http://www.leavemychildbehind.com/blog Sometimes testing is a fallacy Mon, 28 Jul 2008 01:45:52 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en This past Thursday my daughter and I, along with her nanny, met with three members of the Commonwealth of Massachussets' House of Representatives. In the order of the picture, Representative Barbara L'Italien, Representative Tom Sannicandro, Representative and Majority Leader John Rogers. It was a great meeting and they are interested ... http://www.leavemychildbehind.com/blog/?p=53 At this point, we have exhausted all of our options in the educational community. I have asked, in the following order, for my daughter to be excused from the NCLB testing: her teacher the IEP team the school headmaster the school district administration the MA Department of Education the Commissioner of Education No one has stepped up ... http://www.leavemychildbehind.com/blog/?p=52 The Commissioner of Education has responded to my request to have my daughter excused from the MCAS. Basically he says he cannot do it. He also responds to one of my points but not the others. No one has yet to explain why my daughter needs to have a concept ... http://www.leavemychildbehind.com/blog/?p=51 I just received this letter from the Commissioner. He tells me that the law does not allow him to exempt my daughter and he responds to the issue of self-evaluation. It is interesting he does not respond to other issues, just those where I am in error. I have removed ... http://www.leavemychildbehind.com/blog/?p=50 Commissioner Chester: I want to thank you for your time on the phone today. I believe the exchange of information between us was a good one and will bear fruit with regards to the MCAS and the severely disabled. We appear to agree fully on what the alternate assessment should be. At ... http://www.leavemychildbehind.com/blog/?p=49 I received a call from the secretary (?) for the Commissioner of Education for the Commonwealth. We will have a phone call next Wednesday morning. Hopefully some progress. On another note, there is a new web site, just starting, worth checking out (you will see why). Check it out here. http://www.leavemychildbehind.com/blog/?p=48 First the less: no response from Nancy Hanson of the Mass. DOE. What a surprise. Now the more: I have spoken with a wonderful woman in the Florida Department of Education she is helping me research the basis of the Florida law that allows an IEP team to exempt a student ... http://www.leavemychildbehind.com/blog/?p=47 Bianca de la Garza, Anchorwoman WCVB-TV Candace McCann, Assistant Superintendent, Brookline School District Dear Ms. de la Garza and Ms. McCann: Together we represent the media, my daughter's school district, and my daughter's family. I am writing to you concerning the misinformation that the Massachusetts Department of Education is disseminating regarding my daughter ... http://www.leavemychildbehind.com/blog/?p=46 From today's outbox of mine: Thank you for your response. "I am writing in response to your June 18 e-mail. You have indicated that your daughter has never received instruction in the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks (i.e., English language arts, mathematics, or science and technology/engineering). This is of some concern, since federal education ... http://www.leavemychildbehind.com/blog/?p=45 A supporter of mine asked why I reacted so strongly. Here was my email to her: The thing is that I have tried so hard for communication from my daughter for years. All I ask and pray for is simple binary communication, some yes or no response, with that we have ... http://www.leavemychildbehind.com/blog/?p=44