Case Study Assignment Grandma’s Boy

1. Case Study AssignmentGrandma’s Boy AleatraNading and Nina Halverson

2. Summary Helen Jamison is first year, second grade teacher at C.E Connors Elementary School Her classroom strategies and practices go smoothly expect for the disturbance of one child named Justin Richardson who transferred from a different school in the county Justin did not complete any assignments and was constantly daydreaming Ms. Jamison scheduled a meeting with Justin’s father (the grandma showed up as well) to develop a home-school behavior management program The meeting did not go well; the dad, Justin and grandmother, Ann did not want to participate in the program Ann tells Ms. Jamison that Justin wants to see his parents back together but Ann bad mouths the mother during the meeting and blames his mother for his behavior Justin’s dad is quiet during the meeting and Ann does most of the talking

3. Summary Cont. Justin’s grandmother beats him at home to “put sense in him” Ms. Jamison tells Justin’s dad and grandmother that they all need to work together to help Justin Ms. Jamison tells his grandma and father that he does not respond to praise or criticism, rewards or punishments and has failed every section of the unit test in reading Ms. Jamison called Justin’s first grade teacher, Judy, and she informed her that Justin’s mom is no longer in the picture Judy recommended that Justin have testing done but his father refused (Judy was convinced that is was grandma who blocked the testing) Ms. Jamison uses Judy’s strategy and got help from the school physcologist Ms. Jamison concluded that Justin has emotional problems and maybe a learning disability and she cannot do it alone

4. Teacher Perspective Reading the case, we felt frustrated for Justin and Ms. Jamison. Justin obviously needed support from the school since he was not receiving it at home. We agreed with Ms. Jamison that Justin needed to be evaluated and have an IEP put in place. We feel that Ms. Jamison should try to just meet with the father and social worker without Ann being involved. There needed to be more communication between the support staff, teachers, and family.

5. Child’s Parents/Caregivers Perspective Justin’s father did not voice his opinion but instead followed Ann’s parenting advice Ann was over bearing and had the final say in Justin’s life Justin’s mother had no involvement in his life and moved away Ann feels the best way to discipline Justin is to use corporal punishment Ann has hatred towards her ex-daughter-in-law and does not want Justin to think about her

6. School Administration Perspective The school did not know anything about Justin and his history Ms. Jamison wanted an evaluation done on Justin but the administration declined saying that the family would not allow it The administration recommended working with the school psychologist Ron Saunders Ms. Jamison, Ron, and the principal planned another meeting with the child study committee

7. Justin’s Perspective Justin was very emotionally unbalanced due to his home life. He was struggling to accept his parents’ divorce and his grandma living with him. Justin felt that he did not have any positive adult role model that he could trust. Even though Justin pushed people away he wanted a relationship. Justin became frustrated while doing school work because he did not understand the information and he did not have a role model to help him at home.

8. Working with Family • Due to the fact that Ms. Jamison did not get the support she needed from Justin’s father we would try to social services to see if we can have the mother involved • Justin’s family is not supportive, however we feel it is important to be persistent and develop a plan for Justin • We would try to schedule a home visit with Justin and his family (with school psychologist) • Even if we are not getting the response we want from his family, it is important to remain calm and positive • We want to work with Justin’s family sooner than later so the problem does not become worse

9. Working with Outside Resources • As a mandatory reporter we will contact social services because the grandmother told Ms. Jamison that she beats her grandson • We think an IEP should be enforced and evaluation • The issue is that Justin’s father does not agree to this • Communication with the Special Education program at school • Work together with the school physiologist to help create a behavior management plan

10. Working with School Administration We will need to communicate with the administration and keep them updated on Justin’s behavior and our plan Administration needs to be aware of the situation at hand Collaboration with school staff and administration is important to make sure that expectations and consequences are the same throughout the school We will communicate to administration that we will seek social services and keep them up to date on his plan with the family

11. Instructional/Lesson Planning Justin will be allowed exceptions in his work We will remain patient at all times and keep calm with Justin and his struggles We will have a chart for Justin so that he is completing his work We will differentiate our instruction to meet his specific struggles and make sure he gets extra help If an aide is necessary and available we will accommodate one for Justin We will make sure our instructions are clear enough for Justin to understand

12. Management Planning • Since Justin is new to the school we will try to obtain as much background information as possible • Contact previous teachers, administration, and case workers • Although previous information is helpful we will not label Justin based on that information. We will give Justin an equal chance in the classroom. • Have clear expectations of all students and a common set of rules • Rules will be specific so that students will know what is expected of them and know the consequences if they break a rule

13. Relationship Building • Justin and Ms. Jamison need to develop a trusting relationship. Justin needs to learn how to get along with his peers and other staff in the building. • There needs to be a positive relationship between the teacher and family. They need to work together to support Justin. • Communication is important in building strong relationships, between staff, the teacher, family and Justin • The students and staff need to be patient with Justin. The teacher can remind students to be work well together and be patient together. • The more the other students get to know Justin, the more he will open up and build relationships

14. Justin’s Interest Inventory • We will have Justin fill this inventory out in school • Student interest surey.doc • We will have Justin and his family fill this inventory out at home • http://schools.webster.k12.mo.us/education/page/download.php?fileinfo=SU5URVJFU1RTVVJWRVktWW91bmdlckdyYWRlcy5wZGY6Ojovd3d3L3NjaG9vbHMvc2MvcmVtb3RlL2ltYWdlcy9kb2NtZ3IvMTg2N2ZpbGU5NTMzLnBkZg==&sectiondetailid=40478

15. Interest Inventory • Individual Inventory: • Justin will fill this inventory out by himself. It will help us get to know him better and his likes/dislikes. This is one way we can make connections to Justin. This will also help us create lessons geared towards his interests. • Family Inventory: • Justin and his family will fill this out together so his family can be involved in the process. They can tell us about Justin from their point of view. This inventory also gives us background information about the family and their interests.

16. Assignment Chart

17. Assignment Chart This assignment chart will be useful to keep Justin on track. He will write the assignment down and then he will get a sticker for completing the assignment. If he gets 80% of his assignments done, he will get a reward. This is asking a lot out of Justin because he did not complete any assignments before this is implemented. This is a good visual incentive for Justin. His family can also be involved by looking at his assignments and seeing if he got a sticker or not. They can also keep track of what he is getting done at home. The school psychologist will also use a similar chart for things that he is working on such as behavior. It is helpful for Justin that the charts are the same so he knows what is expected from him.