Hello Ms. Principal,I just wanted to reach out and introduce myself. My name is Jessica and my daughter, Angelina will be a 5th grade GATE student at this year. Angelina was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in March, and I know last year she was the only student at with diabetes. I wanted to see if it would be possible for you and I to meet sometime before classes start next week to discuss Angelina. Last year we worked closely with the district nurse, Ms. Blue Eyes, to set up Angelina's medical plan and I was mostly pleased with the level of care that Angelina received. However, there were some issues that were not covered by her medical plan and I would like to discuss updating her existing 504 plan to include accommodations for her diabetes. I also would like to be allowed to offer training and/or education to any staff members that are willing to learn about Angelina's diabetes and keep an eye on her around campus.In addition to diabetes, Angelina also has ADHD, asthma, anxiety and allergies. The start of the school year is usually very difficult for her and now with the added stress of diabetes I am hoping that you, her teacher and I can work together to ensure as smooth a start to this school year as possible.I will hopefully be up at the school either Monday or Tuesday next week to meet with the nurse and health tech and I would like to introduce myself in person if you have a few moments to spare. In the meantime, if you would like to get in touch with me you can email me, or my telephone number is:XXX-XXX-XXXX, please feel free to call anytime after 9 a.m.Thank you,Jessica <neurotic mom>
Maybe it's just the fact that I am, indeed, quite neurotic, but I don't recognize myself in this email. Who is this calm, gracious person? And really, let's start off the new school year by basically telling the new principal 'I am going to be a pain in your neck. My kid is going to be a pain in your neck.' Really what I am thinking is "I want to tell you exactly what I want for my child and I want you to say 'Yes, Mrs. Neurotic. Anything you say, Mrs. Neurotic." I'm having major flashbacks of last year before diabetes when the entire first month of school Angelina and I did nothing but fight over her homework, and her teacher didn't return any of my notes or emails about how we could work together to help Angelina. And now - DIABETES! If I make it through the next few weeks without biting anyone's head off from stress it's going to be a miracle!
Also, please see my recent post about 504 plans. I am totally kicking myself about not insisting on updating hers last year right after her T1 diagnosis. Because, if I had, right now I would be a little less stressed because I would know there was at least a working plan in place that might just need a little tweaking to reflect changes that occurred over the summer (like being on a pump now, instead of shots). It helps nothing at all that at the end of last year our district nurse told me to contact her a couple weeks before school started. So I sent her an email the first week of August, only to get no response. I left a voice mail earlier this week, that also went un-returned. Digging further into the district website I find the employee calendar that shows the nurses aren't back in the office until next Monday, two days before school starts. Almost her entire medical plan and diabetes care has changed over the summer, so most of her medical plan is going to have to be re-written before she can go to school. I have a feeling I might be attending the fifth grade for at least a day next week.
Please pray for me.
Related articles
- Do You Have A Section 504 Plan? If Not, Maybe You Should Get One. (chasinglows.wordpress.com)
- Health: Diabetes can be managed at school as well (state-journal.com)
- Calif. Supreme Court Rules Non-Nurse Trained School Employees Can Administer Insulin (sacramento.cbslocal.com)
- Well, it's about time! (arcillinois.org)
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