Parental input to upcoming IEP meeting
January 2015
Dear Team Leader,
My
husband and I are excited about the upcoming IEP meeting for our son
The STUDENT. We are very involved and invested in our son’s education
and appreciate the opportunity to play a meaningful role in The
STUDENT’s IEP development and implementation process.
We have prepared a document, attached to this letter, which details some areas we would like to be discussed and addressed during the IEP meeting. Please make this document available to the team members.
In preparation for the upcoming IEP meeting in February, we ask to have access, prior to the meeting, to the annual progress reports and any other documents based on which goals and service recommendations will be made during the meeting. This will give us a chance to review the documents and prepare for the IEP dialog.
We thank you for your collaboration and we are looking forward to having a productive IEP meeting.
Sincerely,
The Parents
January, 2015
RE: Parental input to The STUDENT upcoming IEP meeting.
The STUDENT made a remarkable transition from private to public school. He loves going to school! He has made good progress in all areas of development. This was the result of him being curious, tenacious and determined in learning the things that are important to him, as well as the result of the effort and dedication of his teachers and therapists in supporting him and in creating a learning environment in which The STUDENT could thrive. We believe that The STUDENT will continue to benefit from a fully inclusive education model and we expect that with appropriate help he will continue to improve his skills and become more independent.
The communications between parents and school (teachers and therapists) implemented over the last year have not only strengthened the communication patterns between school and home, but were instrumental in supporting The STUDENT’s carry-over of skills to and from school. We believe The STUDENT will continue to benefit from a similar communication model over the next year.
While during the upcoming IEP meeting the team will discuss in detail The STUDENT’s progress over the last year, and the expectations for the next year, there are a couple of parental concerns which we hope will be addressed during the meeting and reflected in the next IEP.
1. Extended school year
Over the past three years, The STUDENT has benefited from attending a year-round, full-time, fully inclusive classroom. We believe The STUDENT will continue to require an extended school year in an inclusive environment. Together with his teachers, The STUDENT is working hard to develop social language in order to support peer interactions, and also to navigate and follow classroom/school social rules. While these skills are essential for The STUDENT’s success in the classroom and for his successful inclusion, he continues to have difficulties in both areas. The STUDENT is very responsive to appropriate peer modeling and over the summer he will need opportunities to interact with typically developing role models in order to maintain his existing social/communication skill levels and to reinforce appropriate school behavior.
In addition to a fully inclusive program, we believe The STUDENT will continue to require summer services for speech, OT, and direct math teaching. These are areas of documented weakness and particularly prone to regression.
2. Classroom placement
We expect to be involved to the extent possible in the classroom placement for the 1st grade. We hope the team agrees that The STUDENT requires a highly structured learning environment, similar to the one provided in his current classroom. In order to fully benefit from his placement in an inclusive classroom and to have meaningful access to curriculum, The STUDENT needs predictable, consistent routines and structure throughout the school day. He requires a teacher who has experience and enthusiasm in implementing universal design for learning and differentiated instruction strategies. As soon as possible following the IEP meeting, and before the final IEP is accepted, we would like to schedule observations of the inclusive 1st grade classrooms.
In addition, we would like to discuss with the team the possibility that the same paraprofessional currently working with The STUDENT will continue providing classroom and one-on-one support in the 1st grade. This will ensure some much needed continuity of support and provide for a smooth transition between classes.
Because The STUDENT has difficulties in sustaining interactions and communicating with peers, we believe he will benefit from continuing some of the friendships formed in kindergarten into the 1st grade (children who understand his speech, have patience when interacting with The STUDENT, are responsive to non-verbal attempts at communication, etc.). Again, this will ensure some continuity of social interactions and provide for a smooth transition between classes.
3. Classroom support
We believe The STUDENT will continue to require one-on-one support during academic activities, particularly for math, writing, and individual study activities. With increasing academic demands starting the 1st grade, we hope to discuss strategies to support The STUDENT academically and ensure consistent instruction in and outside of the classroom (adding in classroom direct math teaching, paraprofessional attending direct teaching sessions, homework assignment adaptations etc.).
We have prepared a document, attached to this letter, which details some areas we would like to be discussed and addressed during the IEP meeting. Please make this document available to the team members.
In preparation for the upcoming IEP meeting in February, we ask to have access, prior to the meeting, to the annual progress reports and any other documents based on which goals and service recommendations will be made during the meeting. This will give us a chance to review the documents and prepare for the IEP dialog.
We thank you for your collaboration and we are looking forward to having a productive IEP meeting.
Sincerely,
The Parents
January, 2015
RE: Parental input to The STUDENT upcoming IEP meeting.
The STUDENT made a remarkable transition from private to public school. He loves going to school! He has made good progress in all areas of development. This was the result of him being curious, tenacious and determined in learning the things that are important to him, as well as the result of the effort and dedication of his teachers and therapists in supporting him and in creating a learning environment in which The STUDENT could thrive. We believe that The STUDENT will continue to benefit from a fully inclusive education model and we expect that with appropriate help he will continue to improve his skills and become more independent.
The communications between parents and school (teachers and therapists) implemented over the last year have not only strengthened the communication patterns between school and home, but were instrumental in supporting The STUDENT’s carry-over of skills to and from school. We believe The STUDENT will continue to benefit from a similar communication model over the next year.
While during the upcoming IEP meeting the team will discuss in detail The STUDENT’s progress over the last year, and the expectations for the next year, there are a couple of parental concerns which we hope will be addressed during the meeting and reflected in the next IEP.
1. Extended school year
Over the past three years, The STUDENT has benefited from attending a year-round, full-time, fully inclusive classroom. We believe The STUDENT will continue to require an extended school year in an inclusive environment. Together with his teachers, The STUDENT is working hard to develop social language in order to support peer interactions, and also to navigate and follow classroom/school social rules. While these skills are essential for The STUDENT’s success in the classroom and for his successful inclusion, he continues to have difficulties in both areas. The STUDENT is very responsive to appropriate peer modeling and over the summer he will need opportunities to interact with typically developing role models in order to maintain his existing social/communication skill levels and to reinforce appropriate school behavior.
In addition to a fully inclusive program, we believe The STUDENT will continue to require summer services for speech, OT, and direct math teaching. These are areas of documented weakness and particularly prone to regression.
2. Classroom placement
We expect to be involved to the extent possible in the classroom placement for the 1st grade. We hope the team agrees that The STUDENT requires a highly structured learning environment, similar to the one provided in his current classroom. In order to fully benefit from his placement in an inclusive classroom and to have meaningful access to curriculum, The STUDENT needs predictable, consistent routines and structure throughout the school day. He requires a teacher who has experience and enthusiasm in implementing universal design for learning and differentiated instruction strategies. As soon as possible following the IEP meeting, and before the final IEP is accepted, we would like to schedule observations of the inclusive 1st grade classrooms.
In addition, we would like to discuss with the team the possibility that the same paraprofessional currently working with The STUDENT will continue providing classroom and one-on-one support in the 1st grade. This will ensure some much needed continuity of support and provide for a smooth transition between classes.
Because The STUDENT has difficulties in sustaining interactions and communicating with peers, we believe he will benefit from continuing some of the friendships formed in kindergarten into the 1st grade (children who understand his speech, have patience when interacting with The STUDENT, are responsive to non-verbal attempts at communication, etc.). Again, this will ensure some continuity of social interactions and provide for a smooth transition between classes.
3. Classroom support
We believe The STUDENT will continue to require one-on-one support during academic activities, particularly for math, writing, and individual study activities. With increasing academic demands starting the 1st grade, we hope to discuss strategies to support The STUDENT academically and ensure consistent instruction in and outside of the classroom (adding in classroom direct math teaching, paraprofessional attending direct teaching sessions, homework assignment adaptations etc.).
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