ESY...OH MY!!!

Well my friends, I have been absent for quite some time.  Between state VAAP assessments, a cluster of IEP meetings, a new student, and applying to Grad School, I haven’t had time to pee, much less, time to post.  However, I’M BACK, and I want to know what you do for your student’s over the summer months?  How do you judge if your student should receive Extended School Year Services?  The criteria I generally use to determine if a student requires ESY services, is as follows: Does the student usually present with a pattern of regression after past breaks? This can be in areas of communication, functional life skills, pre academic and academic skills, social/emotional development or behavior.  In my school division, the decision to add ESY is data driven, and therefore it is a lot of work to collect the data, then prepare lesson plans for the summer, and then gather all of the materials for the ESY teacher.  I must confess, it can be a deterrent, and I have only included ESY services for a handful of my students.  Not because I don’t believe in it!  In fact, each year, I find myself wishing I could add ESY to each of my students’ IEP’s.  But ESY often looks like one on one instruction.  Where are their peers?  Where is the socialization?  Our children need a small group setting like their regular classroom environment with their peers.  General Ed kids, who do not demonstrate significant growth throughout the year, attend Summer School.  They don’t get one to one tutoring services!  In my head, my student’s ESY services should resemble instruction in their regular classroom environment with their peers.  It should look like summer school! 

I guess what I’m promoting sounds a lot like year round programming for my students.  But I feel that student’s with Autism and Intellectual Disabilities need intensive programming that is consistent and structured YEAR ROUND.  We as their teachers, work all year long implementing behavior plans, breaking ground on new functional and academic skills only to have our students start from scratch in September.  Now, more often than not, we are able to get our kiddos back on track within a month or so.  However, that then puts us “a month or so” behind schedule, because we have to reteach skills that have lay dormant for 2 months. 

So, because I have not opened my own school, and because I am not in the position to make significant change, (YET), I send home summer packets for my students.  These packets are tailored to the student’s individual needs.  I often include activities that parents can do with their child, and ways they can support behavior plans over the summer break.  The incredible related service providers I work with, usually do the same.   

So my next question is specifically for any parents out there who may be reading.  What could your child’s teacher or school division do to better support summer learning? Do or would you prefer your child to have one to one ESY services or small group services?