The Case of Parnell

1. I connected my understandings of DI (Differential Instruction) that we learned in class/readings to "Parnell's" idea that if nobody is able to provide him with all of the one-on-one help he needs, possibly he could work with a phonic/letter work computer program/video that may additionally assist his learning progress.

2. Parnell shows signs of MID, likely partially caused by Parnells cultural Barriers.  Having moved to Canada just 3 months ago, though it is not stated, English might not be his first language and further would likely have caused adapative life and social skills.

3. Students who are 2  or more years behind are now considered for in IEP.  With Parnell being 3 years behind his grade level, the possibility of a learning disability is a possibility.  Further, 80% of students with learning disabilities have difficulties with reading, potentially increasing the likely hood of Parnell having an LD.

4. - I linked some of the characteristics of learning disability we learned about in session 5 (confusion, easily getting off task, low self-esteem, inability to read English, inability to pay attention, etc.) to the possibility these characteristics may be due to cultural/language barriers as the student is new to Canada

5. - I connected my idea stated previous (Parnell may be showing characteristics of a learning disability due to cultural factors) to the research provided in Chapter two of Bennett et. Al (pg. 24) which discusses the fact that Children in minority groups are often overrepresented as students with learning disabilities, often influenced by language and cultural barriers, making it hard to decipher whether the student actually has a learning disability. This research is made apparent in the case study, as it discusses the situation of the Senior public school attached to Parnell’s which got investigated for doing so.

6. Summary:          Parnell lags behind his peers in achievement by 3 grades and has the inability to read. He ame to Canada 3 months ago and is placed in a grade 5-6 split class. The teacher reports that Parnell has “Learning disability-like characteristics”, frequently goes off-task, rarely follows instructions in proper sequence, seems to be easily confused, and loses his personal property and the school’s. There was a preliminary assessment: Parnell cannot read. Part-time assistant states that she is able to instruct Parnell 1 on 1 in skills such as phonics and letter/word recognition. Special reading program is not viable because it was deleted due to budget cuts. Primary program is overextended and depends on volunteers. The classroom teacher and the school’s learning resource teacher agree that an IEP is needed to be developed, but they are discussing whether he should be referred to an IPRC. There is also an accusation of the school being too obsessive with media attention after an advocacy group accused it of the over identification of children of colour like Parnell. In addition, a subsequent investigation agreed that such students identified as having special needs is indeed significantly disproportionate to the number in the general school population.

7. Student (Skyla)

8. Parnell uses the excuse that his learning deficiency is caused by his lack of presence in class at his previous school.  This appears to be a lack of intrinsic motivation, which again could be caused by MID.  To mitigate this, some motivating strategies should be used to increase his engagement.  Such strategies to include, visual boards and graphs to view his progress, promote hands on learning rather than pen and paper and scaffolding phonetic skills.

8.1. Point 3

9. Teacher's Perspective

10. Parnell

11. Parent’s all too often do not manage a child’s case; they neglect to deal with the school, the education system, and support agencies (confronting them if necessary), either by choice or because they lack the sophistication”. (Bennett, Dworet & Weber, 2013, pg. 24-25)

12. According to the Special Education in Ontario Schools text (Bennett, Dworet & Weber, 2013), “It is not unusual for children from lower-income families or from recently arrived immigrant families to have difficulties simply because they are confused by the demands of the school culture. Sometimes a family’s lack of precedent for educational experience, as well as lack of support for it, can have a serious effect on a student’s performance.

13. Parnell is at least three grades behind in his class and has the inability to read. This is possibly due to the fact that before Parnell and his family moved to Canada, he did not attend school often.

14. I have assigned Parnell strictly to one teacher who will shoulder the responsibility for coordinating Parnell’s IEP. As the principal, I need to ensure IEPs are completed within 30 school days of a student’s placement in a special education program. However, once again this is quite difficult because as of right now, the special reading program is not viable due to budget cuts.

14.1. As the school’s principal, I am expected to coordinate and oversee the work of the special education team, the classroom teacher, the teacher-adviser and support staff, in developing, monitoring, and reviewing each student’s IEP. As the principal I also facilitate collaborative planning and evaluations.

15. Parents

16. Principal (Ryan)

16.1. I cannot ensure the recommendations of the Identification Placement Review Committee (IPRC) regarding special education programs and services, such as Social Worker or Child Psychologist to work with our students without allocating fundings or an improved budget. However, I do need to make sure that all school personnel associated with Parnell, understand their responsibilities regarding the implementation of the IEP and that Parnell’s learning expectations are evaluated and updated at least once every reporting period.

16.2. Parnell is showing symptoms of inattention. According to the teacher he has learning disability-like characteristics, frequently goes off-task, rarely follows instructions in proper sequence, seems to be easily confused, and loses his personal property and the school’s

16.2.1. I need to ensure that the IEP is stored in the Ontario Student Record, unless Parnell’s parent(s) objects in writing. I will also inform Parnell’s parent(s) that the IEP is a working document and can be adjusted on an ongoing basis. If consent from Parnell’s parent(s) is received, I will secure funding for an EA (educational assistant) if needed.