Frustration

Surprise! Not.

I'm dealing with the public school system.  So frustration is the name of the game.  I suspect it's written someplace in the union contracts that they have to ignore parents for a minimum amount of time.

Younger daughter is currently pulling Fs in almost all her classes, something to do with having missed about 60 days so far this year with illness. (We have doctor's notes for the vast majority of her absences).  And she is now complaining about the letters and numbers on the pages and screens jumping around a lot, especially when she's tired.  This was something back when she was in 1st or 2nd grade, but it never interfered with her ability to read and do well in school, and she hasn't mentioned it in years.  But of course now she's under a lot of stress, so it's coming out.

Almost two weeks ago, on a Friday, I left her most recent note with the office, as well as a copy of the office visit summary where it showed a diagnosis of possible depression (well you'd be depressed too if you'd been sick for months and it looked like you'd have to repeat the year), and also recommended having the school system test her for dyslexia.  The guidance counselor from the magnet high school, who is assuring me that we can set up meetings with the teachers to figure out which classes she has a chance of getting caught up in and passing, and what she will need to do for that to happen, took me over to the main high school to the social worker/school psych's office so we could talk.  The woman was out sick, so I was asked to leave my name and phone number and she would get back to me the following week.

That was last week, and I didn't hear from anybody. I did use the email system on the school website to send both women messages, again asking to be called.

So today, Tuesday, 11 calendar and 6 work days after leaving the first message, I called the school psych about getting the dyslexia testing.  I did call just before 2, when school gets out, so hopefully, she will call me back tomorrow.

Anyone feel like taking bets on it?

I suspect I'm going to have to take more time off work and plop my physical presence on various doorsteps, being the squeaky wheel, or else nothing will happen.  At least the math teacher is being helpful and has changed daughter to "auditing" her Algebra II class, so that next year she can take Geometry on schedule, and then take Algebra II again in 11th.  It also looks like she's doing OK in English somehow, but everything else?  Not so much, and no one is getting back to us about if and if yes, how, we can fix things.

I need to find out how much it will cost out of pocket to get the kid tested for dyslexia, since otherwise they'll probably manage to drag their feet until well into next school year.

If the child wasn't interested in biomed, I'd consider pulling her out and figuring out some sort of homeschooling, but I'm not up for the science and math at the levels she'll need, and with the way our town taxes look to be going up next year (that a rant for another post, if the RTM can't get things down, and agree to slaughter a few sacred cows, because all budget cows are sacred.., 12% increase in TWO years!?!?!), I can't afford several grand for online classes.

And I've been dealing with a migraine or a stomach bug, or both, since Friday.

Sigh.