My son was an excellent student. He responded to questions in class. He gave assistance to other students when they needed help. His teachers always had wonderful things to say about him. I would always go to conferences and hear all the ways he stood out to the teachers. He even received the Principal's Award in 7th grade.
In 8th grade, things were much the same until winter break. We got really sick during break and he missed a full week of school in January, due to that illness. He struggled catching back up, but he did it. When Governor Whitmer closed all the schools in Michigan in the middle of March, because of the COVID-19 Pandemic, he had 4 A's and 2 B's.
The shutdown was supposed to be for 2 weeks, so I treated it like a vacation. After 6 weeks, the school started some online work available for the students. They guaranteed that students who were passing when school was shut down would continue to the next grade, whether they did this work or not. With zero incentive for him to actually do the work, I was unable to convince him that he should do it. He had one math class that was online already, so he did complete that.
True to their word, they graduated him virtually from the 8th grade, even with awards for some of his classes. He finished 8th grade with 3 credits for high school: Algebra, Geometry, and 9th grade English.
A week before 9th grade was supposed to start, we were told that school was going to start out virtually, and then in six weeks, it would open. Students would all receive Chromebooks to use for school and classes would be Monday through Thursday from 9 am to noon. A few days later, the opening of school was delayed again by the governor. The school gave us 2 days to decide if we wanted to do hybrid (without a description of what that would look like) or be 100% virtual when school did open. My son said he'd rather stay virtual so his schedule would stay the same, so that's what we submitted to the school.
He started school virtually. The classes chosen for him were all Advanced Placement (AP) classes, except for gym and art. He struggled with the AP classes, doing the work, but not getting great grades. His art teacher assigned large projects with short deadlines. He passed math and gym class. I contacted his academic counselor to talk about the struggles he was having, and I asked her to put him in regular classes for the second semester. Throughout the first semester, the "open date" for school kept changing and being more delayed.
Second semester was just about to begin and he had an "easier" schedule, but still had that art class. Thankfully he also stayed in the same math class. The school announced that hybrid classes were starting, and that the schedule would be changing. Group A would be in person and everyone else virtual on Monday and Tuesday, Group B would be in person and everyone else virtual on Thursday and Friday. Wednesday would be virtual for all students, so they can clean the school building. The new daily schedule would be 7:40 am to 2:25 pm. I called the school and asked if my son, who is struggling in virtual school, would be able to switch to the hybrid schedule and was told "it will be whatever you selected in August".
I'm so sorry that in August, I wanted some semblance of a schedule for my son. I didn't know that I would want to change it. I didn't know that he would have such a hard time doing virtual school. Anyway....
Two nights a week, I get email reminders to fill out the Daily Student Health Screener. I get emails telling me all the latest updates about expanding hybrid learning. I get all the emails for K-12. I have received ONE email from the attendance office, stating that my son was not in class.
I have received a couple of other emails from the school. One that said conferences were coming up "tomorrow" and that parents can log into a Zoom meeting to talk to the teachers. The time frame for this Zoom would be during a busy time at work, and I was scheduled to work. Another one was from the art teacher. It basically said your student doesn't come to class or do the work. He's going to fail and there's nothing that can change that at this point.
Yesterday, there was a very soft knock on my front door. It took me a minute to get to it, but the lady was leaving, so I called to her "can I help you?" She was from the truancy office of Grand Rapids Public Schools. She gave me a list of all the days my son was supposedly not in class. She gave me a brochure about the importance of school attendance. I told her that I am a single mom and I work, and I can't be home all the time to make sure he's logging in to each class, but I do my best. Then she told me she would return with the police.
So here I sit... wondering why the school didn't contact me before this... concerned that it's the end of April in his Freshman year and he hasn't yet set foot in the school building... concerned that we're going to be stuck doing virtual forever, because of a choice I made before school started 8 months ago... and worrying if the Prosecutor's Office will try to remove my son from his home and my care.
Right now, he's passing Algebra 2. He might still be able to pass US History and 10th grade English. He still doesn't learn well virtually. Most of his online assignments include "find a picture from the internet that portrays..." or "how does this image make you feel" or "write a sentence that describes this picture". He doesn't know. He literally cannot comprehend this type of question.
I had him evaluated for Autism Spectrum Disorders when he was in either preschool or kindergarten. He was diagnosed with Asperger's. I figured he'd just be ADHD, like his mom. We never needed an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) because he did so well in a traditional school setting. I don't like the label. I don't want to have the school treat him like he's *special needs* because of an IEP. I know that IS what will happen. I've seen it.
He's a really smart kid, a good student, and teachers love him. He doesn't NEED "accommodations". He needs a classroom (five days a week) with a teacher and other students. He needs a schedule, a routine, that is consistent from day to day. He needs his at-home time to be home and family time.
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