How does one flunk 5th grade? [View all]

Here's a little rant about my daughter...11 yrs old, sharp as a tack, in fact she tests in the 89th percentile ...

This school year she has been plagued with drama and bullying, in the classroom and on the bus. The teacher did not engage this issue...the principal supposedly had some talks with the girls, but I was never brought in the loop, i heard about the conferences from another parent and my daughter.
So this week is supposedly parent-teacher conferences. And all at once, the teacher and the principal NEED to see me because she is in danger of being retained due to absences and missing work, even in class she is struggling. (well, ya, she is dealing with continued drama with these girls daily and the teacher refuses to listen to her) She has asked for a math tutor repeatedly and been refused as well...

Now, WHY in the HELL did they wait till NOW to try and get me to come in and talk? why do they wait till the Week of report cards to tell me she is failing?

Here's another twist...as a single mom, I am dealing with the feeling that this will be a bash session against me. Yea, I know it sounds childish...but I have dealt with this school district for 10 years with my oldest child....and the pattern is still the same. Everyone goes along and nobody says BOO to you...unless they want to panic and tell you your kid is screwing up and it's all your fault. NO support offered. and no offering of alternative options if your kid has a learning disability (which has never been tested) or some other problem.

Every year when I meet the teachers I fill them in on my kids personal story and how we as a family are struggling with poverty and such. we are all domestic violence survivors...my son has adhd supposedly (believe me, we dealt with the principal and several teachers on that issue already...still no offer of learning disability testing or alternative teaching options) My daughter has a congenital birth defect that makes her blind in one eye and she has a cyst in her brain as a result... i guess because she is intelligent, she doesn't qualify as disabled. I myself deal with a chronic auto immune illness and have explained to the teachers we need support as a family to keep on an even keel...but again, both kids teachers wait till THIS week to drop the bomb that either one is 'not performing'

(also, we have one of those schools that is the highest testing school in the county, so the principal is very anxious to keep them performing at high levels for extra funding. )

I have calls in to get testing done and research independent academics till the end of the school year. I just needed to rant, i guess...