Mid September! What's special about Mid-September? Generally, this is the time to see how things are going at your child's school. A mini check in and check up is required. The goals for this a simple and straightforward:
1. How is your child doing, from the teachers perspective? It's easy enough to ask, and the keys here are to get either get the response in writing from the teacher or if it was a verbal exchange, you email them back with your understanding of their response.. The check up should include grades and social progress.
2. How are the IEP or 504 accommodations being used? If your child has extra time for assignm
ents, ask how the extra time is being used. If they have note cards permitted, ask how the note cards are being created and if the teacher thinks your child is using them properly. No matter the accommodation, verify its being used and that it is helping. Once again, either get it in writing or verify back to the teacher via email what you are told.
3. If there are multiple teachers, do this process with each one.
Your goal here is to prevent the November surprise of problems stemming back to this time. You are also creating a record, which is a protection for your child from sudden new accusations of not doing something which impacts their grades or performance. Lastly, you are ensuring the teachers are aware of their IEP and accommodation requirements.
If things are not going well, it's a good time to get an advocate and turn things around. As always, contact me directly for advocacy needs.
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