Elementary IEP to Middle School IEP Transition

[Anonymous]

What should I expect at the team meetings with middle school transition? Should someone from the middle school be there for the entire meeting to explain what options the middle school has and if and how they can implement some of the goals?

I had a meeting but the middle school rep was there for only about 15 minutes. I'm wondering how we are supposed to come up with what goals and how they can be implemented without someone the entire time. Ultimately there were still many unknowns with this so we decided to reconvene later.

[Anonymous]

What district OP?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What district OP?

FCPS

[Anonymous]

At ours is MCPS, the middle school lead sped teacher was there. We did not spend a lot of time on goals, but more on what the instruction would look like. We spoke of supported classes, resource class, etc. I left a bit upset that we had no time for goals (sort of strange) but a pretty good idea of what her day would be like.

[Anonymous]

OP what are your childs issues? Would help to answer just went through myself this with my kiddo with autism and adhd.

[Anonymous]

I did this 2 years ago in FCPS. In our case, the MS Special Ed Chair was there but she did not contribute to the development of the goals. The 6th grade team was familiar with the 7th grade requirements and, nothing my DS's strengths/weaknesses, were able to develop appropriate goals (with input from me and my advocate, of course). The MS representative was very helpful in explaining what to expect regarding MS orientation (that they do for all students) as well as the schedule, intervention time, counselors and a 'Strategies for Success' class which aids students with organization/study challenges regardless of their IEP/504 status. The MS rep also discussed the team taught classes and, along with the rest of the team, helped make determinations whether regular, team taught or self contained was the better choice. The MS rep also arranged for DS to have a tour of the school prior to the regular orientation and got us a 20 minute meeting with all his teachers. We found all of his classrooms and he practiced opening his locker a few times as well. She did an awesome job of getting him an easily remembered locker combination - which was the same combo for his gym locker. It made the transition much, much easier - much better than I could have imagined. We're going to go through the same thing in the fall when he starts HS. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:At ours is MCPS, the middle school lead sped teacher was there. We did not spend a lot of time on goals, but more on what the instruction would look like. We spoke of supported classes, resource class, etc. I left a bit upset that we had no time for goals (sort of strange) but a pretty good idea of what her day would be like.

This was my experience as well with one caveat. I requested that the MS rep be present. Another thing I did was request a team meeting for the first week of school. It was tough to arrange but we had every teacher present.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP what are your childs issues? Would help to answer just went through myself this with my kiddo with autism and adhd.

Dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD

A reading elective was offered but not much in the way of specifics were given. I don't know how well this would serve to help and if it's worth losing an elective.

Thank you for all the responses thus far and please continue to share your experiences.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At ours is MCPS, the middle school lead sped teacher was there. We did not spend a lot of time on goals, but more on what the instruction would look like. We spoke of supported classes, resource class, etc. I left a bit upset that we had no time for goals (sort of strange) but a pretty good idea of what her day would be like.

This was my experience as well with one caveat. I requested that the MS rep be present. Another thing I did was request a team meeting for the first week of school. It was tough to arrange but we had every teacher present.

Good for you. I guess it sucks for every student in the grade whose teacher wasn't providing instruction to the students during that time. Honestly very selfish. Imagine if everyone did this? Schools aren't obligated to do this and they shouldn't have agreed to in your case. Why so high maintenance?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At ours is MCPS, the middle school lead sped teacher was there. We did not spend a lot of time on goals, but more on what the instruction would look like. We spoke of supported classes, resource class, etc. I left a bit upset that we had no time for goals (sort of strange) but a pretty good idea of what her day would be like.

This was my experience as well with one caveat. I requested that the MS rep be present. Another thing I did was request a team meeting for the first week of school. It was tough to arrange but we had every teacher present.

Good for you. I guess it sucks for every student in the grade whose teacher wasn't providing instruction to the students during that time. Honestly very selfish. Imagine if everyone did this? Schools aren't obligated to do this and they shouldn't have agreed to in your case. Why so high maintenance?

Are you serious? You do understand that we are in the special needs thread where kids are entitled to extra services and supports, right? Schools always do this sort of thing and schools like parents who are engaged and working with their kids to be successful. Time is built into the schedule and extra staffing exists in schools just for this sort of thing. And, we have had a meeting the first week of school every single year since first grade. It's in the IEP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At ours is MCPS, the middle school lead sped teacher was there. We did not spend a lot of time on goals, but more on what the instruction would look like. We spoke of supported classes, resource class, etc. I left a bit upset that we had no time for goals (sort of strange) but a pretty good idea of what her day would be like.

This was my experience as well with one caveat. I requested that the MS rep be present. Another thing I did was request a team meeting for the first week of school. It was tough to arrange but we had every teacher present.

Good for you. I guess it sucks for every student in the grade whose teacher wasn't providing instruction to the students during that time. Honestly very selfish. Imagine if everyone did this? Schools aren't obligated to do this and they shouldn't have agreed to in your case. Why so high maintenance?

Are you serious? You do understand that we are in the special needs thread where kids are entitled to extra services and supports, right? Schools always do this sort of thing and schools like parents who are engaged and working with their kids to be successful. Time is built into the schedule and extra staffing exists in schools just for this sort of thing. And, we have had a meeting the first week of school every single year since first grade. It's in the IEP.

That may happen every year for you, but it doesn't for everyone. You have a right to an annual review. If you are taking all of your teachers at a single time, those teachers are not teaching. The class is covered by a paraeducator. If every parent took your approach that would amount to dozens of additional meetings during which teachers are not in the classroom. Schools like parents who are engaged, but not overbearing. Time is not built into the schedule for this. If anything you are taking the staff lunchtime or planning time.

[Anonymous]

That may happen every year for you, but it doesn't for everyone. You have a right to an annual review. If you are taking all of your teachers at a single time, those teachers are not teaching. The class is covered by a paraeducator. If every parent took your approach that would amount to dozens of additional meetings during which teachers are not in the classroom. Schools like parents who are engaged, but not overbearing. Time is not built into the schedule for this. If anything you are taking the staff lunchtime or planning time.

8:51 here. I don't care if I'm pulling teachers from the classroom when I request a meeting. Teachers get pulled for lots of reasons, they get sick, they take personal days, etc. My 20-30 minutes is important to me and my kid - my kid who also attends these meetings in MS and will in HS. The lessons he needs to learn can only be taught in those meetings. The kids left with the paraeducator will not be impacted by that 20-30 minutes and if they are, there are bigger issues in play. Yeah, I'm not mustering any guilt over this. None. Nada. Zip.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At ours is MCPS, the middle school lead sped teacher was there. We did not spend a lot of time on goals, but more on what the instruction would look like. We spoke of supported classes, resource class, etc. I left a bit upset that we had no time for goals (sort of strange) but a pretty good idea of what her day would be like.

This was my experience as well with one caveat. I requested that the MS rep be present. Another thing I did was request a team meeting for the first week of school. It was tough to arrange but we had every teacher present.

Good for you. I guess it sucks for every student in the grade whose teacher wasn't providing instruction to the students during that time. Honestly very selfish. Imagine if everyone did this? Schools aren't obligated to do this and they shouldn't have agreed to in your case. Why so high maintenance?

Are you serious? You do understand that we are in the special needs thread where kids are entitled to extra services and supports, right? Schools always do this sort of thing and schools like parents who are engaged and working with their kids to be successful. Time is built into the schedule and extra staffing exists in schools just for this sort of thing. And, we have had a meeting the first week of school every single year since first grade. It's in the IEP.

That may happen every year for you, but it doesn't for everyone. You have a right to an annual review. If you are taking all of your teachers at a single time, those teachers are not teaching. The class is covered by a paraeducator. If every parent took your approach that would amount to dozens of additional meetings during which teachers are not in the classroom. Schools like parents who are engaged, but not overbearing. Time is not built into the schedule for this. If anything you are taking the staff lunchtime or planning time.

NP here. My job is not to be a parent that schools "like." My job is to advocate for my child so he gets the education that he needs. If teachers actually read and followed the IEP, a meeting wouldn't be necessary. But since they don't, a meeting is necessary.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At ours is MCPS, the middle school lead sped teacher was there. We did not spend a lot of time on goals, but more on what the instruction would look like. We spoke of supported classes, resource class, etc. I left a bit upset that we had no time for goals (sort of strange) but a pretty good idea of what her day would be like.

This was my experience as well with one caveat. I requested that the MS rep be present. Another thing I did was request a team meeting for the first week of school. It was tough to arrange but we had every teacher present.

Requesting a meeting during the first week of school doesn't seem respectful of the other students and teachers. Surely, you could wait a few weeks to meet since the middle school representative took time to attend your ES meeting and then shared specific information regarding your child to the new teachers prior to the start of school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:At ours is MCPS, the middle school lead sped teacher was there. We did not spend a lot of time on goals, but more on what the instruction would look like. We spoke of supported classes, resource class, etc. I left a bit upset that we had no time for goals (sort of strange) but a pretty good idea of what her day would be like.

This was my experience as well with one caveat. I requested that the MS rep be present. Another thing I did was request a team meeting for the first week of school. It was tough to arrange but we had every teacher present.

Requesting a meeting during the first week of school doesn't seem respectful of the other students and teachers. Surely, you could wait a few weeks to meet since the middle school representative took time to attend your ES meeting and then shared specific information regarding your child to the new teachers prior to the start of school.

You have an odd definition of 'respectful'. I question your experience if you think waiting a few weeks for a critical meeting is a good idea and that the MS representative can communicate as effectively to teachers about a student as the parent and the student himself can. It will also have been at least 3 months since the MS rep attended the IEP meeting. Her memory wouldn't exactly be 'fresh'. We try to schedule our meetings the week before school starts but I understand if it has to happen the first week.