no snack boxes for me thank you very much! And I never know if I will be served a meal on the flight, so I usually bring almonds, yoghurt, cheese sticks, hard boiled eggs or something with protein on the plane with me. I also usually have a power bar or two stashed in my bag along with the all important DARK CHOCOLATE!
3. Appetizers are your friend – I have changed to ordering two appetizers rather than an appetizer and an entree. I usually order a salad or soup plus one of the smaller portions of an enticing entree. This results in less food being put in front of me and therefor, less of a temptation to overeat! It is very easy to keep talking and eating and drinking! Ordering smaller amounts is a great way to lessen the impact of eating out!
4. An Apple a Day – this really means eat fruit, not sweets. It doesn’t necessarily have to be an apple, but it does mean choose fruit. It is better to stick with fruit when it is offered or available. Usually at conferences at 2 or 3 in the afternoon there is a plethora of sweets offered along with fruit. Choose the fruit, not the cookies. I know it sucks to not choose the cookie but your body will love you for it later. Or, if you really want the cookie – be prepared to run another mile or two the next morning (or swim or whatever your exercise of choice is)!
5. Club Soda with Lime is Your Friend – OK, mea culpa — I love to drink! I love red wine. I love cosmos and martinis. But one of the worst things to do when traveling is to try to keep up with the sales team or other colleagues on a drinking basis. I find that these guys can drink forever and I, unfortunately, cannot. So, I have learned to substitute, substitute, substitute.  Working with sales, it seems like one long drinkfest with work throuwn in occasionally. I have recently switched to water, gin & tonics, or light beers. Although red wine is still my favorite, I stick to no more than 2 glasses through out the entire evening. This is quite a change for me, but the nutritionist definitely said to watch the alcohol intake and it has made a big difference!

What has worked for you! If you have a tip for eating Healthy while traveling, please leave a comment!

To a Special Lady – Celebrating Grandma Edith’s Birthday

Today is my grandmother’s birthday – she is 89. She looks the same as she always has to me, but moves a little slower these days. I went back through many years of pictures to pull out the ones that look like she does in my head when I think of her. I have this universal youthful picture of her in my mind when I think of her. The picture I remember seeing most was a picture taken of her right after she graduated from nursing school – that’s how I remember her.

 

 

I remember her working at her desk coloring well logs for my Grandfather’s geology business. She even had the patience to teach me how to color those well logs.

 

She taught me to have love and appreciation for music. She played the cello and viola. She would trot out her stringed instruments and play them for us whenever we would ask. She always had a few about the house that we could try our hand at. I never wanted to cut my fingernails to play a string instrument so I stuck to the trombone and piano. She tolerated my playing her piano (with washed hands, of course) and teaching myself to play during the time we spent at their house in the summers.

 

She and my grandfather made me the most wonderful jewelry that I wear whenever I have the chance. I have stones of all colors. My favorites are a malachite set and the amethyst pendant shown here. This was a 70’s Halloween costume, but that hardly matters…

 

She made incredible mobiles. When I started having children, she and my grandfather made us a cat mobile which included stones that they had polished and turned into pendants. It’s hard to tell from the picture, but the cats are all made from sheet metal that my grandfather cut out using templates made from wrapping paper with cat pictures.

I love that my grandmother wanted to live closer to us. My grandfather didn’t want to leave Pittsburgh, even after he retired, and even though all three of their kids were in California. After he died, she moved to California and is very near us. I love having her close by and it is nice that she can know my sons (her great grandchildren). I’m not sure all of the things that I love about her will rub off on them, but I do know they like to play Qwirkle and Mah Jong with her!

Happy 89th Birthday Grandma Edith!

Tell me what you love most about your Grandmother in the comments!

Gimme 5 – Awesome Restaurants in Sedona

There are many great restaurants in Sedona and today’s Gimme 5  highlights five of my favorite ones. The restaurants vary from Mexican to Italian to the local fare. I have been to all of these restaurants several times so I have a good idea of the repeat quality, which is good at each of the restaurants covered today.

Their Grilled Cheese on Texas Toast

1. The Cowboy Club – I love the Cowboy Club, which is on 89A in uptown Sedona. It is full of locals and tourists. The popular food here is western fare. My personal favorite is the combo appetizer platter of cactus, buffalo, and rattlesnake. It was great fun to order this platter with my kids and watch them try everything! They serve a lot of food so sharing is a good idea! I have not been in the Silver Saddle Room upstairs because I have been there in large groups or we have sat outside, but it serves the same menu and is for adults. Put your favorite cowboy boots on and head on down to the Cowboy Club!

2. Rene at Tlaquepaque – this is mostly the type of restaurant that you want to go to for a special occasion dinner. I went there with about 15 people and we had a nice long dinner. The food is old school, french (continental) cuisine with a little modernity thrown in for good measure! It is located in a very nice shopping are near the intersection of Highway 179 and 89A.

3. Oaxaca Restaurant – Oaxaca features traditional Mexican food more than tex mex. It was more authentic than most Mexican restaurants. It is in uptown on 89A and features a patio with a spectacular view of the Sedona scenery. My kids loved this place. The restaurant is a little like a rabbit warren  inside with a few small rooms and various seating places along with a big room facing the patio and view. It is beautifully decorated with colorful Mexican tile. Bring a huge appetite – they serve enormous platters of  food. My favorites are the chili rellenos and huevos rancheros.

4. Cucina Rustica Dahl & di Luca – Now, these are really two restaurants – one is the original Dahl & di Luca, and their sister restaurant, Cucina Rustica is on Highway 179. I prefer Cucina Rustica, which is the newer one. It features nice, simple, very tasty, traditional, Italian dishes. I have never had a meal here that wasn’t great! Sometimes it is very crowded and you have to wait – but the bar is long and the martinis are inviting. My favorite place to sit and eat here is outside on the patio.

5. Full Moon Saloon – now, technically this is really a bar and not a restaurant. I have only snacked here, drank a lot of beer, played a lot of pool, and sang a little karaoke. Anyone remember These Boots Were Made for Walking? Some karaoke artists took themselves a little too seriously, but the pool games were totally fun. The fire pits outside were a nice place to hang out while waiting for an open pool table.  This bar is one of the only spots in Sedona (and this one is in the same area/complex as Cucina Rustica, down the hill from the Hilton) that is open past 11 pm and serves any food after 9 pm.

I do have another restaurant that I would like to return to but, I can’t remember the name. It is a couple of doors down from Cucina Rustica down the hill from the Hilton. It had clean lines and great modern food. I’ll have to take a look when I am there again and figure out what it’s name is 🙂

Don’t forget to leave a comment – especially if you have a favorite restaurant in Sedona.

Guest Blogger Monica L. on Packing Tips for Backpacking Across Europe

Today’s Guest Post is from Monica of Travel Knit Read who just spent the better part of the last year traveling the world. She had to travel very light and that meant she had to pack very little and could not pick up much along the way.  After writing about my packing efforts on a recent trip with my family, I thought, “wow, how did Monica travel for most of the year with just a roller bag?” So, I asked her to write a little about it — Enjoy!

Monica in Barcelona

“Well, a dear friend of mine just posted to her blog about her packing tips for her travels within the US with her 3 kids. I thought I would post some packing tips after my 7 months of travel through Europe as well. After all these travel sites, including Rick Steve’s travel list, I do have some lessons learned and tips as well. As I traveled in the summer, most of these are obviously tips for packing light:

• 3 technical dri-fit t-shirts (they dry quickly when you are sweating in 100 F or 40 C weather. They are also easy to wash and dry quickly and they never stink like cotton t-shirts. They are also way lighter.) Under Armour, Reebok, Nike, Adidas make them.
• 2 pairs of convertible pants (with long shorts zipping off so the zippers don’t cut into your thighs while you walk) I lived in my Mountain Hardwear Yuma pants for 7 months. They also dry very quickly.
• 1 technical long sleeve shirt (light colored)
• 3-4 pairs of sport socks (they take the longest to dry of all clothes)
• 1 pair of “>Havianas flip flops (make sure to choose a rubber pair, the thong parts must have a lot of room above the foot if they are too close they will cut into sides of feet. The thongs you can wear when showering in not so nice places and they will dry quickly.)
• 1 pair of leather ” target=”_blank”>Teva sandals with suede footbed (they have the mostsupport when walking around and most comfortable)
• 1 pair of very comfortable running shoes for hiking/walking in the rain/walking alot.
• 1 pair of ” target=”_blank”>Birkenstocks (Everyone in Europe wears them in the summers, suede footbed and very comfy. They are made differently in Europe than in the US. The ones in the US are very hard and uncomfortable.)
• 6 pairs of panties
• 3 bras
• 1 swim suit (1 piece is usually more convenient than bikini)
• 1 head lamp (many streets are not lit at night, sometimes needed for hiking, caves)
• 1 dress
• 1 skirt (over the knee)
• 1 fancy top to match skirt
• 2 tank tops
• 1 Saree for the beach
  1 EnviroSac (nylon bag for the beach and shopping)  I like the Timbuk2 line of packable totes/backpacks.
• 1 light fleece hoodie
• 1 thermal long sleeve t-shirt (the best ones are ” target=”_blank”>Icebreakers made of Merino Wool made in New Zealand)
• 1 sarong for beach coverup or travel towel
• 1 windwall jacket (lightweight but warm on those cold nights – mine was from North Face)
• Sunglasses (Maui Jims that are dressy yet light titanium wire frames so they are sporty as well)
• Hat

All of the above should be very light for your very light backpack or roller bag. I used a convertible Eagle Creek Switchback 22″ bag, it converted from a roller bag to a backpack when the elevator did not work or when there was no elevator to speak of.

I have a few other hard-earned travel tips!

• Do not pack jeans or wear them! They are heavy, do not dry quickly and hard to wash in the sink!
• Sunscreen is a must. You should have 2 100 ml small bottles so that you can put it in carryon.
 Max out your tubes to the 100 ml or 2.5 oz size.
• Shampoo, Conditioner, Body Wash, Moisturizer
 – Washing your stuff in hotel sinks is what I did mostly, so have 100 ml of detergent with you.
• Don’t forget your meds! Antacids, Aspirin, Imodium, etc. in a small pill box.
 Sometimes if you travel with people, you will need eye mask and ear plugs.
 Buy the eye mask that has a nice fabric that is silk as they don’t leave marks on your face and are cool and feels nice on your face.
 Get the ear plugs that look like wax, they are malleable that conform to your ears. Only those block all sounds. The others will pop out and do not block noise.
• If you are going to be gone for a long time, please get a light Netbook, iPad, or new 13-inch MAC but be sure to have combination locks for your luggage.
• Try not to bring too much cash as you will worry about it more. Most places have ATM machines. The exchange rates for cash is always worse than ATM machines.
• The best camera that people used was the ” target=”_blank”>Canon S95 (pocketsize) or Canon G11 (slightly bigger). I would have chosen the S95 if I had to do it again. I couldn’t take most night shots with my older camera.
• Reading materials: Get yourself a Kindle or Kobo reader as carrying one lightweight item to read is way lighter than lugging around 3-4 books in your luggage. I read quickly and I left 4 books in different hotels around Europe which seemed like such a waste. I saw so many copies of the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in hotel lobbies.

My favorite travel tip:
 After washing clothes in the sink, place clothes flat on a towel, roll up the towel, twist towel and wring towel tightly to wring excess water out of clothes. Then hang clothes to dry. Your clothes will dry overnight this way. Sometimes, you might want to have some fun t-shirts as you don’t want all your photos to be of the same clothes all the time so I did have a few Hello Kitty t-shirts that made for cute travel photos but they don’t last long and can be trashed and new ones can be purchased. That is all I can think of for now…”

Thank you for contributing Monica!

If you have travel tips of your own or tips for packing light, please leave a comment!

National Park Week is Almost Here – Prepare Yourself!

Every year the National Park Service hosts a week where entry into the National Parks is FREE. This year, National Park Week is April 16-24. They host entertaining events with special guests and activities. Volunteer Day is April 16th. The Junior Ranger programs are a fantastic way to learn about each park. Junior Ranger Day is April 23rd. Find a National Park near you or try one you haven’t visited yet and explore!

Bryce, Jasper, and McKinley

I know not everyone has named their children after a national park like we have and not everyone makes it their life’s ambition to visit all 394 parks, but the parks are an amazing place to visit and explore. We always learn something about our nation’s history or another culture when we visit the national parks.

On our recent trip to Florida to see the Discovery Shuttle launch, we decided to finish visiting the Forts up the Florida coast that we weren’t able to visit when we were there in 2009. We took a red-eye flight and got in at some ridiculously early hour, like 5 am, so we had plenty of time to drive before anything would be open. We chose to drive past Jacksonville up  to Savannah, Georgia and see Fort Pulaski. We then worked our way down the Coast to visit Fort Frederica, Fort Caroline, and the Timucuan Ecological and Historic Preserve.

The National Parks are an amazing asset and we are lucky that we all own a part of it! Near us – there is a celebration of John Muir’s Birthday on April 21. If you want to test your knowledge of our National Parks, take this quiz to find out how knowledgable you are about our National Parks (a hint for one of the answers is contained in one of my posts from our summer trip). Take time the week of April 16-24 to go see a National Park near you!

Please leave a comment about your favorite National Park and why!

Gimme 5 – Great Places to Stay in Sedona

I travel to Sedona fairly regularly for work (I know there are places that are a lot worse that I could be sent to…say, Arkansas), so I have had the opportunity to stay in many different places there. While most of the hotels in Sedona are fairly small, a couple of the ones that I highlight today are big, and all of them are great for a family reunion or vacation. If you have a work retreat or event to plan, consider Sedona, you won’t be disappointed!

1. The Enchantment Resort – this resort is a little out of the way, but it is very quiet and exclusive (rumor has it that we passed Madonna’s place on the way out to this resort). It was a great place to stay when my husband could travel with me. (We stayed there on election night which didn’t make the Bush – Gore election any more palatable). It is an amazing place. The spa was fantastic; the food was fantastic; the exercise classes were fantastic, but our favorite part was the location. You can literally walk out your door and go hiking on many different trails. It felt like we were on the edge of the earth. While they do have a conference facility on site, mine was not being held there, so we had to drive every morning for 20 minutes or so to get back into town and get to my conference. For work or vacation, this resort can’t be beat!
2. The Hilton Sedona Resort and Spa – this place is great! I have spent the most time here and at the Amara, but this one is a mix of regular hotel, resort, and fun place to be. The hot rock massages at the hotel spa were wonderful and relaxing. I felt 5 inches taller walking out of there. The pool closes early and the hotel security didn’t appreciate a bunch of people climbing the fence to try out the hot tub after a late dinner! My favorite part was the golf course and being able to wake up and walk the course at sunrise. Rabbits and all kinds of wildlife were out there to say good morning!
3. The Sedona Rouge – the Sedona a Rouge is a nice, peaceful hotel despite being on the main road, 89A,  in Sedona. The rooms were generously sized and appointed. The spa is quite relaxing and the tea served in there was a surprise. Sedona is a sleepy town with little night life. We had to pay the bartender to stay open later for our little raucous  group after coming back from dinner. The hotel is a little separate and disjointed but that’s what makes it quiet.
4. L’Auberge de Sedona – the name should say something to you – like – “With my French name, I am going to be very expensive!” It is, but it is built into a hillside and backs up to Oak Creek and is very, very worth it. It is located at the North end of town on 89A and hidden down its own driveway – it looks like you are going to drive down an embankment into Oak Creek. The views from this side are stunning. The balconies of each hotel room back up onto the creek and make for a very peaceful evening.
5. The Amara Creekside Hotel, Restaurant, and Spa in Sedona – this one is my personal favorite. The Amara is right next door to L’Auberge but is much, much less expensive. In fact, when I drove across country last summer and decided to stay a couple of nights in Sedona, I threw my idea of camping out the window and we stayed here. My kids loved the pool and being on the creek. I loved being able to sit out by the fire pit and have a glass of wine while the kids raced each other up and down the pool. The rooms are simple and elegant. The balconies are small, but the common area around the pool and creek  were much better for hanging out anyway. I had the best hot rock massage ever at this resort (the masseuse was named John) and they have since expanded their spa into a separate area, which is very tranquil.

All of these hotels are in the nice to very nice range – the prices and service range wildly from reasonable to very expensive. But, no matter where you choose to stay the views will be stunning, the spas will relax you, and you will have good food!

If you have a favorite place to stay in Sedona – leave more information in the comments.