ARD!

I DID IT! I DID IT! I DID IT!

I got through an ARD by myself without crying!!

GO ME! GO ME!

Okay, that's my part. Girl's got a plan in place, her grade in Social Studies is up because she's a computer whiz, the spec. ed. coordinator is ace.

All good.

AWESOME!

And the Day Just...

...something.
I locked myself out of the house. I let myself back in through a window 9 feet off the ground.

All I'm saying is: my upper body strength is goooood.

QUIT COMICS: The Comic Con International Guest List

Lisa Jonte' informs me by phone that the CCI 2006 guest list, according to their own printed update she received today, spans from Peter S. Beagle to Scott Williams, with nary a woman to be found.

There's a reason I put CCI Updates straight into the round file: life's too short to let something the length of a Chick Tract piss me off.

More on Today's ARD, a List

Ala' czarina69:

* ARD sands for Academic Review and Dismissal.
* An ARD, in this case, is about coming up with an IEP (Individual Education Program) for a kid in need.
* An IEP is guaranteed as part of FAPE (Free and Appropriate Public Education).

* Always wear your go-to-meetin' clothes. Nice slacks, best shoes, jacket.
* If you've out-dressed the other adults at the ARD because they chose to dress for "Western Day"--SCORE.
* Dressed-up parents who don't normally are Scary and to be Respected.
* This is a good reason to usually present in jeans and Converse sneakers.
* A binder with papers in it, especially the papers the school sent you, is Good.
* Your own list of IEP goals to share with everyone is Good.
* Your own list of What You Want is good starting from your child's birth and going on is Good.
* Training in your child's educational rights is time well-spent.
* Taking notes that include what time the various ARD team members showed up, what was said about your kid, are useful.
* For example: Vice Principal showed up at 9:47, 17 minutes late.
* I will never agree with any principal that behaviors linked to my daughter's ADHD (such as her getting drowsy from stress) are a discipline problem, and that D-Hall will help. Especially if she's 17 minutes late, with no excuse.
* The Vice Principal never did get a chance to answer the question, "Okay, if Summer's drowsiness really DOES affect the rest of class so much, and D-Hall is your preferred way of dealing with it, tell me how sending her to D-Hall benefits the other twenty-nine kids."
* Dear Ms. Principal of the Vice Kind: I don't care if it was Western Day, your pants were too tight.
* P.S.: I bet you really like the label name of your too-tight jeans: "Cruel Girl." I bet you thought it was clever.
* You cannot tell me in one hour that Girl's drowsiness so affects the rest of the class that she must go to D-Hall, and in the next hour, excuse the verbally abusive behavior of boys in P.E. because the teacher to student ratio is 1:50, and that the locker room is a "brutal place."
* Chickens don't fly, and neither does that shit.
* I'm really excited to spend money on an uninsured doctor's visit so you have the opinion of a stranger who will see Girl once, versus the person who gave birth to her and lives with her, that her ADHD causes stress in a classroom setting, which leads to fatique, which leads the completely useless D-Hall.
* Don't think I missed your tone of voice when you said, "I'm sure you have." in response to me saying I have been butting heads with principals over punishing Girl for behavior related to ADHD since she was in kinder.
* And don't offer an alternative to D-Hall, but say it'll lead to an investigation.
* I am not afraid of threats of an investigation, ma'am. Don't you even. Not when you're late, rude, and your pants are too tight.
* I really hope the VP, at some point after the ARD, found one of the other attendees, biffed them on the back of the head, and said, "You told me she was a crier!"
* Last, but not least, if the spouse cannot make it, sign nothing. This shows you and the absent spouse are a team, and discourages the school team from sneaking through parts you don't agree with, things you're not clear on. There is nothing to fear from re-convening an ARD.
* P.S.: Dear School People, I show up for ARDs because they are for showing up to. That doesn't mean I don't work. It means I can leave work to get there. Tact is your friend.