Frustrated and job searching

The meeting for the child sucked today! As a teacher I feel that my opinions and experiences with the child should count at least equally to that of the hoity toity school psychologist who met him twice, once to test him one-on-one and once to observe him for a whopping ten minutes. Since this child was with me last year as well , i estimate that I have over 1600 hours of contact and interactions with this child. 1600 hours! Which looks like a lot more than 2 hrs of testing and a ten minute observation.

based on the tests I gave and my daily interactions with this child, I reccommended a special education setting that was substantially separate for the 08-09 school year. I recognize that the child has strong accademic skills however his behavior interferes with his learning. In other words, he is CAPABLE of doing far more work than he actually does as a result of his intensive behavioral needs, which can include bolting and hallucinating. (Note that both of these circumstances require individual attention over a sustained period of the school day to ensure the safety of the student).

However, his academic skills were good so "the team" feels that this child will do better in an inclusive classroom. The inclusive k2s in our district have 18-20 kids with one aide and one teacher. I believe that these numbers will be too stressful for him. Currently we have only 14 kids with one teacher and one aide and there are days when those numbers are too much for him to handle. He gets nervous with lage numbers of other kids, his behavior his disruptive to their learning as well as his own, and he requires intensive individual instruction. how exactly will that happen in a classroom with only 2 adults and 20 kids?

I tried again to state my point, that his disability his behaviorally based and NOT ACADEMIC. however the other members of the meeting were only focused on his academic skills. i know that his academic skills are in the low average range for his age, but i also know that his adaptive skills and social skills and behavior are significantly below average for his age. I honestly feel that placing him in a larger setting is a disservice to the child and asked that my feeling be recorded in his file.

At this point, I was asked to leave the room and rethink my feelings! What?!?!?! Are you kidding me?!?!?! that is ridiculous since I am the child's special education teacher and i am required to be at the meeting. I wasnt yelling, but I was fighting passionately for this child and his well being. When I returned, the faciliator said "that if in fact we are making the wrong decision by placing him in a larger setting, then they will have a meeting on it" Yeah I know how that goes and what a process that is. It can take a whole year. If it is the wrong placement for the child, then all we are doing is wasting time! Education is valuable, and especially for students with disabilities, every second counts. and how can the team make the decision to take the chance? In our large district, if a child is in the wrong placement, the teacher bears the burden of proof. Gathering the evidence, scheduling the meeting, testing and retesting the child, it all can take a whole school year!

Whats more enfuriating is that I had spoken to the mother before the meeting. She agreed that he needed a smaller setting, and restated her concerns for his safety and the need for her son to work on behavior and adpative skills in the coming year. At the meeting she clammed up and did not voice the concerns she shared with me. she did say that she wanted him in a smaller setting for safety reasons and the other members of the team did not even acknowledge that she spoke. I repeated what she had said to have the other professionals repeat themselves about his academic skills

WHY is it that a decision was made without a consensus?
Why is it that my opinion was completely disregarded even though I spend the most time with him?
Why did the parent feel intimidated and back down>

I just want this child to get what he needs, and I want my district to recognize that behavior can be a disability when it interferes with learning

its not just reading, writing , and mathematics


trying to calm down...