Notice of a Board Work Session

After getting a robo-call from City Schools I found this information (here) on the website:

The Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners will hold a series of three work sessions to provide the public an opportunity to learn more about its portfolio of Non‐ Traditional Schools (charter, transformation, innovative and new schools.) The work sessions will be held at the Alice Pinderhughes Administrative Building, 200 East North Avenue, Baltimore, MD 21202 on the dates and times listed below:

Work Session I Monday, June 7th 6:00 pm‐7:00 pm Room 301
Work Session II Tuesday, July 13th 7:30 pm‐8:30 pm Room 301
Work Session III Tuesday, August 16 TBA 1st floor boardroom

-Interested members of the public are invited to attend all three work sessions and observe the deliberative process.
-The June and July work sessions are designed for the board to receive information from staff and discuss policy issues related to City Schools’ portfolio of nontraditional schools. Accordingly, public comment will not be taken at June and July work sessions.
- The August work session is designed for the Board to receive information from various stakeholders. Public comment will be taken during the August work session.
The Board may convene in a closed session, in accordance with the Maryland Annotated Code, State Government Article, 10‐508 if any portion of the meeting should be held in closed deliberations. Before any closed meeting is convened, the presiding officer will publicly identify the section or sections of the Act authorizing the closed meeting.

Not sure if this is of interest to any readers of this blog, but it is to me. I will try to attend and if I get any good information I will post it here.

Woot woot!!!

This morning I had the house to myself. The girls were in NJ on a scouting excursion. The boys had made a jaunt up to HarCo to clean the cabin and maybe hike/swim.

I had been waiting for this opportunity for quite a while. Total solitude for a decent amount of time. I took some deep breaths and waged battle against the beast. I found a pair of vice grips, stuck my hands in the belly and removed 3 hose clamps. On the 3rd removal I found the clog. I shed some blood on some sharp edges, but the clog was removed. A sock, a mongo ball of lint, a bunch of coins and a straight pin were removed from a lint trap shown in the picture above.

I persevered through the difficulty of reinstalling the stinking hose clamps and ran a test rinse/drain cycle. Water shot out. The fact that this lint trap requires blood to be cleared shows a supremely stupid design, but it's been cleared. Huzzah!

It might be a sign of hubris, but I declare victory.

Short notice

This is starting off feeling like a rant, so I'll try to take some breaths before type faster than my brain can work.

inhale...exhale...inhale...

Ok, I'm no longer mad, but how about annoyed?

I'm relatively new to being a high school parent (eldest is a sophomore) and I was willing to chalk-up last year's HSA confusion to a freshman who was disorganized. But this year that's not the case.

So on Saturday, before leaving to get out of the city for a little non-wired R&R I asked my high school student what her schedule for HSA week was and if it was like last year, i.e. show up for one morning (one test) and the rest off the week you got to stay home. "Ummm....I know we have HSA's but I'm not sure...ummm." I asked if she had a flyer with the information. No flyer. OK, I went to check out the website. No information beyond what was published on the City School calendar at the start of the year. Desperate calls and facebook pleas and it turns out HSAs are in the morning this year and you're expected to go to school in the afternoon. Can everyone say "transportation logistics nightmare"? And you take two HSAs sophomore year. Suddenly, the week I had thought would be relaxed just turned into a mess.

I'm guessing these decisions were made long ago and if, at that point, something had been sent to parents I would not be the annoyed mom that I now am.

Whatever. We'll cope.

Here's my root cause problem analysis. If you want involved parents, you might actually have some sort of way to communicate with them.

Late spring

The second wave comes. Determined and aggressive after the first wave's tentative start. The timid celedines have melted away and those first dandelions have greyed and scattered on the wind. Now the buttercups come, beyond number. Floating above the thickening grass their yellow is abundant, staining shoes and legs and dogs. After tromping through the field we hit the path through the forest. On trees, the pale, small leaves have thickened to a rich green. Now they fight amongst themselves to get sunlight, turning the pathway dark. All sounds are muffled, even the roaring water. This verdant canopy provides privacy for reacquaintance with the feeling of a springtime stream.

A chilly day

Life goes on regardless of how you feel about the progress. Dark, cloudy, cold days come after beautiful sunny ones. Adolescence hits the eleven year old and all traces of cute are pushed aside. Chilly after refusing a jacket, he won't turn back and admit he can't take the cold. Learning to parent an adolescent male with very limited expressive language abilities, I don't push the issue after my first request is rebuffed with a scream. We talk about yelling at people and feelings. Time for a walk. A friendly stranger asks if he's cold. My response, rather than explaining, is to ask him if he wants to go home and get a coat. The "no no no" answer settles it for me and the stranger.

That time of year again

Is it just me? Somehow I find the idea that we've now hit May and I don't have solid plans for msk's summer worked out terrifying. First I've got a kid who needs structure to keep anxiety at bay. Then I've got a school system that hasn't figured out when or where ESY will be, or if they have, they haven't conveyed this information to me.

I guess the easiest answer would be to blow off ESY and schedule our summer without it. The problem is, msk needs the additional academics. He's a smart kid, but being in an autism specific program that focused on behavioral issues for 2 years basically put him 2 years behind academically. I think that he makes close to a year's progress every year, that's not going to get him caught up. Repeating a year would be a disaster socially, given the friendships that he's made and the fact that he's not a little kid anymore. He would really stick out in a grade with kids younger than him. Even though ESY isn't about academic catch-up, it seems important to keep him academically challenged. Plus, msk really liked ESY last summer. So, we are planning on doing ESY again this summer.

I really, really, really want this summer to be a good one for msk. Beyond academics, he's a very physical guy and would do well in a situation with lots of running and hiking and swimming and the like. For his safety he needs an aide to be with him in these situations. Because of the unknown date of ESY we haven't been able to find an aide for him that's up for physically challenging activities. Without an aide lined up, it's hard to find a summer camp that would be willing to accommodate an autistic kid and his aide. A creative aide could try to schedule physical activities on his own, but that would mean that there is little socializing with peers going on.

Honestly, just thinking about it makes me anxious. Without structure, msk is not a happy kid. My two neurotypicals have 4 weeks of sleep-away type camp booked for the summer. That means there are four weeks when msk won't even have siblings to interact with. Without some good activities going on this could be bad. Very bad.

Maybe it'll all fall into place, but it makes me worried. When are the letters about ESY going to get sent out?

Reauthorization of what act?

Looking at the comment from "wise educator" on this Inside Ed Post, I realized it had been a while since I tried to spark up some City Schools discussions. I got an email today that seems a perfect opportunity. I've pasted the text below the break. You can go there if you haven't already received and read the same email. If you didn't receive this email it's not some super secret list of people in the know. All you need to do is add yourself to the email list here.

Now, onto the discussion.

I feel like I'm not exactly clueless on education, but I had no idea what the "Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act" was. It was only a few google search clicks away to find this and this. I don't mind doing a little digging and all, but you'd get more takers on the invite if there was a little bit of an explanation, like "the Obama administration's take on the federal government's role in education and revisions to the No Child Left Behind Act."

As a parent of a special needs student, I've been none too impressed with Mr. Duncan. There have been a lot of other issues to get through on the president's plate, though, so I'm trying to remain optimistic. I'm hoping that this meeting will outline some vision and generate some discussion to keep me optimistic. I'm not sure how much useful discussion there will be in this setting, and a "roundtable" discussion with 200 people seems pretty unmanageable to me. Plus, I wouldn't mind an agenda. But those are quibbles.

Regardless, someone from this household will be there. Given the eleven years we've invested in City Schools and the seven to ten that we've still got to go, we'll be there.

------------------------------------------------------------------
April 22, 2010
Dear City Schools Colleagues, Staff, Partners and Friends,

The Baltimore City Board of School Commissioners and the CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools invite you to a Roundtable Discussion on the Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act and what it means for City Schools. The discussion will take place this coming Monday, April 26, 2010, 3-5 p.m., in the auditorium at the Reginald F. Lewis Museum of Maryland African American History and Culture at 830 East Pratt Street, Baltimore MD 21202.

A reception will immediately follow the discussion.City Schools’ leadership will be joined at this important event by:

• Michael Casserly, Executive Director of the Council of the Great City Schools
• Gary Huggins, Executive Director of the Aspen Institute's Commission on No Child Left Behind
• Charmaine Mercer, Senior Education Policy Advisor for the House Committee on Education and Labor

If you would like to attend, please R.S.V.P. to Kerry Whitacre Swarr at 410-396-8803 or KWhitacre@bcps.k12.md.us by noon on Friday, April 23, 2010. This event is limited to 200 R.S.V.Ps, but there are still plenty of open slots.

Parking is available directly across the street on the corner of Pratt and President Streets at the Dodge PMI Little Italy Garage (815 E. Pratt Street).

Thank you. And I hope to see you there.
Sincerely,

Andrés A. Alonso, Ed.D.CEO, Baltimore City Public Schools

How's that weight loss resolution going?

So the weight loss program at work had a three part homework assignment for this weekend. I'm posting part one - Saturday morning - here:

Why I’m committed to a healthier lifestyle and loosing weight:

I know that I am a strong person, but carrying around all this extra weight is going to soon take its toll. It might be knee problems, high blood pressure or something else, but given how heavy I am something is going to give. I really need to be healthy and able for the long term for my own goals and for my responsibilities.

Another thing I know is that the majority of my weight gains periods have had to do with stress and frustration. I know that I have choices in dealing with stress and I choose to meet it head on with a joyful attitude. I know that this requires conscious effort, but really – what’s the point of being alive if you are not consciously involved in life? I know that if I see my weight is in an unhealthy place and I am not moving towards a healthier weight I am eating out of stress.

What I’ve gained so far in my effort:

- I am empowered – I know I can loose weight and I know what does and doesn’t work
- I feel a big mood boost when I am successful – this morning my total loss is >16 lbs and this week is going to be back on track for a weekly loss of 1 – 2 lbs. I’m really happy about that
- I’m starting to fit better in some clothes and it won’t be long before I can get some summer shorts that are a size down from the ones that were tight last summer.
- I’m looking for ways to fit exercise in my life and because of that in my kids’ lives. I think this will keep them on a healthier path than I have been on

Conclusions & re-commitment:

I hit a plateau a few weeks ago during a period of stress. I’m happy that I didn’t gain back the weight I had lost, but I did get stuck for the better part of a month. The weather is nice and even though the workload isn’t going down I know that I can find time every day to exercise and every night I can find other things to do besides eat to de-stress. I’m on a good path and it’s a long term change I’m committed to, not just hitting a specific weight or BMI.

So proud

So, for post #2 in autism awareness month - I just want to post a picture with a brief description. Here's msk in full joy mode. Joyfully engaging in perseverative behavior - climbing on a plant stand and jumping over and over. I love the total and complete happiness that simple activities can bring him. This behavior is not in any way "recovered" from autism. As I sit and watch the over and over and over process that defines what msk does to relax and unwind, I've stopped worrying about what people think or wonder about him. I'm just watching out for him and soaking up the joy in existence.

So the instruction from @shannonrosa was to "Tweet it loud, blog it proud: I love my child with autism" and that's exactly what I'm doing.

Moving beyond awareness

April is Autism Awareness month and today, April 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day. Raising awareness is all well and good, but isn't time to set our goals a little higher?

At this point isn't everyone aware of autism? Awareness is such a vague word, with such a low criteria. If you've watched Rainman or Mercury Rising aren't you aware of autism? If you've heard something, but haven't followed court cases and you think that vaccines cause autism I guess you are aware of autism. I can't speak for more than the people I come in contact with, but I think amongst them, autism awareness is a done deal.

That's not to say outreach and communication isn't required - it's just that we need to move forward. Here's my list of goals in order of difficulty.

Understanding
Beyond rumors and feelings about autism, we need some real understanding and education. Some high points for me are:

• Basic facts need to be spread - typical traits that help others distinguish autism from "spoiled" kids would prevent many hurt feelings. Witness the whole SmockityFrocks debacle.
• The diversity of autism needs to be communicated - if you base your understanding of autism on a single individual you need to know that autistics can be all over the map: Verbal, non-verbal or limited speech; Frustrated or joyful; Social or reclusive. You get the point.
• When we talk about autism we need to make it clear that it is not a death sentence - Autistics can live long rich lives. They may need support through that lifetime, but that doesn't mean they or their parents need to be pitied.

Compassion
Along with the understanding and knowledge, how about instilling some empathy? Autistics and their caretakers may seem different than you, but they have feelings. Put yourself in their shoes for a few minutes. Try to understand a sensory overload meltdown or frustration with being unable to communicate effectively. How would you feel if you were forced into isolation because you didn't seem normal enough?

Inclusion
Once you see the humanity of people with autism it should be clear that they, like lots of "different" people will enrich society if we can make a place for them. Neurotypical kids grow through interactions with autistic kids. Strengths, for example msk's mind-blowing artwork, need to be celebrated. Providing accessibility to people with sensory sensitivities is as important as ramps for people in wheelchairs.

Civil Rights
This is the pinnacle in my mind and a point that we must reach sooner rather than later. msk needs to be seen as a member of society with all the rights that entails. Discrimination and exclusion are not just morally wrong; we need them to be recognized as illegal. The law needs to have teeth and be taken seriously. There are too many stories of pain, suffering and even death. We need to be understanding of other viewpoints, but my kid can't afford complacency in the face of injustice.