Every Student Matters, Even IDL Students

The recent cuts by the Province of BC to funding for independent home-based learning will leave many families and IDL schools scrambling. Barbara's son attended an IDL and we asked her to tell us why. This is her story (name changed for privacy).

When Barbara put her little boy in Kindergarten at their local school she was excited and proud, like any parent. But by mid-year he was throwing desks and raging and the school recommended assessment. The diagnosis was Oppositional Defiant Disorder and he was removed from school. In Grade 1, her son was placed in a behaviour modification program, which was disastrous. The class was rewarded for certain behaviours, none of which the boy was capable of. Barbara recalls how each week the whole class would be taken out for ice cream, but her son was not once able to go. Barbara eventually pulled him out.

In Grade 2 her son was placed in a different program which seemed to be working, but during this year he had a diagnosis of autism. Upon hearing this, the principal told Barbara her son could not stay. "She booted him back to our neighbourhood school with no transition meetings or consultation to discuss what worked, what didn't, between any of the teachers," Barbara recalls.

Barbara's son started Grade 3 in the local school. "At that school the fit with his Educational Assistant (EA) was very poor - she basically didn't like him," Barbara notes. And the teacher was very strict. He was removed from the class many times. His time there lasted only 3 weeks. They had put him on 'limited attendance' where he was only allowed to be at the school until recess.

Barbara found a new school for the end of Grade 3 and Grade 4. He did well there and his parents were encouraged. The school had a 'sensory room' where he could go when he was feeling overloaded. And there was a good principal who understood the little boy was doing his best. The boy started to make progress.

But Grade 5 there was a new principal and things started to deteriorate once again. "The new principal thought he was being manipulative because of his facial expressions," Barbara explains. (Note, the boy also has Tourette's). So the principal pulled the boy out of mainstream class and put him in a remedial class. In this placement he did not have an EA and access to the sensory room was limited. It was also conditional on his behaviour. "You never tell a kid who is disregulated that they can do their regulating activity after they sit down and do some math," Barbara scowls.

Her son started refusing to go to school. Barbara put together a team that included a pediatrician, a nurse coordinator, and their private Occupational Therapist and met with the school. After all their suggestions the principal bluntly refused to make any changes.

A new school was found for the boy in Grade 6. This was now his 6th public school. "That school was brutal," Barbara remembers. "The staff was very intolerant. Teachers advocated that he not be allowed to attend assemblies. In French class his instructor refused to include him in activities, and share with him the class material. Our private OT would visit with the school and make recommendations that were ignored and eventually he was told to not return."

Enough was enough. For Grade 7 Barbara decided to homeschool. "When I asked his Grade 6 teachers to give me an idea of what grade curriculum he had completed, they had no idea."

Barbara chose an IDL suggested by a friend who was also the mom of an autistic child. Her son started the year working on Grade 3 curriculum. "By the end of the year, he was doing Grade 7 work," Barbara says proudly. "He was perfectly capable of doing age-appropriate school work."

IDL schools offer a blended program. Some of her son's learning was done at home, and some was done in person at weekly community classes. Six years later, her son graduated with his peers.

"The lack of flexibility in public school is what forced us out," Barbara states. "The Distributed Learning School worked because the teachers were not only flexible and accommodating, they were committed to teaching him, and invested in his success. It was so refreshing to feel my kid was a priority to someone other than me!"

Barbara has two younger children, both on the autism spectrum. She currently has them attending Kindergarten and Grade 1 in a Distributed Learning School. "I regretted not doing this sooner for my older boy," Barbara says a little sadly. "I'm not going to make the same mistake with these two."

When asked what she thought of the possibility of having to pay tuition, Barbara pointed out that in order to have her little ones in IDL, either she or her husband need to be home. The result is a reduced income. "I'm not sure how it can be expected that a family home schooling neuro-diverse children could possibly pay tuition," Barbara says.

While currently parents don’t pay tuition for most IDL schools, they pay out-of-pocket for many things, including community classes, textbooks and sports and music lessons that are needed to meet curriculum requirements. The cuts mean IDL students will be funded at about 34 per cent of the amount for students in bricks-and-mortar schools. Approximately 11,00 students are currently enrolled in BC IDL schools.

There is currently a petition - Restore or increase funding to Independent Distributed Learning Schools in BC. You can find that petition here:

https://www.change.org/p/bc-education-ministers-restore-or-increase-funding-to-independant-distributed-learning-schools-in-bc