8yr old expelled...

I am totally gutted. I got back from a Board of Trustees meeting at 10.30pm (3hours after it started) with the shattering news that my daughter has been expelled from her school. She is only 8, has had over 80 general anaesthetics, and has a brain injury (all of which influence her severe behavioual problems). I knew that it was a very real possibility that this would be the outcome tonight, but I don't think I really believed it would happen (or didn't want to face that fact) til they said it out loud. Because she hits on a daily basis, and we cannot guarantee the children and staff's saffety at the school when she is there she is out. The principal has been 100% DEDICATED to keeping Chloe at her school. I just can't believe it has come to this........................

omg is there any way she can get help a adult to go to school with her(my oldest qualified for 16 hrs a week but thats here in uk)

hope you find a school that will take her and provide the support she needs to grow

thanks kathy. Believe it or not, she has a teacher aide with her ALL the time. Things 3 weeks ago were ok, and from feb til then she had no aide during breaks and lunch time. Then the behaviour got worse and worse and the support was put back in...My head is spinning. We had so much support at the school. This is her 4th year there. The principal was a HUGE support to me. I kinda feel like I am all alone now (altho in reality I'm not)...

I feel bad that you and your daughter are going through this...

Is she in a special Ed classroom within the school or is she in a regular classroom? Does she currently have an IEP or 504, both are a type of educational plan for your child that teachers and administrators work?

What are your options for educating your daughter now that she has been expelled?

PM me for you want to talk?

Here we no longer have 'special ed' classrooms- everything is "inclusive" and "mainstreamed", and supports are put in place to support those who have 'special needs'. And yes, she does have IEPs done regularly...

The process now is for her principal to phone 3 schools and see if any of them are willingly to take her on. If 1 says yes then that's great; if not we try another 1. Unfortunately we now live in a small community where there are not too many schools anyway; in fact a few years ago they merged several schools together and closed down several due to lack of ppl...

Fingers crossed that 1 of the 3 say yes. I was able to say the 3 that I wanted the principal to ring so we will see.
Thanks danialla.

Are any of those schools better equipped to handle your daughter's issues i.e. special classes or programming?

I would ask for an emergency "IEP team" meeting, before the move, to develop a behavior support plan and to request an aide be placed with your daughter at the new school.

She should qualify, if only to help with the transition, which is sure to be difficult for everyone, especially you and your daughter.

Good luck and PM if you would like....

I am very sorry for your situation and it just sounds very harsh. I hope you can find a suitable educational environment.

Are you from New Zealand? (I was just looking at the welcome board

I know nothing of their school system, but I really hope you can get some satisfaction concerning your daughter.

Good luck and keep us posted.

<font color="purple">Ouch,
I hope she find a school that is more sensitive and cattered towards her needs.

(PS: my name is Chloe too! Yeah, this is kind of random, but the name is or at least used to be, really uncommon, so I'm suprised everytime I hear it!) </font>

While there may not be any special classes per say in your daughters present school...... have you looked into a ESE School that deals only with students that have emotional, social or mental issues that now effects their learning capability and the way they interact with other people?

I ask as one of my sisters worked at such a school for ten years.

I'm not sure where you are located (US?) but one option that could be explored is to have your school district foot the bill for your daughter to be schooled at home. At least until a behavior goal can be implimented on the I.E.P. and met.

From your description - it sounds as though she was doing well and then suddenly took a turn for the worse. That tells me that SOMETHING wasn't working. I am shocked but not surprised that your school gave up on your daughter. I would guess that your school district does not have behavioral specialist on site and don't have a clue as to what to do.

Are you working privately with a professional ?? Are there professionals in your area that specialize with kids ? If the school district is clueless .. then get to a specialist who can direct the school on your daughter's behalf.

The principal might be 100 percent dedicated, however, she is totally ineffective. And clearly has thrown up her hands. True dedication would lead her to secure the necessary professionals in order to provide a free and appropriate education for your daughter.

I wish you the best

(Danialla, yes to NZ !!)
And the saga goes on...
1stly the school hasn't given up on her. The Board of Trustees had to consider the risks to the other staff and pupils at the school. It turns out that things have not been documented clearly during the year (our school year begins end January and goes til December)- we have behavioural records that we use with Chloe and she has been getting stamps even if she has been hitting etc. So it turns out htat things haven't been so good during this time. Her special ed worker is really angry about this- like she said, if the teacher had let her know that things weren't so good then she would have been down there doing what she could. I guess the teacher has been a lot of the problem too- she hadn't even read the behaviour comprehensive that the special ed worker spent over 240hrs doing, where it clearly states about the brain injury. THE TEACHER DIDN'T EVEN KNOW CHLOE HAD A BRAIN INJURY BECAUSE SHE DIDN'T BOTHER DOING HER JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, 4 schools have said no to Chloe so now there is a new process that we have to go through that could potentially take 3 months (or more). Luckily we had an appt with her paediatrician lsat night, he hasn't seen her this bad (behaviourally) for several years, and he is doing all he can to help. She is being re-referred to the child psych team (there is more to this than just straight behavioual stuff); and until we get her a school he has put her back under the hospital school- they come into the home a few hours a week, for those children who cannot attend school for health reasons.
*Peanuts, the principal had no say whatsoever in the verdict from the board, and has done and is doing all she can to sort things out for Chloe.
*Rhapsody, what is an ESE school? I know of a school (1000km away) that takes these children, but that is no good for us...
*Kaika, when I chose 'Chloe' I had only ever heard it 1x before, but since then it's everywhere we go!!! It is becoming very common now.

And thanks everyone for your posts. When I got home Wednesday night after the meeting I was in a really bad space, which is why I came here to post. I had meant to put at the top that I was just 'getting it out', no need to post replies; but it is really nice to get this support. So thanks again.

that is heartwrenching.

ugh, 1st week down, goodness knows how many to go... But a big breakthrough today...chloe's support worker has identified that chloe is afraid to try new things as it appears that she is scared of getting it wrong- she will only do something if she knows how to or she knows that she will succeed. I was amongst the many ppl who were surprised at that- chloe is very outgoing, likes to be in charge/in control etc but in looking at various situation I can see how right Mandy is. Anyway today, after wizzing through some maths equations with relative ease, then succeeding with her hand-writing exercises Chloe had an awesome day, and I believe it is down to her successes- she knew she had done really well- and the praise that I gave her for this. What a fantastic way to end the week

I am glad for you both - cherish the triumphs !!

thanks. Just had a week's respite...I've been working out of town all this week, and the break has been wonderful. 3yr old has been happy (they noted at daycare over a year ago that whenever she has a break from her sister she is much happier and relaxed) and I have had a 'holiday'. I hope that I can schedule in at least 1 more week sometime soon . It probably won't be til our 3rd term (prob about end July) til Chloe gets back into school so it is a long haul.