Embedded Files
IEP Meeting Reflection
I attended my first annual I.E.P. meeting on Tuesday October 23rd at 12:30. The I.E.P team members who attended the meeting were the mother of the child, the principal, the general education teacher, the special education teacher, the school's speech and language pathologist, the school psychologist, along with other practicum students including myself. The principal was in charge of conducting the meeting and first asked if everyone would go around the room and introduce themselves. Everyone introduced themselves in a respectful manner. The principal then asked the mother of the child if she would address some of her daughters strengths along with her weaknesses. The mother stated that her daughter understands the basic math concepts taught in class and that some of her weaknesses are reading and spelling on grade level. After the mother shared her thoughts, the general education teacher stated what strengths and weaknesses she saw from the student. The general education teacher said that the student is fun to have in class but her mind often wanders during class instruction. Then the special education teacher and the school psychologist went over the students tests scores in which the student scored below average in the phonological awareness, vocabulary, and letter sounds categories. The team then took the data into consideration and stated that she qualifies for speech and language disability but also that she can stay in the developmental delay category since she is less than 9 years old. The team decided to set a new goal which was for the student to be able to say 30 letter sounds correctly in one minute by the end of the year. The team decided to keep speech and language services and the principal finally asked if there were any further remarks from the parent. The mom then shared that her daughter has calcium deposits on her eyes which may cause her to have blurred vision and space out during class. The mother also shared that her daughter is being tested for narcolepsy because she often has been falling asleep in class. The team was grateful for these insiders about the student and planned to hear back from the mother with the official doctors notes and test results. Overall the meeting went very smoothly and everyone cooperated very well. There was no tension or arguing and everyone was on the same page. All the members remained upbeat during the meeting which in result was very effective.
MDT Meeting Reflection
I was unable to attend an MDT meeting, however my mentor teacher gave me a detailed description of what happens during an MDT meeting. An MDT meeting at South Fork Elementary is also conducted by the principal. Typically the people in the MDT meeting are the principle, the special education teacher, the speech and language pathologist, and the school psychologist. The meeting starts by going over any annual IEPs that are coming up. The case manager discusses each child within their case load that falls in this category. The team talks about if changes should be made to their IEPs or if their IEPs are working well and are effective. During this time, the team does not write down any documentation. The whole meeting is discussion based to share ideas and thoughts before an IEP meeting is held. They discuss if there is a meeting date planned and if not when it should be scheduled for. The team carefully goes through each column for each student on the document page below. After going over the annual IEP meetings that are coming up and sharing thoughts about those, the team mentions any students that are due for a three year re-evaluation soon. A case manager goes over all of their students that fit under this category. Typically, the special education teacher has the most students in their case load, but the school speech and language pathologist may have students in their case load as well. When they go through each student in this next section, they discuss what disability they are currently qualified for and what disability category they feel they should be classified under continuing through school. If a student is diagnosed with Developmental Delay and still has difficulties achieving within grade-level, once they turn ten years old their disability category must changed. After going through each column for each student on the form below, the MDT team discusses any new student referrals they have received recently. Similarly to the other categories, the case manger introduces their students that fall under this category. The team discuses if the student has been assessed yet and if not which areas to assess the student in. The team goes through when the meeting date should be with the parents, if they consider the student to be eligible or not based off of testing results, and if the student has received an appropriate IEP or not. With new student referrals, new data has to be recorded and taken into account to qualify a student for special education. The team then mentions any new students that they have received from out of the district and if they are eligible for special education along with if they have a valid IEP in place. If a current IEP is not valid, they discuss what services they feel should be implemented to help the student succeed until a new IEP is written. If the eligibility report does not make sense, they re-evaluate the student. I like how diligent my mentor teacher is with this process. She always makes sure the students are receiving special education for the correct reasons and that the correct disabilities are mentioned along with the best services. Lastly, the team mentions students who are on a 504 plan and if their accommodations are working for them or if they need to schedule another meeting with the parents to make changes. Students can go from a 504 plan to an IEP and vise versa. Before the team leaves, they mention any issues that are occurring and any helpful strategies to help the situation. I like that they end the meeting with helping each other come up with the best solutions to help the students. It means a ton to me that the Rigby school district takes so much time to care about each individual student and their academic progression. Overall, MDT meetings seem super helpful and effective because it allows the school team to talk about students and what they should be receiving before meeting officially with the parents. This meeting allows the school staff to be on the same page and it allows them to work out any problems with out having the parents present. This ultimately saves time during the IEP meetings and helps the parents understand information in ways that are parent-friendly.
Google Sites
Report abuse