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In this Issue:
President's Message
Parent University™ 11th Class: The ABCs of IEPs - October 15th at 7:00pm CST
Parent University™ 12th Class: Progress Report/Goal Setting - November 12th at
7:00pm CST
How To Adapt Special Education To The Remote-Learning Reality
For Kids With Special Needs, Online Schooling Divides Haves and Have-Nots
Study: The Best Cities for People With Disabilities
This is Where We Will Be...
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Dear Clients and Friends,
Welcome to Fall here in the Midwest. It seems it just appeared overnight, didn't it? But I'm looking out my window now at the beautiful colors and I remember just how blessed we are, no matter what difficulties we might face. 2020 continues to be a challenge for many, but I do have to say that I have seen friends and strangers alike step up with kindness to others. It confirms that we as a human race have more "sames" than "differences", and I hope that we can let the kindness define us going forward.
It is school time, and I've heard about both struggles and successes. It is one of the reasons we chose to modify our Parent University™ Class this month to cover IEP's during Covid. Many still want us to still provide the original planned class and we will make sure to schedule the original class in the next few months.
I wish everyone a peaceful October, and I look forward to seeing you online.
Warmest regards,
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Mary Anne Ehlert,
Founder & President
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Just a quick reminder that our eleventh Parent University™
webinar, "The ABCs of IEPs", will take place on October 15th, 2020 at 7:00pm - 8:00pm CST.
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Class description: An IEP is more than just a program for your child while in school. The IEP is a blueprint, or plan, for setting and achieving goals. We will work together and discuss how to be a strong advocate for your child and how to navigate through the tangled system of rules and regulations. Joining us as a guest speaker is Pam Linderman, Founder and President of The IEP Advocate. Through personal experience, Pam started The IEP Advocate 11 years ago. Today, The IEP Advocate has a staff of 30+ advocates and they are the largest private advocacy organization in the country, serving families across the United States. Pam has personally participated in over 2,500 IEP meetings, consulted with over 4,000 families, and taught advocacy strategies to thousands more.
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Parent University™ 12th Webinar Class: Progress Report/Goal Setting on November 12th, 2020 at 7:00pm CST
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Powered by Protected Tomorrows and presented by Mary Anne Ehlert, President and Founder of Protected Tomorrows, we are proud to offer you our twelfth and final class in a series of educational webinar classes:
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"Progress Report/Goal Setting"
November 12th, 2020
7:00pm - 8:00pm CST
Class Description: A look at how the small steps you started out with this year are adding up to real progress in planning for your family's future and to set your goals for the next year.
Mary Anne Ehlert will host this free online Zoom webinar on November 12th, 2020 from 7:00pm - 8:00pm CST. Click here to register!
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How To Adapt Special Education To The Remote-Learning Reality
by Los Angeles Times
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When the pandemic forced schools to transition to remote learning in the spring, some families struggled more than others. Families of students in special education programs were suddenly expected to adapt to an online learning environment that was often inaccessible to children with a variety of physical, emotional or developmental needs.
As another period of distance learning dawns, parents, educators and service providers are offering recommendations and advice about special education.
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Although it may seem obvious, parents should know that schools must still provide their students with special education. Denise Stile Marshall, chief executive of the national Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, which protects the civil rights of students with disabilities, said she received an outpouring of calls in March from parents - especially from California - struggling to get their school districts to accommodate every student's needs.
Some school districts, Marshall said, completely suspended special education courses until the closures ended. Marshall said that is illegal under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the law that makes about 7 million students in the United States eligible for special education. Every child, regardless of need, is entitled to a "free, appropriate public education."
If a school district is not meeting its requirements, Marshall said, caregivers should write their concerns down to create a record. Any data that families can collect on any student - including video of the child, school work or other documentation - can be helpful for tracking the student's progress or regression. Then, she said, get into contact with the school district and the student's individualized education program coordinator. Click here to read more.
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For Kids With Special Needs, Online Schooling Divides Haves and Have-Nots
Virtual classrooms are aggravating disparities that plague education, with widening divides in access to supplies, workspace and parental guidance. The problem is especially acute for children with learning disabilities.
by Anna Almendrala | Kaiser Health News
It's Tuesday morning, and teacher Tamya Daly has her online class playing an alphabet game. The students are writing quickly and intently, with occasional whoops of excitement, on the little whiteboards she dropped off at their homes the day before along with coloring books, markers, Silly Putty and other learning props - all of which she created or paid for with her own money.
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Two of the seven children in her combined third- and fifth-grade class weren't home when Daly came by with the gift bags. One of the two managed to find her own writing tablet, thanks to an older brother, but the other can't find a piece of paper in her dad's house. She sits quietly watching her classmates on Zoom for half an hour while Daly tries futilely to get the father's attention. Maybe the student is wearing earphones; maybe the father is out of the room.
As children head back to school online across California and much of the nation, some of the disparities that plague education are growing wider. Instead of attending the same school with similar access to supplies and teacher time, children are directly dependent on their home resources, from Wi-Fi and computers to study space and parental guidance. Parents who work, are poor or have less education are at a disadvantage, as are their kids.
Daly teaches elementary students with special needs. The children in her class, who have a variety of diagnoses and intellectual disabilities, are at even higher risk - they can't work independently and need more hands-on instruction. "The more they're not getting those kinds of accommodations, the further they're going to fall behind," said Allison Gandhi, a managing director in special education at the nonprofit American Institutes for Research. Click here to read more.
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Study: The Best Cities for People With Disabilities
by Elliot Davis | U.S. News & World Report
Scottsdale, Arizona, and St. Louis are the cities that provide the best overall accessibility for people with disabilities, according to a new study by WalletHub, a personal finance website.
WalletHub compared more than 180 U.S. cities using 34 data points related to "disability-friendliness" - such as physicians and wheelchair-accessible facilities per capita and the rate of workers with disabilities - from a variety of sources, including the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics. A score was assigned to each city based on its weighted average across all metrics. Click here to read more.
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This is Where We Will Be...
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