It's that time of year again!!!

Are your ready for your child's annual IEP review???  Here is a quick review of some tips......
   1. Make sure you have your documentation ready to go.  Be prepared with all IEP progress checks, report cards, and any other testing information like the NECAPs etc.
   2. Review what these documents say, and make sense of them before you go to the meeting.  What do the results all mean?  Is your child making progress in a way that is measurable and functional?  Can you tell that he or she is making progress or not?
   3. Write a list of any questions that you have so that you don’t forget to ask them.
   4. Make sure that when the teachers review progress at the meeting that they are using specific examples and measurements of progress.  Just saying that “he has come a long way”  or “ she is doing great in class” doesn’t cut it.  By how much have they improved?  Has his reading level gone up ½ a year?  Can she multiply fractions or not…to what degree can she do it?  Etc…  Remember to always ask for measurable and specific examples of progress.
   5. Make sure the IEP is updated appropriately.  Present levels of performance need to reflect the year’s growth (or lack thereof), add new strengths and needs as appropriate and make sure that all goals and objectives are rewritten.  An IEP shouldn’t be the same year to year—progress is not being made if it is, signifying that the programming is not appropriate.
   6.  Do you have concerns about regression of skills over the summer, or that extra time is needed to catch up?  If so, make sure you have a discussion about Extended School Year services.  If your child will regress during the summer months without school programming, make sure you ask for specifically what you think is appropriate for your child.
   7. Remember….document, document, document.  Take your own notes from the meeting and get copies of the school’s notes.
   8. If you are uncomfortable going into a meeting alone, remember that you can bring someone with you to the meeting for support.
   9. Remember, you have 14 days to sign the new IEP.  Do not sign on the spot.  Take the document home and review it and make sure you are comfortable with it.  Have someone else look at it and give you a second opinion.

This is new…..and illegal….

So, in my work as an education consultant working with families and students around the state, a new problem has started to creep up.  I have heard it three times now, from three different high schools.  I am wondering where this message is coming from, as it is highly illegal, and smacks of civil rights abuse.  Maybe some of you have heard this one before…if so, let me know!  Some high schools are telling parents and students that the student can’t take college prep or honors level classes because they don’t offer special education support for that level of class.  The first time I heard that, I thought I just misunderstood something.  Then I heard it again, at a different place, then again from yet another school.  If a student has a disability, yet is able to take college prep or honors level courses, whatever services are required by the IEP are required to be provided in all of the student’s classes, regardless of level.  There are many very very VERY smart individuals who are in honors classes who might also have a disability.  Einstein was learning disabled for Pete’s sake and failed out of school….that should have taught us something.

Now, it may be true that there is not enough time in the school day to provide the necessary supports if a student choses to take college prep classes, as often these students take many courses, and given the nature of the high school schedule, I can understand that problem.  Of course, it doesn’t mean the school doesn’t provide the services, it means that they need to figure out how and when they will provide the services.  In these circumstances, a school would need to provide time after or before school, for instance, for a student to get the services they might need. 

But….a school CAN NOT say that because of a disability a student can’t take a college prep or honors course, and by saying that they will not provide the services at those levels, they are essentially saying that.  That is illegal, and goes against all the IDEA and Civil Rights Laws stand for.

Join Studentsfirst.org!!!!

Michelle Rhee, former Chancellor of the Washington DC schools, has started a grassroots student advocacy organization to promote education reform with students as the focus!  No more special interests!  No more partisan politics!  If you would like to support the effort, please visit the website. The website has some great information and statistics for parents and teachers, videos, and a blog.   True education reform needs to put the focus on students first...above the teachers' unions, the politicians, and any others who get in the way of truly innovative and drastic reform efforts.  Join StudentsFirst.org!!!

Does an IEP continue through college????

One of the most often asked questions has to do with how to access disability services at the college level.    Parents and students are often confused, but they are not the only ones.  Some special educators and guidance counselors in the schools don’t know the real score either.

There are a few things to remember when it comes to college disability services.  Having an IEP or Section 504 plan in high school does not guarantee services at the post secondary level.  Colleges make their own determinations of whether or not a student has a disability.  

The process is this:
A student needs to “self-disclose” a disabling condition to the college’s disabilities services office.  When a student wants to access services, he or she needs to go and meet with the folks in the disabilities services office, discuss with them the kind of disability he/she might have, provide documentation of the disability, and request assistance.

Disabilities Services staff will then review the documentation and evaluations provided to them, and if the student qualifies as a student needing services under Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, the student will be offered an “accommodation plan”.

The best way to prepare your student for accessing college level services is to work with the high school team on a proper transition plan.  Make sure the courses the student is in during high school are preparing him for the rigors of college.  Then, make sure the documentation of the disability will be up to date when the student enters college (done within the last 3 years).  Also, make sure your student can speak about his strengths and challenges, and that he is well able to communicate his needs.

Help does exist at the post secondary level, but rather than the school coming to the student and asking him if he needs help, the student needs to take control of the situation, and ask for the assistance and follow through with the recommendations of the disabilities services office.

A good website to look through as a resource can be found here:
NHTI Learning Center and Disabilities Services Office Website

Rosa's Law is in effect!

Advocates, parents, and lots of others have been talking about it for awhile now, but it finally has been passed into law.  The term "mental retardation" will be changed in the federal laws to "intellectual disability".  Currently in the NH special education rules, "mental retardation" is still the label used. Usually, it takes about two years for NH laws and rules to catch up to the federal language, so we'll see how long the change for this will take.  The federal law is being called Rosa's Law after a little girl and her family advocated for the change.  Read more here.

Social Promotion

Social promotion is one of those "hot button" issues in education.  What does it mean exactly?  Well, when  a child isn't doing well in school, and doesn't make any progress and fails classes, etc...basically doesn't have what it takes to succeed in the next grade, they should be held back to repeat the grade, right???  Wrong...not under the "social promotion" theory.  Social promotion is when we move a kiddo onto the next grade, even though they are not academically ready, so that they don't socially fall behind.....they stay with their same age peers and friends, etc.  One of the theories is that holding a student back is too emotionally scarring, and that they will be able to catch up to their peers next time around.  Although in some instances I might agree, overall, I think social promotion is a bad idea.  What is worse...staying back in second grade because you can't read, or graduating high school reading at a second grade level and having that frustration for the rest of your life????

The topic came up today in the Manchester NH Union Leader.  Apparently, nearly 13 percent.....that's right....13 percent of Hillside Middle School students were "socially promoted" to the next grade.  That means students who can't read, write, or do math at appropriate levels have just been passed along.....only to fall further and further behind.  That is a problem.........what do you think???

The Small School Trend.....Am I Missing Something?

So I read this article on Education Week  last week.  It went on to say, “Small schools have had mixed results around the country – while students are more likely to graduate, have positive relationships with teachers, and feel safer, they did no better on standardized tests than their peers at big schools. Should the small school trend continue?” Ed Week Small School Article

I am still not sure what is bad about the above statement.  So, the focus lately has been on reducing drop out rates and making sure more kids graduate….according to the above, small schools have more students that graduate.  We also know that one of the most important factors in a student’s success in school is a caring adult connection…and small schools seem to have more positive relationships between students and teachers.   And bullying and cyberbullying are other huge concerns currently in our public schools, and apparently in small schools students feel safer.  

And, we have a lot of research and evidence to show that standardized tests really don’t mean all that much, and many colleges aren’t even requiring them anymore, and according to the above, kids from small schools do as well as their peers in big schools on these tests……..so ….am I missing something?

What on earth in that statement would support NOT continuing the small school “trend”?

Of course, it is not just all about the small size.  There are going to be bad small schools, good ones and some excellent small schools.  A strong, motivated, and highly trained school staff is as important as the size of the school in my opinion. If you have both a strong faculty and small class size, it allows for more appropriate programming and individualization and personalization…..all of which leads to better results.  And when I say results….I mean much more than test scores!!!