With the uncertainty of what school will look like in the fall, there are some important steps parents and guardians can take now to be prepared for what lies ahead.
The most important strategy for the here and now is to document, document, document! This way, once the plan for the fall is announced, you will be prepared to communicate with the school district with regards to your child’s needs. What did work for your child/student during remote learning? Next, what was challenging? Was your child/student able to access the curriculum independently? Was there any notable regression? Was work modified appropriately for your learner based on their IEP? This does not have to be a daunting task. Be as straightforward as possible. Refer to your learner’s IEP as often as necessary. Were the services on the service delivery grid implemented successfully? What worked and what didn’t? How would it be possible, if at all, for your learner to access these services in the upcoming school year if remote learning is on the table? Be specific about your concerns as they relate to your learner and their IEP. It is very important to be factual with regards to what remote learning looked like March through May (or longer if your learner received ESY).
As things stand today, the Department of Education and Secondary Education (DESE) has given guidelines to Massachusetts school districts based on the possibility of in person learning at schools, remote learning or a hybrid, combination of both. Districts are to be prepared for whatever guidelines become mandates. DESE will announce the mandates any day now. Schools then have until the 14th of August to submit their district’s plans. These plans will then be reviewed by DESE and once approved, schools will send out their school’s opening plans. Right now, there is a great deal of speculation, but as far as public schools are concerned, nothing is set in stone. This waiting game is extremely hard, but the plans should be out very soon.
These are unpredictable, frightening times and the number of concerns is overwhelming. Again, my advice to anyone who asks right now is to DOCUMENT!
As always, reach out with concerns!
Cara Cohen
www.caracohenadvocate.com