IEP Prologue

It wasn't that long ago that Julia had been in the classroom. She could close her eyes and remember the grimy face of the first grader looking into her eyes with soulful disappointment. "But I want to be in your class, teacher!" Julia had given the child a big hug. She thought she would miss the children in some small way, but was relieved not to have the last of the Baker's dozen in her class.

Here it was a new school year, and Julia had made it clear into October before she found herself driving by the school on her way to town. She ended up driving by the school on short errands, and sometimes, unexplainably, sitting in the car and eating a sandwich while she watched the students take their lunch time. She knew she was retired, but she could not bring herself to stop showing up at the school.

Finally she stopped by the High School administration building and offered to volunteer. At least it would be a change of pace. During her career she had never even considered working with older youngsters. They almost seemed intimidating. Of course, some of the students would come back from the older grades and seek her out each year, and many times a former student invited her to High School Graduation.

Julia did not know what got into her, but now she was part of the retired teacher's corps, and she working at the high school in the LD Resource Room. Sometimes she wondered what she was thinking to get all dressed up and volunteer her time, but she could not watch one more Day Time Soap, Game Show or murder mystery in the day time. She just had too much energy, that was all.

Of course, she had dreamed of the day she would no longer go to school, and she had made so many plans about sleeping late, getting a pet, going on tours, planting a garden, reading the Great Books. But when it came right down to it, she missed the youngsters.

As Julia walked down the hall, she saw Jason sitting in the office. She smiled as she walked by, but he would not look up. Jason was one of the students she was going to work with. She had spent the first day just getting to know him. He did not seem willing to share anything more than a grunt when she tried talking with him, and another teacher would have called him lazy. He was so good looking. He was stunning in his long jeans, cowboy boots, and casual shirt. How could a kid that good looking, that savvy be so unmotivated?

Once she got to the classroom she found out that Jason was waiting for a decision about being suspended. He was being disrespectful to the teacher, not turning in any work and scooting pebbles across the floor, disrupting the students who were engaged and on task. She settled in to work with the other youngster in the class, and Jason finally sauntered back into the room and slouched down in the chair. The slip from the office was tossed on the desk in the process. As Jason put it, "I still have to serve time here."

Settling the other student in her work, Julia moved into position to begin working with Jason. She started talking about his interest in being a cowboy, and slowly the look of disgust was replaced with a little more openness. After a number of false starts, Julia finally got Jason to admit that he was interested in the rodeo circuit and expected to work on the family ranch. He showed her a belt he had tooled, and became pretty animated about his horse and the barrel racing and cutting they could do as a team.

It didn't take long for Julia to realize that Jason was a gifted young man. Not only that, but Jason talked as though he was a tireless worker once he got home. The chores he was doing sounded complex and non-stop. Julia took a closer look and realized that the boy's hands were callused and his body was muscular and strong looking. Jason was a worker! This young man might not be able to succeed at school, but he was already succeeding in the work force.

To Work: Julia realized now why Jason was not interested in the material from the classroom. What an embarrassment it must be for him to work in a phonics workbook for primary school when his mind was racing in the adult world. Julia decided to put the current work aside and talk with Jason to find out more about his life and goals. Starting slow, they chatted and she jotted down notes until the bell rang.

At the next break, Julia opened the subject of Jason with the teacher. Maria was open, and delighted to share what little she knew about Jason. He was almost belligerent to her when in the class, frequently "forgot" to come to class, and she was relieved that he came so little. Earlier, when Jason was referred she had contacted the parents, but neither showed for the IEP. The paperwork from the previous school came showing that Jason was reading at a pre-first grade level, had a spotty record of attendance, and though he passed some classes, it was impossible to tell if he had done the work, or the teacher felt sorry for him.

After a couple of attempts to reach Jason and a number of phone calls that did not get through to the parents, Maria turned back to the students she was reaching. A couple of times she even called the emergency phone number when he was acting out, but got a secretary at some government agency, and the father never returned her calls. In all, she had also sent him to the office five times, but each time he was sent back to the room to complete his work. Maria spoke with the principal during the IEP, and got the feeling the father was either rich or important, and the administration didn't want to "rock any boats."

Julia decided she was going to find a way to get Jason excited about reading. Just like she did in second grade, she would begin by acting as secretary and they would write and illustrate a story of his life. She gathered up magazines about cowboys, working on the range, the places in Arizona where they had dude ranches and found an illustrated history of the early days of Williams, famous for Pow wows and early western riding. She also decided to pick up a couple of stories about the Superstition Mountains and Tombstone. Maybe the stories with intrigue would capture Jason if talking about his own past were not comfortable for him.

Jason didn't come for the next class, and Julia was really disappointed. It got her to thinking about the home situation. She got the records from the school and began searching for clues about his past. The records were very disappointing, only showing a short stay of six months at a previous school up the valley. She did jot down the home address and phone number along with the emergency number, and decided that she didn't have that much to do, so she would just run by the home and see if she could connect with someone there.

The home address didn't seem right. When she arrived, after a long and winding trip into the backcountry, it was not what she expected. The home seemed palatial, and it was far from a working ranch. It was a gentleman's spread, with horses, a large stable, what looked like formal gardens and a fairly large number of cars coming and going.

As Julia approached the front of the estate, she felt rather out of place among the expensive cars, and wasn't even certain where to park. Reaching the front door, she was greeted by security. She tried to explain that she was from the school, but the gentleman refused to admit her. He said that she would need to call ahead for an appointment. Unwilling to take "no" for an answer, Julia put the car in part, right in the drive way, got out of the car, and in her most "teacher means it" voice, began to assert her rights. As the security guard began to grab her, Jason appeared and stopped the fracas. After a momentary discussion, the guard told Julia he would have someone park the car for her and allowed Jason to take her into the house.

The story that unfolded really stunned Julia. Jason's father was a diplomat for the US and had been abroad for a number of years in Latin American countries. Eventually, through his political connections, he had fallen in love with a young woman from Argentina. The family had large land holdings there and the cowboys Jason was talking about were Gauchos. The family ranch he was describing was the immense cattle land of the grandfather.

The parents had never heard about IEPs and those surrounding them had insulated them from Jason's pranks and problems in school. Jason, of course, had not told the family that he was having trouble with reading, that he was being placed in the resource room for part of the day, or that he was having difficulty in schools because of infrequent attendance or constant moving. The parents agreed that he seemed unhappy about school, and they assumed it was from moving around during high school and constantly having to come up with a way to fit into a new group of friends

As the conversation progressed, Jason's mother came into the room. She was obviously quite surprised by the teacher's presence, and began speaking rapidly with Jason. Julia did not recognize the language at first. It sounded faintly like Spanish, but she did not really recognize any of the discussion. Another piece of the puzzle fit for her! This family was bilingual. Jason obviously conversed well in another language. It sounded faintly like Spanish, but she did not really recognize any of the discussion.

Another piece of the puzzle fit for her! This family was bilingual. Jason obviously conversed well in another language. Did the mother speak English? It did not take long to find out. After a moment, she turned and welcomed Julia to the house and suggested they move up to one of the sitting rooms. There, over tea, they began to talk about many things - Jason, his love of Argentina, his school background, the family anxiety about moving Jason around so much. Of course, Jason joined in, chagrined at first that his parents were finding out about his unsuccessful school ventures. He was also a little defensive about his spotty attendance, and denied having any trouble reading.

Julia realized, as she settled in to enjoy tea, that there was a big job ahead of her. Not only would she need to support Jason, but also she would need to help the family understand their rights. They obviously cared deeply about their son, they knew a great deal, but not about IDEA '97. She could certainly help them understand that process and get the family to participate in the IEP. That had all been an unfortunate series of miscommunications.

What was troubling her right now was how Jason's bilingual background had slipped past the school and the teachers. Jason was a bright young man. Had teachers been less attentive because of his slight accent? Was there prejudice going on? Wasn't there any way to find out the first language of a youngster before developing an IEP?

Why didn't Jason tell someone that he was proficient in Spanish but had never read in English? These were puzzling. She had uncovered one mystery, only to find herself surrounded by more questions!

Want to find out more about Argentina, Gauchos, and the town Jason grew up in? Try these sites.