Two Little Gutt Girls: A New Chapter in the Book of Ella

When we moved to Texas, we had to have Ella reevaluated by the Early Childhood Special Ed team in our new district. Texas doesn’t provide as comprehensive of an early childhood program as Minnesota in general. The only children who can attend the district preschool need to meet certain qualifications: special ed needs (Ella’s “developmental delay” isn’t recognized in TX), non-English speakers, children of active military families. The special ed/preschool services are only offered at one of the district’s elementary schools, luckily nearby. After Ella’s initial evaluation period of a month, we were to meet with the team and go over their findings and recommendations.

We tried to keep the balance of Montessori and special ed as we had in Minnesota. Unfortunately, the preschool program was an all-day program, not morning or afternoon as it was in MN. We balanced that by having Ella attend preschool in the district on Mondays and Tuesdays and Montessori Wednesday – Friday. Not ideal, but we were trying. Our main goal was that Ella would enter Kindergarten with an IEP, we didn’t think she’d qualify to attend the preschool past her initial evaluations.

We had multiple meetings with the team over the course of a week. The first meeting was just to go over all of their testing results. It was great to be able to go so in-depth with them on their findings, learn how Ella was tested, how she did, why she scored what she did, how she answered/performed some of her tasks specifically, etc. We learned that Ella really likes being tested. I kept telling her she was so lucky to be able to play games with the teachers all by herself, what a treat! Apparently, it worked because she kept asking for more evaluations. Most children lose interest after a few and Ella specifically asked for more. So, they found more to give her, and she was happy as can be performing their tasks. We also learned that Ella is a really good guesser. Apparently our late night feeding discussions of “always choose ‘C’” paid off, she really was listening as a baby. She successfully guessed some of the answers even through the evaluator knew she was guessing and knew she didn’t know it. That left them with a quandary in their scoring. We also learned that Ella takes after her mom. Her math, number, reasoning skills are almost non-existent beyond number recognition and basic one-to-one correspondence. But, she’s in the highest reading group and is excellent with words, rhymes, and riddles.

While we were sitting down to that first evaluation meeting, Ella’s teacher popped in quickly to say that Ella is a joy to have in class and she wanted to extend an invitation for Ella to join the class full days, Monday through Friday. She then had to leave to re-join her class. This caught us off-guard. We were not expecting that.

We left that meeting with a lot of information and a new path to consider. We met again with the team a few days later to hash out what Ella’s recommended services would look like, and the Kindergarten team from her “home” elementary school was also present to discuss her transition to Kindergarten and answer any questions. Additionally, they brought in a person from the transportation department because they knew I had questions regarding Ella’s transportation presently and in Kindergarten. Also present were the assistant principal, Ella’s teacher, Ella’s special ed teacher, OT, PT, Speech and Psychologist. It was a packed house for one little girl.

We made the decision to enroll Ella in the district preschool full time, and therefore concluding her Montessori education. It was a really HARD decision. Clearly, Little Miss Highest Reading Group has thrived in the Montessori environment. But, psychologically, splitting the week was taking its toll on little Ella. She was having a difficult time maintaining friendships attending one school for two days and the other for three. She was missing out on so much at each school, it just wasn’t working well. We figured since the preschool had been able to accept Ella using their “Other Health Impairment” diagnosis and she would be able to go all day, every day and receive her services, make friends, experience the full program and learn the routines that would be similar to her Kindergarten experience, it was the best choice.

Logistically, it was going to be a lot easier on me, the chauffer of both children. We could have sent Ella on a bus to preschool, but due to the routes, she would have had to have been picked up at either 6:30 or 7:10 am. Her program’s regular drop off doesn’t start until 8. She would have been in extended care for the hour+. Then, she’d have left school on the bus at 1:30 pm, and the program ends at 2:15. Ella is not a morning person. I opted to continue driving her. Previously, on Mondays and Tuesdays, we would pile in the mom-mobile and I would drive Lily down to Cedars, approximately 17 minutes one way. Lily had to be dropped off earlier than her class’s scheduled start time to accommodate us then turning around and heading back, past our apartment and then another 10 minutes north to drop Ella off, who was dropped off later than the rest of the class at 8:45 where a teacher met her at the door. Insert any sort of traffic and we were screwed (keep in mind we pass the high school which starts at 8:45). So basically, I had to drop Lily off early so I could drop Ella off late. It wasn’t making sense and our car was a high stress atmosphere. Especially since everyone in the Austin area seems to be in NO rush to go anywhere and consistently drive 5-15 miles UNDER the speed limit. Seriously people. This is what happens when you have to drive through a retirement community to get to school.

With our new schedule, we leave the house a bit earlier, but drop Ella off between 8-8:15, where she’s met at the car door by a teacher, we then head down to Lily’s school which takes 20-30 minutes depending on the high school traffic where Lily is dropped off around 8:40 and also met by a teacher at the car door. I never have to park and walk either girl in, and an hour and ten minutes later, I arrive back home. Good thing fuel is cheaper in Texas.

Ella is loving her new routine and school schedule. Lily has adjusted well to not having Ella in class with her. Ella’s Montessori friends made an adorable book for her filled with well wishes on her new adventure. When Lily asked Ella why she doesn’t come to Cedars any more, Ella confidently replied, “Ms. Magee (Ella’s teacher) likes me so much, she wants to see me everyday!”

The choice was much easier not having the background with Cedars that we had with Garden of Hope. I know we wouldn’t have made the same choices in Minnesota, mostly because Ella had pretty much grown up with Garden of Hope. They’ve known her since she was 2.5 years old. They knew her quirks, knew how to reach her, and were partners with her special ed team. It’s different to have a child enter your program not having three prior years to bank on, not having the evaluations, reports, prior teacher access, and IEP that the Kindergarten teacher will have next year.

Granted, we’re living in one of the best districts in Texas, but I didn’t have a lot of faith in the Texas educational system when we moved here. I’m still disappointed in their lack of early childhood resources for every family. However, the treatment that we have received and the education that Ella is receiving along with her entire team is top-notch. I’m so impressed. They are on par with our Minnesota team, who was awesome. I feel really blessed that our little girl can receive such wonderful help by people who truly seem to fall in love with her. We’re pretty blessed to have a little girl who is so easy to love. Such a gentle spirit, full of smiles and giggles, a true pleasure. You know your child is a pleasure to her teachers when she receives a giant package from one of her favorite paras in Minnesota. It’s amazing how many people one little person can touch in five short years.