Educating Joseph – A New Chapter
I just got to thinking, that I went on in great length regarding the joke of an education my nephew received in Portland Public Schools special education, without telling you what he’s doing now. After the hearing we pulled him out of Marshall due to the same old same old. We gave ‘em one more chance at Lincoln High while we were waiting for them to pay up on the remedy, but within a week we knew that too was a bust.
After he was finished at Sylvan Learning Center Joseph got a job where the idea was for him to develop work appropriate behavior in order to become competitively employed. He’s been there for the last 4+ years as one of their best employees. The problem is that he’s still not doing what he loves most… working with numbers. Last Spring we decided to do something about that.
We put together what is called a “Person Centered Plan”, where the people involved in a person’s life gather with a facilitator to discuss someone’s hopes, dreams, and strengths. When we were finished, we had a solid plan on steps to assist Joseph with getting into the numbers racquet (couldn’t resist). He now is moving in the right direction.
First we got him a calculator/adding machine. He’s learned to make a monthly budget and has done really well with this. We purchased a laptop with a printer and software having to do with accounting type stuff. He’s enrolled at Clackamas Community College, where he’s taking some basic computer classes this fall. By all accounts he’s doing great. This winter he’ll be taking a class on Excel and may get an internship doing some data entry or basic accounting. He tells (yes, he can say most of what he’s thinking these days) anyone who asks him that he wants to eventually work in a bank. For Joseph; he’ll go as far as he wants to go.
Joseph was never unteachable. He was never physically aggressive. He was never any more difficult to educate than any other kid. He was failed by the education system in Portland.
REALLY THE END
7 comments
Who did Joseph’s person centered plan? Aren’t they wonderful! I update my daughter’s person centered plan for every IEP and her teachers have said that this plan is more helpful than the IEP. My daughter attended Nike Summer Academy and after 4 days they called me having some troubles. Turned out that PPS did not send her IEP to the summer program that has the person centered plan attached to it. I sent it to her and she called me to tell me how much of a difference it made for them. I facilitated a plan for a child at our K-8 that was at risk for a self-contained placement and my fingers are still crossed but the feedback on the plan was really good. The SUN school teacher was by far the very best informant and it was so amazing to watch the collaboration happening. I sure do love a happy ending
David, thank you for sharing your story. I love that you and Suzanne persisted in making sure that Joseph was getting what he needed despite the incompetence and deception by PPS staff. That kind of parent involvement can be so exhausting and PPS staff know it. Sometimes it’s hard for people to believe that “professionals” can be so deceptive but give them a few years in the system and they’ll find out pretty quickly. I’m glad Joseph is doing well.
Stephanie… I don’t want to say who facilitated Joseph’s PCP here, because they belong to an agency that I believe to be a “fund sucker” of money for people with developmental disabilities in Oregon.
Carrie… Maybe we just didn’t know any better than to take on a school district in due process. Maybe our desire to see justice served outwieghed our fears. Or maybe… just maybe; I was doing something for my sister, who I loved a lot. She was never able to fight such a battle on her own. And when I told her I would help her son move from childhood to manhood, I meant it on a very deep level. With the help of a supportive life partner, we did just that.
Thank you Carrie for reprinting this on your blog. You are someone I’m honored to call my friend. I admire you for your work around school equity and other social causes.
Oh dang I hope that isn’t the agency I work for
Aww David, don’t make me show my sensitive side. It could hurt my reputation. One of my greatest regrets as an activist is that we failed to celebrate our past successes. We need to take time to celebrate because it gives us the energy to move ahead. My faith and confidence in PPS has hit a new low so I’m in need of a success story. Your story has been inspirational. Thanks again for sharing.
But, sadly, the success story has nothing to do with PPS. In fact, it sounds like they got off scot-free, since they never made good on the “remedy” that they were ordered to provide. That is why they keep screwing families over—because they get away with it every time.
Thank you, David, for letting us all know that there can be a happy ending—if we are willing to leave behind a failing system.
Zarwen… we were awarded $19,000 dollars remedy for PPS failure to provide a “free appropriate public education” (FAPE), which we used to send Joseph to Sylvan Learning Center for over 1 and 1/2 years, so in that light we were extremely successful. Sadly, The whimpy ALJ failed to prosecute on her “perjury” warning, which in my mind will always remain a loss.
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