Bridges For Equity, Inclusion, & Student Empowerment

Published: Fri, 07/30/21

"Education is all a matter of building bridges."

Ralph Ellison

If you find yourself in need of a stronger bridge between you and your child's school, especially when it comes to IEP meetings read on...

We’ve all had some stressful and possibly overwhelming IEP meetings.

The good news is the guest on our recent live training, Amy Plica, parent, educator, Founder of Universal Crossings shared a framework that can create positive outcomes at IEP meetings. It’s very different from traditional IEP meetings.

This is also the perfect timing! With a new school year right around the corner, would you love some

fresh, new ideas

on how conversations before IEP meetings can increase the likelihood that you’ll have much more agreement with the staff than you ever had?

Just know these are not casual conversations with your child’s teachers. These are purposeful opportunities to share:

***new strengths your child has shown;

*** ideas for new goals;

*** resources that are available & needed;

***any new needs;

*** your child’s wins and celebrate.

These Show Notes from our recent live training will give you a way to shift your perspective and specific steps that can be taken during an IEP session to make it more student-focused, interactive, engaging--but not overwhelming!

HINT: This is not about student-led IEP meetings or one page profiles of our children. Those are extremely important and have different purposes than the Student-Focused Presentations that we discussed in the training.

If you’d rather watch the video than read the summary, we've got you. Just click on the video below to catch the replay.

A major component of the student-focused presentation is a slide deck. Amy goes into detail on rich information that can be included in the slide deck and how it can be used before, during, and after IEP meetings.

The student-focused presentation is a repository of information and resources for the entire IEP team that can be revisited often. It's also used in the IEP development, it literally helps to inform the sections of the documents to make sure that it is really individualized and meaningful for the student and the family.

In each section of the slide deck you can include links for articles, images, videos, etc.

And just like the IEP the student-centered presentation (slide deck) is a living document that grows with the learner, eventually as your child gets older, they can create their own.

The 5 Big Ideas for Student-Centered Presentations are:

This helps set the tone of collaboration and the sharing of values that are important to the student and the family. Use a long-term lens when thinking about and creating an inclusive vision for your child.

Amy shared some important questions that you can ask your child and yourself when starting to write an inclusive vision.

*What type of person are we wanting to send out into the world when they graduate?
*What skills and competencies will they have?
*What options and opportunities will be open for them?

*How will your child’s education align with the long-term lens of looking into the future?

The student-centered presentation also promotes self-determination. We know that self-determination has multiple components, it’s not just self-advocacy. Here we’re thinking about what language can be used to capture and empower the voice of the learner.

For example, a parent isn’t writing what they want us to know about their child, instead, the child is sharing with us: “This is who I am.”

We want to remember the IEP is about the student. In this section of the student-focused presentation there will be discussion and sharing of the student’s strengths, their preferences and interests.

It’s important to connect the student’s strengths to instructional strategies and other ways that we can utilize strengths.

The student’s needs, challenges and all the things that don’t work for the student are also included. You don't want staff to have to re-invent the wheel each year when it comes to knowing what works and doesn't work with your child.

You and the staff can share information and vetted resources to help the IEP team keep focused on the long term vision for the student.

Amy has curated many resources that she has used in her son’s student-focused presentation.

CAUTION: We want to be good consumers of information and not recommend a resource without carefully reading it and evaluating whether or not it aligns with your child's vision statement.

Embedded in the presentation are hyperlinks to organizations, websites, images, videos, articles, blog posts, opinion pieces, research, and infographics that support the vision for the student.

It is critical to build relationships, and repair, or enhance meaningful partnerships. Team members need to acknowledge everyone’s strengths that they bring to the table.

This is also a good opportunity to discuss home-school communication. We need to recognize how teachers are very busy each day so it's best to device ways for teachers to easily communicate with you. We also want staff to understand that different parents will need different information communicated to them. Make sure any checklists or home-school notebooks are providing useful information for both teachers and families.

Amy is offering comprehensive and customized courses, a DIY pack and other options to support you as you collaborate with your child’s school team to develop student-focused presentations. You can go here for more information https://linktr.ee/amyplic or email Amy at [email protected]

As we're getting ready for a new school year, I'd love to know what topics you'd like us to dive into during our weekly live trainings. Just hit reply and let me know!

Take care,

P. S. Do you want to learn how to think like a marketer and create positive change? Next week's live training, 5 Ways to Advocate for Inclusive Education Even If You're Discouraged will be hosted by the Down Syndrome Association of South Texas. Click here to Register (it's free) and to get the Zoom link.

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