Ana arrived at a local parent advocacy organization, United We Stand (UWS), with concerns about her daughter, Clara. Clara was in the 3rd grade and she was barely reading. The school had recommended that Clara be placed in a more restrictive, self-contained special education classroom, but her mom felt that the problem was that no one yet understood why her daughter was not reading. Lourdes Rivera-Putz, the UWS parent advocate reviewed the school’s reports and concluded that Clara’s learning needs had not been adequately diagnosed. The advocate discussed options with Ana and later accompanied her to an IEP meeting at the school. During the meeting mom and Clara’s teachers told of their concerns about Clara’s learning. It became apparent that a new and more thorough evaluation was needed.
Four weeks later, the evaluation was completed. The IEP team, including Ana and Lourdes, met to review its results. The testing showed that Clara had difficulty with her short term memory and was having trouble organizing her thoughts. The evaluator then went on to make specific recommendations to be utilized in the classroom and at home. Some of the recommendations were already in place and others would now be integrated into her IEP and classroom curriculum. Everyone agreed to meet in the spring to review Clara’s progress and to discuss possible placements for 4th grade.
In May everyone met and upon reviewing Clara’s progress found that she was making extraordinary strides. She had improved a full grade level in reading in only a couple of months. She was once again smiling and enjoying school. The advocate suggested that mom request a meeting early in the new school year to review progress and to make sure that the supports and strategies they were using continued to be helpful to Clara.