Written by: Kimberly Saavedra, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
3 Action Plans that will help you set up a successful school year with your Special Education Teams! The following tips will help guide you to be proactive and initiate at the beginning of school year plans that will set the tone for a successful school year.
Tip # 1 - Contacts Information List
The first thing to do at the beginning of any school year is to gather all your school contacts. This would be EVERYONE that will be working with your child this school year:
Teachers – Both Special Education and Mainstream/Gen Ed
Therapists
Counselors
Case Managers
School Nurse
TAs (Teacher’s Aids)
Paras (Paraprofessionals)
Do not wait for school to initiate in giving you this information. Depending on your child’s grade level, not all teachers send out intro letters/welcoming letters, etc.
Be proactive and initiate to get your list of names and email addresses of everyone that will be working with your child. Usually, around the second week of school, teachers should be in place for any switching or adjustments to the classes.
Tip # 2 - Send a “Parent Introduction Letter” to your entire school team.
After you obtain your full list of contacts, the next action plan is to take the initiative and write your “Parent Introduction Letter”. This will go out as one group email to your new school year contacts list.
I will share with you, 3 extra bonus tips on what would be good to include in your Parent Introduction Letter
Top Priority Concerns
Share your top priority concerns that your child needs to work on this school year.
Share what your child is currently struggling with.
Share any regressions that took place over Summer break.
Summer Therapies / Activities
Share what your child worked on over Summer break and their therapy reports.
If necessary, you might need to request an IEP meeting to discuss the possibilities of including new therapy goals to your child’s IEP (more on this in Tip # 3 Communication Plans)
Your Child’s Strengths
Share any new emerging skills your child has begun over Summer break.
Share your child’s strengths and what they can do.
Share how your child engages best.
Share your child’s favorite subjects.
Share your child’s interests and favorite topics.
Share your child’s natural talents.
Share your child’s favorite motivators.
Tip # 3 - Communication Plans
Once you have sent out your “Parent Introduction Letter” as one group email, you are ready for the next action plan of taking the initiative to set up a specific communication plan.
Send out individual email requests to the specific contact(s) you want to have for daily, weekly, and/or biweekly communication updates with. There is no “one size fits all” to this set up. Therefore, send out emails individually and coordinate with that specific teacher/therapist/Nurse, etc. on how often communications will be set. setup
Be specific on what information you want to be communicated. While we as parents/caregivers don’t want to add extra work on the plates of our teams; we do need to know more than just a daily “smiley or frownie” sticker of how our child’s class/day went.
Depending on your child’s disability and communication needs, a few general questions to ask are:
What was my child’s highlight accomplishment in this class/session?
What challenges did my child struggle with during this class/session?
Was my child able to reengage in the activity/assignment after their struggle?
Set up communication plans accordingly to your child’s disability and needs. As mentioned briefly in Tip # 2, you might need to request an IEP meeting at the beginning of the school year to ensure everyone is on the same page, everyone is aware of your concerns, and everyone can brainstorm together as needed to put any new plans into place for the new school year.
It's important to know and understand, that if new plans are going to be requested to add into your child’s IEP, your team will need to do their own assessments as well prior to adding. The reports are not a guarantee that your child will be given a specific requested service, but they are still very helpful. That’s why it’s important to share any reports from your child’s home/clinic therapy that took place over the summer break to help your team have a better understanding of your child’s needs.
Love & Light Always,
Kim Saavedra, IEP Coach & Author ‒ Creator of Jadon’s Reading Gems
If you like this article and want to learn more about me as an IEP Coach and how I help families navigate and understand their child’s individualized special education plans and how I help families collaborate between home and school teams, I invite you to visit my website or follow me on Facebook and Instagram
Kimberly Saavedra, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Kim Saavedra is a mom of two boys that were both born with Autism and ADHD. Her personal journey through Therapies, Education, Special Diet, Bio-Medical, and Resources, has led her family on the path to recovery. Her perspective of recovery is not limited to Autism. Her perspectives apply to all families with disabilities and for all children to have Positive Self Image, Confidence, Awareness of Their Value and Awareness of Their Purpose in Life and Apply Their Talents and Gifts in a positive manner and enlighten the world we all share. It is through her personal experiences in raising her boys and being a successful advocate for them in the education system as well as their voice when they didn’t have a voice for themselves that has led her to become an IEP Coach and help other families bring successful collaboration between their home and school teams. Kim Saavedra is an author and creator of Jadon’s Reading Gems for children’s books and the parent guidebook series on IEP school meeting team success.
