The job of the schools is to teach the curriculum to large numbers of students at the top of the ladder. They are trained, financed, evaluated and rewarded on their success as measured by the state and national academic standards. This includes the special education programs in schools. Special education teachers are taught to provide accommodations and modifications in the curriculum for students that struggle in the form of Individual Education Plans (IEP). For some students, things like smaller classrooms, decreased volume in assignments and such things as extra time or repetition of curriculum in a smaller setting works to help them get what they need!
Yet for many, the IEP goals may remain below grade level and the extra resources, though well-intentioned, may not help the child raise up to grade level in their performance. There are many many reasons for this and special education teachers are mostly very well intentioned and hard working!
It’s unique for a teacher to have up to 4.5 or more hours/week to sit 1:1 with a child and be given the training to TRAIN the underlying skills that are creating the learning problems. It just isn’t the schools’ job to do that! They are meant to teach the curriculum and “work around” or “cope” with an underlying weakness.
If your child has an IEP now or is being evaluated for getting an IEP, please call us. We can help you communicate with the school team and understand how to make the best use of what the school can offer. We can help you understand their process and navigate the system. We can help you understand what underlying skills can be strengthened so that you can get the greatest value out of the IEP and special education process.
If you have questions about your child’s IEP goals, please call us. We can evaluate your child’s IEP goals and help you get the most value out of the IEP and special education process.
We can answer questions about what underlying skills may be strengthened in order to get the most out of your child’s IEP or even how to move forward without being pulled out of class if that is desired and applicable.