Bear's at it again

The cherry on the top of my no good, horrible day:

This is the e-mail I'm sending to Bear's schools today:

As you may or may not know, I got a call from the [regular] high school today saying Bear was missing. Apparently he did not agree with the ARD (IEP team meeting) team’s decision to enroll him in the Reading 180 class (he had left the ARD early to finish a test so hadn’t been part of that decision I think). Bear apparently went to complain to the counselor and then never made it back to class. [The staff searched everywhere for him]. Luckily, he did manage to make it onto the bus home.

Bear has told me that [the principal of the special school, Mr. C]. says, he “passed the TAKS [state standardized testing] ELA [English/Language Arts] test and therefore doesn’t need this class.” (I’m sure this is not an accurate quote on Bear’s part and
that he is incorrect when he also stated that Mr. C thinks he should be out of the class). FYI, Bear did NOT pass the TAKS test, although it was a close thing. We did determine that the primary issue causing him to fail was the writing, not the reading, but that wasn’t an option for a class and reading is.

I still think this is a good choice for Bear, and he could really use the extra help. By the way, he is threatening to never go to the reading class. I’m sure y’all will reinforce with Bear that skipping class is not a valid solution, and that there will be consequences for his actions today and if it happens again. I sincerely hope we can help Bear understand that this class is beneficial for him, even though he does not “need the credit.”

If you guys at [the regular high school] could pass on a message please, I really want to thank John with [the school's behavior program] for letting me know that Bear was missing, as this has been a big issue in the past and I know it’s hard for you guys. And I also want to thank Cynthia with the AP[Assistant Principal]’s office for going out and making sure that Bear got on his bus and calling me back to let me know he did. Last time he missed his bus the school had already closed for the day by the time we’d realized he was missing, and it saved me a lot of worry and driving to know where he was.

I really appreciate you guys keeping me posted! Thanks again,

Mary Themom (cell ###-####)
" Life isn't about how to
survive the storm, but how to dance in the rain."

There will be no consequences for this at home since this was a "school thing," but of course it doesn't make me feel all warm and trusting inside either.