The Greear Family: Parent Teacher Conference Day

While my children attended dentist appointments (supervised by Mema thank God she's back in town) I attended parent teacher/IEP conferences. I was engaged all day. I photographed the entire process and will share it with you now.

I started the day by drinking instant Asian coffee. Vince and I have been having a cup of this strong sweet blend each morning instead of our usual drip coffee. When I close my eyes it takes me back to Kota Kinabalu. And Kuala Lumpur. And Singapore... Drifting back to Asia is a sweet divergence from the tasks that my mind needs to be embracing.

Starting with the ever charming Krista Etzwiler, the parent teacher conferences began. Marina is doing fabulously. We are going to work on building a little more challenge into her day.

From there we went to an IEP (Individualized Educational Plan) meeting for Falcom. Here we are preparing to begin. We are in the principals office trying to get the school psychologist on the phone. Every three years a student is re-evaluated for their learning disabilities. This is Falcom's third year. This meeting was to plan what testing to give Falcom.

This meeting was difficult for me and aggravating because although this psychologist has Falcom on her case load, and is the person in charge of administering the tests, in the two years she has been with the district she has never met or even seen Falcom. Amy says that this will give her an unbiased opinion. I respect Amy and I can see her point. At the same time I believe I will be calling the district today in order to lodge a complaint.

Veggie box day! This is Teri at Moose Run Metal smiling as we prepare to move boxes. The big boys and Kaylene R. were with me and we moved the boxes with ease. (This picture is so blue because my camera setting was still set for florescent lighting.)

At Two Sisters I bought myself this delicious chocolate bun. I had a feeling I might need it after my three hour stint at the High School Parent Teacher conferences.

Since DeeJay passed the High School Graduation Qualifying Exam, it occurred to me that my coffee dates with Paul were going to be coming to an end after this year. With his graduation, I'll be off Paul's case load. No more vanilla lattes over IEP's and other official business with Paul. Like a phrase from my favorite children's book, "Everything Changes, Nothing Stays the Same." I know that my relationship with Paul will be evolving just as DeeJay's life is evolving. There was a hint of grief in my heart knowing that this would be my last parent conference with Paul.

It's like when your favorite therapist says, "I think you've made it! You've been coming here for three years, but I think we are ready to stop seeing each other." Yes, it is time to move on, but that doesn't mean that hour a week won't be missed...

Today I learned that Willie has officially become eligible for learning disability testing and that means that I will get to continue on with Paul for at least another two years! Isn't that fantastic!

(If you can't read the sarcasm in my tone...) Yes, it's true. In all seriousness, DeeJay is still a worry, but now we can move Willie up in the standing and focus on getting him his slip of paper that will provide him with the ability to have a successful future.

Because Paul did not give me permission to photograph him, I decided it was wise not to photograph the other TWELVE teachers that I met with during those three hours. By the end, my head was swimming. Yes, DeeJay is still DeeJay but doing pretty well considering everything. No, Willie is not doing well and has turned to relying more and more on his friends to do his work for him because he is getting overwhelmed and unable to do it himself. These teachers sang like a chorus even though they did not practice their speeches hand. I left the high school anxious, but knowing that things were being done to remedy the situation.

Picked up the kids from Mema. Marina had one cavity filled and Falcom has one that will need to be filled. Willie and DeeJay looked good. We went to the grocery store and ran into Beth. She was heading to the High School for her P/T conferences after her shift... "Good Luck with that!" I said.