IEP for Anna

In Scenario #1, Anna was not eligible for special education services. This is mostly

because there was no history or evidence to back up the need for services. Her situation of not

meeting standards was brought up only in the 3rd grade and there wasnt any other history to

compare to. Also there was, at the time, only an intelligence and individual achievement test

along with her vision and hearing tests. The teacher begs for help for Anna by saying I think

Anna needs help! but there is no data other than her not doing well in school. The first scenario

seems pretty negative. Even the mother is not responding very positively to the results. Lots of

negative stuff such as reminding the committee that Anna and her mother were ditched by the

father. A cold start to the meeting with strangers including phrases like; she constantly

struggles, poor reading ability, failing, and preformed low. The mood of the meeting isnt

very positive and leaves you with a feeling that Anna is just dumb and cant be helped. (They

only reached tier 1 of the RTI scale in this case)

In the second scenario there are more positive results! This meeting was clearly data

based and data driven with a few years of data. She was identified early with some reading issues

and was given interventions and monitored for the past 2 years. Her 3rd grade teachers also

recognizes that there isnt much in the way of her progressing and that she needs to catch up!

The mood of this meeting is more about what has been done to help her and what can continue to

be done to help her. This meeting is about hope. There is talk about the support team and even

the start of the meeting was warmer. You felt that people were working together for Anna. An

example of this is when the passage says it was evident that the team knew each other. In

addition to the psychological assessments, the achievement assessments, as well as the vision

and hearing screenings that she received in scenario 1, she also received a series of DIBELS

assessments, reading interventions, and her progress was monitored for a long period of time
without much growth. With this data she was able to obtain special education assistants in

reading. This along with Annas Mother being on board and feeling like part of the support team

means a win for Anna! (They reached tier 3 after the meeting, and tier 2 beforehand, of the RTI

scale.)
The IEP process can take some time. It is important for children to be identified early so

that they not only can receive interventions that could help them catch up or fill in gaps, but also

so you can have more data if needed. The trick with this process is when children transfer

schools. You dont have the few years of history on a child who transfers into your school. With

the system still being driven by data, you will need to start the collection of data as soon as

possible for a transfer student you anticipate needing special education services if they didnt

come to you with an IEP. A positive outcome is the one that helps the child with what they need

to be a successful student. For some that might be special education or an IEP in a certain area,

for others it may just be an intervention for a short period of time.

The people present for the IEP meetings are the special education administrator, the

students teacher, the schools social worker, school psychologist, and parent(s). They all have a

part to include to create a map or a big picture of the students wellbeing and educational growth.

The special education administrator helps gather information and insures that all steps have been

taken i.e. assessments and enough data collected to make a case for services. The teacher is there

to provide information on the childs behavior and achievements in the classroom in comparison

to the other students. The teacher sees the child daily and has a lot of valuable information to

present in the meeting. Social worker can help paint a picture of the situation to determine if this

is a temporary issue relating to an in home situation or something more long-term emotionally.

The psychologist administers tests to show intelligence and to figure out where the child lands

individually in their learning as well as any evidence of learning disabilities. The parents of
course are a huge part in this for a few reasons. One, they (parents) need to be on board with any

decision that the school thinks will be best for the child. Reason number two is if a plan shows

that special education is needed, the parents need to sign off. They might also be instructed to

help assess the child and maybe a family plan will be in place to help the child at home as well.
All of these assessments are only successful through good communication, lots of

recorded data, and having everyone on board. If presented in a negative way a parent might not

want to sign off on the child receiving services. It is extremely important for a parent to be

educated and informed in a positive manor. No parent wants to hear that their child is failing.

This needs to be addressed with tact and from a place of loving concern with a plan ready to go.

You need their support in order to move forward. Communication is key to the success of the

child!