Parent Teacher Conference

On Dec 8th I had my first parent teacher conference as a parent! What a milestone! I’m like a real parent now! With a big kid who goes to school! Hard to believe!

Anyway, it went very well. I really like Drew’s teacher, she is very sweet and I’ve gotten to know her a little bit since I work in the class every other week. She had great things to say about Drew. He is doing wonderful! She is even planning to start an advanced reading group when we get back from Christmas vacation and she wants Drew to be in that group.


You have to allow me a moment of reflection here. I know that an advanced reading group in kindergarten is in no way indicative what the rest of his schooling will be like. But this is such a huge accomplishment for him, for us, because we really weren’t sure how he would do in school. As an infant they told us he might not even be able to go to a regular school. And as a toddler we were told that often problems develop once the kids reach school age. So we’ve kind of been waiting for this moment, to see what his teacher thinks. She is an uninformed observer. She knows about his heart condition, but we have not told his school about his diagnosis of 22q and the possibility of learning disabilities that come with it. The reason is that we did not want to color their opinions. We felt that if there was a problem it would be identified and then we could share the diagnosis with them. So, needless to say, this is a big step in the right direction and we are very pleased!

She did say though that Drew needs improvement in following directions and staying on task. This is not a surprise to me, as I am always reminding him of what I have asked him to do. His teacher said this is developmental and will come with time. He may be delayed in this area because of his surgeries and hospitalizations or it may just be the way he is. Either way, she is not too concerned and we will just try to keep working on this skill at home.

The last thing that his teacher shared with me is how happy Drew is at school. She said he has made lots of friends at school, that he is kind and compassionate and a pleasure to have in class.

Nothing could make this mama’s heart more proud!