It is crucial that teachers meet with parents on a regular basis to ensure students' home and school lives are connected and that those responsible for that child are aware of the child as a whole.
During my final week of practicum, my associate teacher had a meeting scheduled with a parent. This meeting's purpose was to formally ask permission to put the student on a modified IEP (Individual Education Plan), to help support the student's needs and strengths with his work. This student is in grade 4 and is typically developing in many areas of the curriculum, but needs support in other areas, such as language and making connections throughout his work.
I was able to sit in on this meeting and jotted down a few notes that I found relevant and helpful. I really appreciated the way the meeting was conducted and felt the teacher was informative and reassuring, and the parent felt safe enough to ask many questions and to express concerns. Together, they were able to work as a team to support this child's learning and it was evident that both had the child's best interest at heart. I specifically focused on the steps and process that the teacher took in this meeting.
Click below for a write-out of the notes I took during the meeting.
Monday, March 28, 2011 @ 3:30pm - meeting with a parent re: student's progress
Discussed how student thinks
Challenges: - big ideas
-simple spelling
-making connections
-math and language challenges
Teacher asked for permission to take student's file to Team.
Clarified what type of support the student would have and introduced idea of IEP.
Answered questions from parent, clarified misconceptions, gave ideas. (parent was concerned with how long student would have IEP, if it would affect post-secondary education qualifications, etc.)
Teacher talked about the difficulties of entering grade 5 next year - not a mixed grade as is now (3/4), class size increases with no cap...child will get lost if there is no support for him.
Teacher emphasized the good characteristics of the student:
-hard worker
-good student
-doesn't fool around - merely gets distracted from time to time
Teacher provided ideas for support:
-extra time to finish work
-preview of assignments to allow him to see what's coming
-reduced work
-use of a scribe
Clarified that because he is not diagnosed, this is a modified IEP
Talked about progress with current tutor
Discussed next steps: when Team meeting is, how the parent will be informed, use of parent in group meetings, dates, etc.
"Any further questions or concerns?"
Thanked one another for their time.
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