Group+3



Type in the Group 3 Jaede, Kelly, Michael and Lynn
 * Jaede,Michael, || Kelly || and Lynn ||

//PART 1// A young girl named Sandra and her family have recently moved to the United States from Brazil. Although Sandra’s native language is Portuguese, her family speaks English and seems to know a lot about the American culture. She had to leave her best friend, the house she grew up in, and her extended family behind. Sandra’s parents enrolled her in the seventh grade at the neighborhood middle school where she immediately started to transition into the American lifestyle. She has always been a successful student in South America, but her present teacher has noticed a decline in her work since she entered her class. Sandra seems nervous in class and has shown little effort or interest in her school work. Her teacher has noticed that Sandra seems to seclude herself from the rest of the class and has made little effort to make new friends, even when other students approached her.

Sandra’s parents have opened a little bakery in town. The bakery is always very busy and Sandra’s parents work a lot of hours in hopes of making it successful. Sandra works at the bakery everyday after school. She helps by cleaning the tables and sweeping the floors. Besides getting to see her mom and dad, her favorite part of going to the bakery after school is that she always gets to choose her favorite pastry to eat with a nice glass of cold milk. Sandra's parents love having her help them during the busy after school hours. They have not asked Sandra to help behind the counter because it seems that she is uncomfortable doing this job.

After her jobs are finished, she is allowed to work on her homework while she waits for her parents to finish in the bakery and close the shop. There have been times when Sandra would like to talk with her parents about her school day, but it just seems so hard to get them to listen after they have been working all day. They sometimes don’t get home from the bakery until 8:30 at night. The teacher would like to talk with Sandra’s parents, but it seems that because they don’t have any extra help at the bakery, it is too hard for them to get away. Not only would the teacher like to talk to Sandra's parents about Sandra's work in school, she would like to learn more about the Portuguese culture. [] Questions **Facilitator Notes:**This case presents a very typical situation for a classroom teacher. Candidates should be guided through the brainstorming process. Candidates should address both academic issues and the social concerns throughout the case study.
 * 1) What are some possible reasons why Sandra’s school work has been declining?
 * 2) What are some things that Sandra’s teacher could do to help Sandra make friends and improve her school work?
 * 3) How can the teacher help the parents to become more involved in Sandra's academic life?

//PART 2// Sandra's teacher has been trying to meet with her parents to discuss Sandra academic progress since she arrived in America. The bakery has a very busy schedule so Ms. Jackson decides to visit her parents at the shop before it closes. Ms. Jackson has brought Sandra's class portfolio to demonstrate her progress. Ms. Jackson met Mr. and Ms. Vasquez at the bakery. Once the bakery was closed, the conference began. Ms. Jackson learned that Sandra was a social butterfly in Brazil and that she had several friends. It was also confirmed that she had very good grades and never had any difficulties learning. Mr. and Ms. Vasquez found it hard to believe that Sandra was not succeeding and wanted to know why her grades were slipping.

Ms. Jackson began to go through Sandra's portfolio. Immediately Mr. and Ms. Vasquez stated that this was not Sandra's handwriting. Ms. Jackson admitted it did not match the work she brought with her from her homeland and thought it was something wrong with the samples. Ms. Jackson suggested Sandra sit in a different place in the classroom and maybe her handwriting would improve due to better access to the blackboard and better light to help her see.

Sandra entered the lobby of the bakery and became worried because her teacher had invaded her personal time and space. Mr. and Ms. Vasquez noticed the change in Sandra and asked her to join her conversation. They asked her if she understood the assignments that were given in class. Sandra responded that of course she understands but she is having a hard time seeing the board. She also stated she likes her class, and the students but, she feels like she does not have anything in common with her peers. Ms Jackson also asked Sandra if she was sitting too far away from the board and would prefer a seat in middle of the class or the front of the class. Sandra said she would try a seat in the middle of the class and if she still could not see she would try a seat in the front. She said in South America she always sat in the back of the classroom with her friends and had no problem seeing and that recently her eyes started to bother her.

Questions 1. Will including some of Sandra's culture improve the morale in her class? 2. Will assigning new seats in the class improve Sandra's grades? 3. Does Sandra's job at her parents' bakery seem to have an impact on her declining academic performance?


 * Facilitator Notes:** Ms. Jackson needs to consider new instruction strategies for teaching Sandra at the first sign of Sandra's academic struggles. Ms. Jackson can consider doing a short lesson with her students on time management and balancing school with jobs, extracurricular activities, and other outside activities.

PART 3 Because of the obvious decline in Sandra's work and her recent complaints about her eyes, Sandra's parents take her to get a full medical exam. After the eye exam, the doctor discovered that Sandra has developed a condition called Trachoma, which could be the cause of her academic problems and can lead to blindness ( [|http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/**trachoma**/DS00776] ).

Sandra's parents called Ms. Jackson the next day to tell her the results of Sandra's eye exam. The Trachoma in both of Sandra's eyes has caused permanent scarring and Sandra's vision will never return to the good vision she had before. Because Sandra's condition is causing academic problems, Ms. Jackson calls a meeting to discuss ways to help Sandra. In attendance were the vice principal, Sandra's parents, and Ms. Jackson. They discussed how this eye condition can become chronic and what kinds of things they could do to help rekindle Sandra's academic success.

As part of Sandra's accommodations, Ms. Jackson agreed to have Sandra sit in the front of the classroom where she can see and hear the teacher better than when sitting in the back of the room. Ms. Jackson has accommodated special lighting and purchased text books on tape for Sandra to use in the classroom. She also began to research ways to teach Braille and incorporate the notes and activities for Sandra. Sandra is also using her lap top to take notes in the class when she is not able to use a student to create notes for her. Her notes are then converted into Braille so she can practice. For testing, Ms. Jackson is to administer all tests verbally to Sandra in order to ensure that she can comprehend all of the questions presented to her. Assistive technologies that Sandra can use to help her with class work are: keyboarding skills, Braille access devices, visual assistive software and devices. Sandra’s classroom instruction should include teaching maintenance and troubleshooting of these devices. Ms. Jackson also recommends that Sandra inform the class on what is happening to her and what kinds of problems she is having with her vision. [|http://www.bsu.edu/dsd/article/0,,14806--,00.html].

Ms. Jackson also suggested that Sandra's parents should research ways to accommodate Sandra at home. []. In order to help Sandra begin to think about becoming independent, confident and strong outside the classroom, an expanded core curriculum of training will be given to transition from school to adulthood. She will learn skills that will help her use her senses and adaptive capabilities to live away from home, cook, ride the bus, get around in her community, go to college, find a place to live, and help her with social skills to meet new people and make friendships.

Ms. Jackson and Sandra's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Vasquez, are promoting self efficacy. They are showing Sandra that she is still able to do the things she wants in life. Ms. Jackson has pointed out the many scholarships and programs available for Sandra to participate in to help her further her education. Mr. and Mrs. Vasquez’s real hope is that Sandra will succeed at something she wants to do, whether it be college or any other occupation.

Questions 1. Should Sandra have an aid or mentor to accompany her at school? 2. Should Sandra be invited to the meeting? 3. Should Sandra receive an IEP or 504 plan and why?


 * Facilitator Notes:** Although meeting Sandra's immediate needs at school is important, it is also necessary to meet her needs at home and in the community. Ms. Jackson should encourage Sandra to explore her career interests and help keep her motivated to succeed after high school. The school should provide Sandra with teachers who will implement the accommodations she needs in the classroom and be understanding of her disability.

