Playground Problem?

[emdav]

I would like some honest feedback as to whether you would find this situation problematic. My son is in the first grade. I have been at the school 5-6 times this year and gone to see my son at morning recess. Each time, there have been approximately 100 first graders and one adult monitoring them. I have even been outside before the teacher made it to the playground. In that case, there was no adult supervision for several minutes.

My son is high functioning autistic and struggles on the playground because it is an unstructured social situation. His teacher tells me that he is having behavioral issues on the playground.

I was at the school today and his teacher was watching the 100 kids. I saw my son and another boy shove each other but I was unsure who started it and they stopped so I did not intervene. The teacher did not see this. The teacher tells me ds is pretending to be an animal today but is not sure which one. As she is telling me this, I see ds and another boy fighting. Again, I'm not sure who started it but I'm quite sure it was my son. Another boy joins in and starts hitting my son. They weren't stopping so I ran over to break it up. Ds tells me he is being the Incredible Hulk. I explain to him that Incredible Hulk is not appropriate for school and he can play that only at home. I have him apologize. The teacher tells the boys they may not hit and that is the extent of the discipline.

My thoughts are these:

1.) The supervision on the playground is inadequate.
2.) The discipline is inadequate. (I wish ds had been hauled off to the principal's office.)
3.) If the teacher knows, ds is behaving inappropriately on the playground, he should be given more support on the playground.


Any thoughts?

 

[mickeyboat]

I completely agree with you. I would set up a meeting with the teacher to discuss this, and I would go over her head to the principal if I was not satisfied.

I tend not to ruffle feathers and have my kids work most things out on their own, but this is a big safety issue and it needs to be addressed pronto.

Good luck.

Denae

 

[TEENEE]

Wow I can't belive they expect one teacher to watch 100 kids. What happens if one of the kids gets hurt? I think I would talk to the principal. If things don't change then I would not hesitate to go to the school board. Oh and I agree with your thoughts. It's refreshing to hear a parent admit that their child could have done something wrong. Good luck.

 

[mickeyfan1]

Does your school allow for volunteer playground helpers? If so, here is your chance to act, rather than just wonder. If they don't, perhaps it would be something to suggest to the principal or school board. My motto is never complain with out having a solution to provide. I imagine that the teachers all take turns on playground duty. Actually, it is refreshing to read that there is recess at your school, many have had to give it up in order for tests to be taught.

 

[Rora]

I completely agree with you. I would set up a meeting with the teacher to discuss this, and I would go over her head to the principal if I was not satisfied.

I tend not to ruffle feathers and have my kids work most things out on their own, but this is a big safety issue and it needs to be addressed pronto.

Good luck.

Denae

Agreed. Get in contact with the teacher (although she seems to be a bit uncaring..?) and try to figure out what's going on. If this doesn't work, go to the principal.

It is ridiculous that there is 1 teacher per 100 kids! I'm sure there are laws about that.

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

Are you able to request a teacher's aid for your son? That's quite common around here. When there is a classroom that has a child with a behavioural problem, learning disability, physical condition, etc., a teacher's aid is brought in. It's basically another adult in the classroom and on the playground that is, most of the time, focussed on one particular child and his/her special needs. Of course, this person has been trained as well.

 

[DrCavin]

Ds tells me he is being the Incredible Hulk. I explain to him that Incredible Hulk is not appropriate for school and he can play that only at home.

IMO I would not allow it at home either, i think it confusing for the child.

 

[luvflorida]

I would like some honest feedback as to whether you would find this situation problematic. My son is in the first grade. I have been at the school 5-6 times this year and gone to see my son at morning recess. Each time, there have been approximately 100 first graders and one adult monitoring them. I have even been outside before the teacher made it to the playground. In that case, there was no adult supervision for several minutes.

Well, I can tell you that I taught first grade for fifteen years (and spent a few more years in other teaching capacities) and I don't think there was ever a time when there was only one teacher scheduled to be on a playground with that many kids.

We always had at least two teachers supervising students at recess. In an emergency, one teacher could leave long enough to get back-up help, while the other teacher remained on the playground. And, at no time, was it permissible to leave even one child alone on the playground.

 

[NAB]

Do grade one have there own recess and not with the rest of the school?

Why would there be 100 kids and one teacher where is the rest of the teachers that teach this grade as well. Something is not right here.

 

[Wishing on a star]

1.) The supervision on the playground is inadequate.
2.) The discipline is inadequate. (I wish ds had been hauled off to the principal's office.)
3.) If the teacher knows, ds is behaving inappropriately on the playground, he should be given more support on the playground.


Any thoughts?

I totally agree with your assesment!

If this is going to be the situation, then you might want to pursue some accomodation (i.e. additional personal support during recess) thru an official IEP meeting. You really need to request that this be required, in writing, in his IEP which is a binding document.

This situation is not acceptable for any first grader, and especially not a child with any level of ASD.

 

[MoniqueU]

Heck I can't even keep a good enough eye on 4 6th graders they just do stuff to quick. 100 first graders :O omg that is not right for any of those kids. One of the other teachers needs to set their coffee cup down and be assighned recess duty. This is a problem for all the kids and not just yours. I think you have a duty to help get this remedied.

 

[PlaneJoy1]

I totally agree with your assesment!

If this is going to be the situation, then you might want to pursue some accomodation (i.e. additional personal support during recess) thru an official IEP meeting. You really need to request that this be required, in writing, in his IEP which is a binding document.

This situation is not acceptable for any first grader, and especially not a child with any level of ASD.

Exactly what I was thinking... time for an IEP ammendment. You should request one immediately. If he doesn't have a behavioral intervention plan, he should.

 

[emdav]

Do grade one have there own recess and not with the rest of the school?

Why would there be 100 kids and one teacher where is the rest of the teachers that teach this grade as well. Something is not right here.

Each grade has its own morning recess time.

Exactly what I was thinking... time for an IEP ammendment. You should request one immediately. If he doesn't have a behavioral intervention plan, he should.

Could you please elaborate on the behavioral intervention plan? I know he doesn't have one and would like to learn more about this.

Are you able to request a teacher's aid for your son? That's quite common around here. When there is a classroom that has a child with a behavioural problem, learning disability, physical condition, etc., a teacher's aid is brought in. It's basically another adult in the classroom and on the playground that is, most of the time, focussed on one particular child and his/her special needs. Of course, this person has been trained as well.

I can request, but unless I'm willing hire an attorney, it won't happen. I talked to the district offices yesterday about having someone help when we transition back to school (we have year-round school) because his teacher indicated she needed assistance at this time. I was told that resources would have to come from those that already exist within the school. He already does not consistently get some help that is written into his IEP because of staffing issues. There just isn't the manpower to give him what he needs.


I talked to the principal today and told her I have concerns about the supervision level at the playground. She is fully aware that one teacher is watching 100 students and she is comfortable with that because the first grade team decided this is what they wanted. I told her to reconsider her opinion and she said she would discuss the matter with the first grade team and suggest they ask for parent volunteers to help at recess.

The principal also admitted the school has not done everything they can to meet ds's needs and she will be speaking the the special education staff (all 2 full time positions for an enrollment of 1000 kids) to see if they can give more time to ds. I told her I felt they could probably justify another position as they already can't meet his IEP needs.

Last year, ds had a lady from the district office who would check in on him and discuss issues with his teacher. She was there when he went back to school after a break to make sure he transitioned well. I heard she retired though. When I talked to the principal, she had no idea this was happening and she had never heard of this lady. I know for a fact she helped another child at the school. I really don't understand how a principal would not be aware of everyone who is staffing their school. I want her back!!

 

[Mr. & Mrs. Smith]

I can request, but unless I'm willing hire an attorney, it won't happen.

How sad! Is it possible for you to hire someone on your own if they won't provide an aid?

 

[Val]

Take this over to the disability board and you will get additional help....first off, yes, your concerns are legitimate. Second, if your son has an IEP and it is NOT being met, the school is in violation of the law. You do not need an attorney- but an advocate. You probably can even handle this yourself, as the school and district could be in huge trouble if it becomes apparent that the IEP is not met.

For more information regarding the IEP and compliance, be sure to check out this site: http://www.wrightslaw.com. This site is an excellent resource!

Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[RitaZ.]

My DD's elementary school requires the teachers to supervise their students during recess. I can't imagine having one adult watching that many children. It's an impossible task.

Good luck getting this resolved. IMO, the school needs to do something about this problem; not only for your child, but for all of the children.

 

[CowboyCO]

I would like some honest feedback as to whether you would find this situation problematic. My son is in the first grade. I have been at the school 5-6 times this year and gone to see my son at morning recess. Each time, there have been approximately 100 first graders and one adult monitoring them. I have even been outside before the teacher made it to the playground. In that case, there was no adult supervision for several minutes.

My son is high functioning autistic and struggles on the playground because it is an unstructured social situation. His teacher tells me that he is having behavioral issues on the playground.

I was at the school today and his teacher was watching the 100 kids. I saw my son and another boy shove each other but I was unsure who started it and they stopped so I did not intervene. The teacher did not see this. The teacher tells me ds is pretending to be an animal today but is not sure which one. As she is telling me this, I see ds and another boy fighting. Again, I'm not sure who started it but I'm quite sure it was my son. Another boy joins in and starts hitting my son. They weren't stopping so I ran over to break it up. Ds tells me he is being the Incredible Hulk. I explain to him that Incredible Hulk is not appropriate for school and he can play that only at home. I have him apologize. The teacher tells the boys they may not hit and that is the extent of the discipline.

My thoughts are these:

1.) The supervision on the playground is inadequate.
2.) The discipline is inadequate. (I wish ds had been hauled off to the principal's office.)
3.) If the teacher knows, ds is behaving inappropriately on the playground, he should be given more support on the playground.


Any thoughts?

I think you need to contact the school and request a meeting to get your son on an IEP which includes supervision during recess periods.

An IEP is a legally-binding Individual education plan that spells out exactly what the school is required to do to keep your DS and other students safe and in a proper learning environment.

 

[agnes!]

Also check out what the legal staffing ratios are, especially for this age-group. The 'team' can decide all they want, if the county or the state has LAWS on the books this 'team' and the principal are in violation of that law.

I also agree with the pp who said post your situation on the DIS-abilities Board. You will get a lot of great ideas on how to improve your DS' entire school experience there.

Don't back down Mom, this is a hill that I would choose to die on if I were in your shoes. Not just the playground (though that has the potential to be serious) but also the school's willful flouting of an IEP. "We don't have the money" is not good enough, this adminstration has *decided* not to fulfill an IEP and aren't IEPs governed by a Federal law?

agnes!