10 Recommendations for Optimizing School Success
- Foster positive relationships with your child’s school team. Communicate frequently, request feedback, and provide compliments when successes occur. Developing trusted relationships with the education professionals contributes to greater success.
- Update Expectations Post-Pandemic. The academic team should identify the learning standards that were not covered during remote learning and prioritize a strong review of those key skills not mastered from the prior year. This includes specific IEP goals the student struggled with and/or the parent witnessed an academic regression with the child’s current functioning as a result of remote learning.
- Have a vision. Share your vision for your child’s future and seek the resources necessary to achieve the vision.
- Keep detailed records. Document progress and setbacks in a journal, calendar, or on an app on your phone. Maintaining education reports, evaluations, test results, and classroom samples will be valuable in supporting your requests for services and keeping your child’s progress on track.
- Share your records with the team. Providing the school district with reports and recommendations from therapists, medical professionals, and others outside of school who work with your child will increase your odds of getting the supports you are seeking.
- Maintain communication throughout the school year. Ongoing correspondence helps everyone track progress towards goals and ensures that issues that arise are addressed quickly. Your school district will appreciate the efforts being made at home to reinforce educational and behavioral skills taught at school.
- Meet with your school team more frequently. I.E.P. meetings should not be the only time of the year when progress is discussed. In-person meetings reduce misunderstandings, provide opportunities to share ideas, and increase the likelihood for success during the year.
- Seek classroom inclusion. Many benefits arise from being in an inclusive classroom beyond just an increased mastery of the academic subjects.
- Plan for transition before your school initiates the discussion. Developing independent living skills is even more important than mastering academic subjects. Focusing on these skills can begin before high school and an earlier start may lead to a smoother transition into society after the school years are over.
- Know your rights. Every child is entitled to a free appropriate public education. School districts cannot deny services solely for financial reasons.