by Jess
Now that the new school year has begun, it may be a good time for parents to schedule an observation of their child’s educational setting. In order to be proactive in your child’s educational progress, it’s important to know what’s occurring during the time they’re at school.
Here are some tips for conducting observations:
• Look at your child’s schedule and decide which time would be most productive. If your child does well during math, but struggles during reading or writing, you might want to schedule a time during the literacy block. This will give you an opportunity to offer input that may assist the teacher during potentially difficult times for your child.
• Be prepared to give your child’s teacher at least 48 hours notice as to when you’d like to visit the classroom.
• When you arrive, try to sit in a location that’s nonintrusive to the children. If the children are grouped at one side of the room, try to sit on the opposite side. Make every attempt to sit facing your child’s back. If your child sees you watching him/her, their behaviors may be altered.
• Be prepared to take notes. During the observation is not the time to point out concerns that may come up.
• Do not engage with the teacher unless she initiates the conversation. You are there to observe his/her interaction with the students and the instruction that your child is receiving.
• Some things to look for:
o Is your child seated in an appropriate location to benefit from instruction?
o Is your child receiving the necessary amount of adult support to be included within the setting and activity?
o Are all assistive devices being utilized (postural supports, graphic organizers, communication devices, pencil grips, technology, etc)?
o Is the room organized and can your child tell what the schedule and expectations are?
o Is your child given opportunities to engage in the lesson?
• Give yourself a few days to think about what you observed, then schedule a time to review your notes with the teacher.
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• Thank the teacher for her time and being accommodating to your presence. When meeting with her, find at least two things that were positive about what you observed. You want to keep your relationship with the teacher as positive as possible, while still advocating effectively for your child.
populations.
www.disabilitytrainingandsupport.com
Monitoring your child’s education through observation,
Kathleen Whelan Ferris said on September 7, 2012
Don’t forget to note if your child’s teacher is collecting data, if your child’s IEP calls for data collection. This way, you know that there is accountability.
Missey said on September 7, 2012
and if the school resists and would rather use video?
Doug Goldberg said on September 7, 2012
Hi Missey,
Have they given you a reason for the resistance? If it’s privacy, FERPA doesn’t specifically prohibit parent observation. IDEA also doesn’t specifically allow observation but they do encourage allowing parents to observe. The last factor might be State law which you would need to look up yourself to determine whether the state allows it.
Here are a couple of helpful letters:
http://www.specialeducationadvisor.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/IDEA-observe.pdf
http://www.specialeducationadvisor.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/FERPA-observe.pdf
Missey said on September 7, 2012
too disruptive. i haven’t pushed the issue for several reasons, but most importantly because we are getting absolutely everything else we could possible want for her education at this point. i’ll read through the items you posted. thanks!