The three most important sections of the IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meeting are:

1. Goals
2. Accommodations and/or modifications
3. The amount of time your child receives services (and the details of how and where those services will be delivered).

So, the questions to ask and have answered are:

• What are the goals and benchmarks for the IEP?
  • Ask them to explain any vocabulary or acronyms that you are not familiar with.
• How do you communicate to the parents/home if the benchmarks are not being met?
• Who will be doing the instruction directed toward the goals?
• Will the instruction be delivered in a small group or in the classroom?
  • If it’s a group setting, try to learn more about the group and determine if your child would be a good fit for inclusion in it.
• How much time will my child be given for each learning challenge?

By staying proactive and well-informed, you can better collaborate closely with educators to create a nurturing and successful learning environment for your child. Developing a strong partnership with your child’s educators ensures that their needs are met effectively and efficiently.

When you know which questions to ask and remain engaged, you can help tailor the educational experience to best support your child’s unique abilities and challenges.

For a helpful shortcut to win the back-to-school season, check out this template for getting in touch with your student’s teacher! Establishing a dialogue with your child’s teachers can provide valuable insights and strengthen the support network around your child, fostering an environment where they can thrive academically and grow throughout the school year.

P.S. Watch this video for even more questions to consider asking at your next IEP meeting.

The top shortcut to a productive school year is a smart intro email to your teacher. It will help your teacher understand your child from the start. That way, you avoid lost learning time and incorrect labels, like trouble-maker.

This email template (below) helps you share your learnings from previous school years with the teacher. Pick out a few positive attributes about your child. And, inform your teacher of any learning challenges and solutions that will help them get off to a great start.

Teachers also love short slide shows. They are a great way for you to show pictures of your child in happy moments in a safe environment.   

If you have any questions about what to include in your letter/email, leave me a comment in the message box at the bottom of this post. I hope this truly is a shortcut to a productive school year for you!

Happy writing and creating!

---

Email Template

Dear [Teacher’s Name],

I wanted to let you know how excited I am for the start of the YEAR – YEAR school year. [Your child’s name] is glad to be in your class, as you were the teacher she/he wanted.

[Your child’s name] is an articulate child who loves to _______(i.e. read) and is always on the ball with his/her school work. [These are sample sentences to get you started. Include some positives about your child that would help the teacher see their strengths and interests].

While [your child’s name] is an [adjective that best describes your son or daughter, like consistent, hard-working] student, she/he does have a few challenges that I felt you should know about.

First, [insert specific challenge]. While this has helped him/her to learn and grow, it also has [scared, frightened, made him/her timid, less willing to read or do math, harder to make friends – Be honest here about how this challenges has impacted your child. Also, share an example of how the challenge may present itself in the classroom. Lastly, give them clues to identify when your child is struggling emotionally or academically.]

[Note: If there is medical or assessment based information you have to share, this would be a good place to briefly include it.]

We manage [Insert your child’s name] behaviors with __________________. [If your child is on medication, this is also helpful for the teacher to know.]

While we know this information may seem overwhelming and challenging, we offer it as a way to better understand our child early on in the school year. Our [son/daughter], for the most part is simply delightful.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know. I want you to know that we will work with you and support you 100% in your classroom. It may be necessary to send home an assignment book every night so that we are both on the same page.

Other teachers have done this, in the past, and it seems to work out great. [This is a great place to make a couple suggestions about what has helped/worked in the past.]

I look forward to working with you and making this year the best school year ever!

Sincerely,
Insert Your Name

Make the most of your parent/teacher conference with some prep and this handy sheet to keep your thoughts organized.

First, Get a Clear Picture

Review the work that comes home and look for patterns – both in strengths and opportunities.

Ask your child about their favorite and least favorite classes. Try to underestand the reasons behind their answers.

Find out if there is anything your child would like you to ask the teacher.

Download This Prep Sheet

Click here to download their Parent/Teacher Conference Prep Sheet.  

This excellent template will help you organize your thoughts and questions prior to meeting with your child’s teacher.  Complete it with your child, or you and your child both fill in the top portion separately, and then compare and contrast beforehand.

I particularly like the questions to consider and prioritize prior to the conference.  They have also included questions to specifically address 504 Plans and IEPs.

Take the Pressure Off

If you are feeling the jitters, remember that a parent/teacher conference is a conversation. You do not have to figure everything out in 15-minutes. You can always continue the conversation or meet again.

And, if that is not enough, check out Understood.org for more helpful resources.

---

Help your middle-school child introduce themself to their teacher to build a respectful relationship and show responsibility before the school year starts.

Since your child is the one who has to relate to the teacher every day, I recommend letting them take the lead on writing an email with support and assistance from you. 

Here is the Introduction Email Template:

INSTRUCTIONS: Replace items in << >> with appropriate information.

Dear <<Insert Teacher’s Name>>,

I hope you’re having a good day. I wanted to let you know that I’m glad you’re my teacher this year.  <<If this particular statement isn’t true, find another way to say something positive about the teacher and the school year here.>>  

My mom recommended that I reach out to you to introduce myself, because I have challenges with <<name the typical learning challenges your child faces>>.

When I have worked with my teacher to << describe a strategy that has helped you be successful >>, it has made a big difference.

Could my parents and I speak with you to find ways to be successful in your class? If so, when would be a good time to meet?  

Thank you, <<Insert Teacher’s Name>>.  We look forward to meeting with you soon.

Sincerely,
<<Insert student’s and parent’s names>>

You can adapt this letter during the school year as issues arise and you need to set up additional meetings.

Educators have shown up as heroes in the pandemic. They have had to learn a great deal in a short time, with flexibility and  resilience. 

They pivoted to virtual lessons very quickly — a format that was completely new to them.

Educators have spent many unexpected hours sharing resources, solving problems and learning. They have found new systems, websites, games and more for our diverse learners. They persist when something works for one student, and does not work for the next.

For many, online work is not the preferred method.  Educators would much rather operate in person. It’s challenging when you can’t guide a child with a non-verbal message or offer a comforting hand on the shoulder. (The separation often brings me to tears.) 

But, like true heroes in the pandemic, they rose to the occasion.

I am proud and grateful to be a part of this group.

Truth be told… The year I moved from second to third grade, I was both double-promoted AND held back a grade.  

Because my family moved to a new house, that meant I transferred from public school to private school. The rumor in my public school classroom, at the end of second grade, was that I was so ‘smart,’ I’d be double-promoted from second to fourth grade!  I LOVED this idea.  But then I got word of our move, and I was completely underwhelmed and disappointed.

Would the new school realize how ‘smart’ I was?  Would they decide I really needed to be in fourth grade, not third?

When I arrived on the first day of third grade at my new school, they promptly informed my parents that it might be a good idea to send me back to second grade.  There were a number of things I was behind on….phonics, memorizing my multiplication facts, not to mention my daily prayers.  The teachers were going to give me a ‘trial run,’ and if I could catch up, I could stay in 3rd grade.

I was sorely disappointed and felt betrayed by my previous teachers.  Had they lied to me?  Was I really dumb, and they didn’t have the heart to tell me?

I guess I did ok in my new private school classroom, because I never got demoted to second grade.

However, to this day, I really question how I could be smarter than the average third grader in one learning environment and severely lacking in another.

Now I know as an adult that public and private schools can have widely different expectations for the same grade level, but as a child, my foundation and understanding of myself as a learner completely crumbled.  I don’t think I really ever fully recovered until graduate school. By that time, well into my thirties, I knew how I learned best and that given the right supports and enough interest in the topic, I could learn anything.

I wasted many years wondering why I was so ‘dumb.’  Why I was consistently behind all my peers.  Why I never really fit in and felt like I was always playing catch up.

Maybe you have a similar story?  Maybe your child has a similar story?

It’s important to keep talking to our children about different types of intelligence. And to let them know that even if their circumstances change, it doesn’t change who they are. They don’t suddenly become dumber. It just means that they get an opportunity to broaden their perspective and rise to the challenge. And, when they do, they will see their strengths and confidence levels soar!