The School Year Isn't Over Yet - Time For an IEP Check-In
As I'm recording this episode of the Special Education Inner Circle Podcast, there are only about 40 days left in the school year. Can you believe it? The year has flown by, but we still have a critical window to course-correct if needed before Summer break.
That's why I want to challenge you to do a little self-reflection with me. Grab a pen and paper, and jot down your three biggest struggles right now when it comes to IEPs and special education. I know there could be a laundry list of 99 problems, but let's focus on the trio causing you to lose sleep at night.
Once you have those three biggies written down, I want you to envision what it would look like if those struggles were resolved. How would your day, your week, the overall outcomes be different? Go ahead and paint that picture in your mind of the ideal scenario where those issues aren't overwhelming you anymore.
Now flip it and think about the opposite - what will the next 60-90 days look like if you don't find a way to improve those three biggest struggle areas? Things are likely to get more broken and more stressful for you and your child or students. Not a pretty picture, I know.
Which brings me to the fourth critical question - what is preventing you from solving these struggles on your own right now? I get it, you're wired to fix things independently. But sometimes we get stuck and need external perspectives and support to get unstuck.
Maybe you need to have an honest team conversation with colleagues to combine your collective expertise. Or maybe as a parent, you need to loop in school staff and say "This isn't where I thought we'd be, what else can we try?" Don't be afraid to widen your circle!
For some of you, the answer may be joining my Master IEP Coach® Mentorship program. This is a supportive space where we roll up our sleeves together to reframe your struggles, identify your influence points, and develop a tactical plan to resolve issues and make progress before the year ends.
I can't control funding or staffing shortages. But I can provide fresh perspectives and alternate strategies to equip you with a customized game plan for providing FAPE in a new way if needed. You don't have to settle for handing out more of the same just because it's how things have been done.
The school year isn't over yet! But maintaining the status quo will just perpetuate the current struggles. Invest a few minutes into listing out those top 3 pain points, visualize what resolving them would look like, and take incremental steps to turn your reality into that vision over the next 40 days.
Ready to infuse more hope and possibilities into your Special Education problem-solving strategies?
