On her blog, Tara Staley wrote a
thank-you note to the people at Cash Elementary School. With her permission, we
are posting it here:
The Staley family |
“During
his years in the Pre-K curriculum, William also had itinerant teachers who came
to our house to work privately with him on his educational goals. In the
meantime, I pursued ABA therapy, medical intervention, and worked with
William on his goals when he was not in school.
“By
the time he reached first grade, the teachers in the EC classroom realized he
was a very bright little boy and had the confidence to refer him into the
general curriculum. We can’t say that the road has always been smooth and easy
since William was mainstreamed at seven years old, but those years saw the
greatest gain in his intellectual and social development. Thanks to a Behavior
Improvement Plan, speech therapy and private occupational therapy sessions,
William began interacting with his peers and making good grades. He made his
first friends in third grade, in Mrs. Lee’s class.
“Then…the
little boy who couldn’t say ‘Yes’ at three years old made a 99 on his first
math EOG.
“Further psychological evaluations in 2010 showed that William’s IQ had risen by two full standard deviations, finally placing him in the ‘normal’ cognitive range. Cognitive tests in early 2014 showed that his IQ has risen an additional 10 points, with him scoring as high as 123 in non-verbal reasoning, and 118 in writing and 116 in spelling.
“By
his fourth grade year in Mrs. Smith’s class, William made Honor Roll 3 out of 4
quarters. This year, in fifth grade, he won the school’s Science Fair and
competed at the district level in January.
“We
cannot say enough to thank the teachers at Cash who have helped William
overcome the most challenging parts of his disability, who have brought out the
best in him. We also want to say a special thank you to Ms. Kasey Northrop,
principal, whose inclusion-minded policies for students like William have given
him the opportunity to ‘graduate not only from Cash this year, but from the
Winston-Salem/Forsyth County school system in years to come with a regular
diploma that will help him pursue his dreams in science.
“To
all his teachers and therapists, THANK YOU very much for putting so much of
your time, energy and resources into our son. We as his parents — and his
future teachers — still have much work to do, but he has
come so far because you believed in him. Thanks for giving us hope
and him a
future.”
You will find Staley’s
blog at Tara Staley
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