Group items tagged

The survey results can be broken down into three overarching themes: parent engagement along with synchronous and asynchronous strategies. The responses uncovered the following best practices to address the needs of students with learning differences.

Initial remote IEP meeting:

Weekly check-ins:

The purpose of the project is to build partnerships between parents and educators to ensure that children receive the highest educational opportunities and achievement possible.

A team consisting of a parent of a special needs child and an educator staffs each PERC

All PERCs have certain common functions and responsibilities including: Providing information, resources, and training for parents on important issues such as parenting skills, problem solving, educational planning for their child, behavior management, home learning activities, and other topics to strengthen home-to-school partnerships; Assisting families on an individual basis to better understand their children's educational needs and to discover opportunities and options for meeting these needs; Connecting families with appropriate community services; and Offering information, resources, and training to educators to increase the skills, knowledge and attitudes needed to encourage and strengthen family involvement and positive school-to-home partnerships.

As the term indicates, a visual impairment involves an issue with sight which interferes with a student’s academic pursuits. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) officially defines the category as “an impairment in vision that, even with correction, adversely affects a child’s educational performance. The term includes both partial sight and blindness.”

Early intervention can help a child strengthen his or her vision. This means that as a parent, you should waste no time if you suspect that your child possesses a visual impairment.

While the causes vary, there are several common signs which may indicate that a child has a visual impairment. These include:Irregular eye movements (for instance, eyes that don’t move together or that appear unfocused)Unusual habits (such as covering one eye or frequently rubbing eyes)Sitting abnormally close to a television or holding a book close to the face

IEPs are developed by a group of professionals at school. One member of this IEP team typically acts as a case manager and oversees the IEP. You’re part of your child’s IEP team, too. That means you’ll be involved in the process as the IEP is made. The IEP team will use the results of your child’s evaluation testing to design the plan. The scores show the specific areas your child struggles with. Having that information allows the IEP team to provide the individualized instruction and supports your child needs.

Here are some of the things the IEP will include: Your child’s present level of performance in school (PLOP) Individualized instruction and related services , such as occupational therapySupports like accommodations and

Your role in creating your child’s IEP doesn’t stop once the plan is done. In fact, it’s very important that you go over the IEP carefully and make sure it has everything it should have, and that you agree with what the school has proposed.

Instructional technology seeks to disprove the idea that "great teachers are born, not made."

"Students today can't prepare bark to calculate their problems. They depend on slates, which are more expensive. What will they do when the slate is dropped and it breaks? They will be unable to write." From a Teachers Conference, 1703. "Students today depend on paper too much. They don't know how to write on a slate without getting chalk dust all over themselves. They can't clean a slate properly. What will they do when they run out of paper?" From a principal's publication, 1815. "Students today depend too much on ink. They don't know how to use a pen knife to sharpen a pencil. Pen and ink will never replace the pencil." From the National Association of Teachers Journal, 1907. "Students today depend on store-bought ink. They don't know how to make their own. When they run out of ink they will be unable to write words or cipher until their next trip to the settlement. This is a sad commentary on modern education." From The Rural American Teacher, 1928. "Students depend on these expensive fountain pens. They can no longer write with a straight pen and nib. We parents must not allow them to wallow in such luxury to the detriment of how to cope in the business world, which is not so extravagant." From the Parent Teachers Association Gazette, 1941. "Ballpoint pens will be the ruin of education in our country. Students use these devices and then throw them away. The American values of thrift and frugality are being discarded. Business and banks will never allow such expensive luxuries." From Federal Teachers, 1950.

What this suggests is that all technologies, be they things that plug in or advances in thought, have various affordances that make them at times useful and at times not useful. The trick is to figure out what makes them useful in what situations in order to leverage their strengths and avoid their weaknesses.

So how can you help?

Listening to children’s feelings.

Rewarding effort, not just “the product.”

A reevaluation is a full-fledged look at a student’s needs. There are two types of reevaluations: Triennial reevaluation (three-year review) Parent- or teacher-requested reevaluation

The purpose of the triennial reevaluation is to see if a student’s needs have changed. It’s also to see if they still qualify for special education services.  

Just like an initial evaluation, a reevaluation is an involved process.