This week, my oldest son Gavin will say goodbye to elementary school and begin a new chapter in his life as a middle-school student. When I look at him, there is great joy to see the young man he has become in spite of the struggles we encountered together at Donlon Elementary School.
The struggles we faced together had nothing to do with the school itself, the administration, the teachers, the children, or the curriculum. In fact, it was quite the opposite.
Gavin entered Kindergarten in the fall of 2004. I have fond memories of walking him to his first day of school. Donlon was under construction at the time, so we both had some uneasiness about all the noise of the power tools that reverberated just beyond the portable classrooms. I remember hugging him, walking away, and thinking, "This is it, he's on his way to growing up."
By January of 2005, we were fully aware that Gavin would be repeating Kindergarten. Socially he was well adjusted, but academically he was falling behind. I used to laugh when people told me their Kindergartners weren't "academically" ready. "What Kindergartner is?" I used to think to myself.
By June of that year, the Kindergarten teacher, Mrs. Erickson, pulled me aside and asked me to have a chat with Gavin. Apparently that day she was explaining to the children about first grade and they were not receiving the news well. They all loved their teacher and begged to stay. Meanwhile, with the biggest and brightest smile, Gavin had been letting his classmates know that he would not be joining them in first grade but would be staying behind one more year. The kids took his comments as teasing. I took his comments as a positive sign that I was raising a confident and happy little boy.
By the middle of his second year of Kindergarten, Gavin began showing signs of depression. He was continuing to struggle academically. He had trouble remembering where things went, the names of his classmates, and the site words the second time around were more confusing than the first.
"Gavin, this is your second year of Kindergarten. You should know the word 'the' by now," his Kindergarten teachers would tell him.
Gavin began coming home saying he was stupid. He'd lock himself in his room after school and sometimes not come out until dinner.
I begged the teachers to help us but was told that there was very little academic intervention that could be done at the Kindergarten level. I never blamed the teachers but I questioned the policies in place that would allow my son to continue to fall behind. I was told told there was nothing that could be done until he was two grade levels behind.
Gavin completed his second round at Kindergarten, but just barely.
First grade came around and I was immediately in touch with his teacher, Jessica Posson. She knew Gavin from previous years and assured me she'd keep an eye on him. Within three months, Jessica began to see the struggles Gavin was having, which centered mainly around reading.
Next to myself, Jessica became Gavin's biggest advocate in his school career thus far. Although first graders were rarely eligible for academic intervention, Gavin technically was on his third year of schooling and thus qualified as being two years behind. Jessica initially placed him with the reading specialist and eventually recommended him for the Barton Reading program.
Gavin began the Barton program shortly before his first grade year ended but not in time to make a significant difference his reading abilities. We attended our first IEP (Individualized Education Program) that spring where it was recommended that Gavin repeat first grade.
I gently pointed out that at this point Gavin would be a senior in high school at age 18 and turning 19-years-old by graduation. I voiced my concern about my son attending high school at 19-years old with children as young as 13 or 14 years old.
Gavin received clearance to continue onto second grade under the care of Barton tutors and Resource Specialist Carol Ker, another amazing woman who has fought tooth and nail to provide Gavin the tools to be successful.
It was Barton tutor Nancy Hecht who first noticed in second grade that Gavin seemed inattentive, distracted, and lacked focus. Under the recommendation of Ker and Barton's facilitator, Christina Clark, that Gavin was assessed for Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADD.
The results came back — Gavin had moderate ADD and we were advised to speak to our pediatrician. We did that, and were referred to child behavioralist. After a few assessments, Gavin was diagnosed with Dyslexia and moderate ADD.
Once we were able to understand Gavin's struggles and find the proper treatment for him, Gavin's life completely changed.
In second grade, Gavin scored Below Basic on his language arts portion of state mandated STAR testing. By third grade, Gavin scored just two points shy of Above Average in the same subject.
Gavin has since become a funny, sweet, happy, and confident child. For nearly three years, Gavin considered himself stupid, but now he's got more ego than he knows what to do with.
If it weren't for the amazing women who fought for the academic interventions, who patiently worked with his learning disability, and who took the time to notice his unique struggles, Gavin would have become a "child left behind."
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