needs recommendations for Educational advocates in Maryland

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Suzie Blattner is the gold standard but she'll tell you that she'll make recommendations based on her own observations and data and not what parents necessarily want. That is a deal breaker for some families though.

She is unfortunately retiring and not taking anyone new. Might be the same case with Laura Solomon, but if not, she is incredibly experienced and so good at what she does. We used her and know tons of folks who have and we've all had great experiences with her.

[Anonymous]

Is there a list somewhere of advocates?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Lawyers and advocates have different skill sets but there is a lot of crossover. Brian Gruber is a good place to start. Brian knows everybody and how the game is played in Moco and IME/IMO that matters so much. Having the support of your school also matters a lot. I've never used WEG but I wouldn't use a firm without knowing the individual you are getting. It's important to know the landscape when you walk into the meeting.

You need a lawyer, not an advocate. Advocate is not a regulated field, and they don't know the law.

[Anonymous]

One thing - if you really are going the lawyer and public placement route, you HAVE to let your kid fail in MCPS. No major support (other than what you feel comfortable continuing to give throughout the rest of their schooling career), no outside tutoring, no proofreading the homework or following up on deadlines. Emailing the teachers is fine because that’s MCPS record, but if you tutor or support at home and that’s why your kid has good grades, the school doesn’t accept that. They only see “kid is in our class and has good grades so we are doing well”. If the grades aren’t literal Ds and Es they think they’re doing just fine.

[Anonymous]

I recommend Lisa Taylor-Cunningham of Imagine Possibilities. She helped me get an IEP in DC, but she’s in Rockville and does more in MoCo.

[Anonymous]

Not sure how often this works but pre-COVID cousin’s child was in same situation. Wasnt learning to read/write/spell by third grade. They had meetings, revised goals, but nothing changed. They pulled the student out of school for around 4 months and sent him to Lindamood bell which does intensive one on one instruction in reading /spelling for around 4 hours a day. That is what it took for him to learn to read on grade level.

The difference was so large between how low he was before and after that when they put him back in school then they got an attorney to sue to get their money back. They got a settlement for part of the money they spent. They are relatively well off so if they hadnt won the still would have been fine with the results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:One thing - if you really are going the lawyer and public placement route, you HAVE to let your kid fail in MCPS. No major support (other than what you feel comfortable continuing to give throughout the rest of their schooling career), no outside tutoring, no proofreading the homework or following up on deadlines. Emailing the teachers is fine because that’s MCPS record, but if you tutor or support at home and that’s why your kid has good grades, the school doesn’t accept that. They only see “kid is in our class and has good grades so we are doing well”. If the grades aren’t literal Ds and Es they think they’re doing just fine.

This is not necessarily true. Private placements are not always due to academics either. Parents, please contact a lawyer instead of getting advice on the interwebs.