A Week of Meetings
That is literally the best way to describe this week. I honestly can't remember the last time I had this many meetings in one week!
Monday brought about a surprise meeting right away in the morning. One of my 5th-grade colleagues was sick on Monday morning and was supposed to attend a 504 meeting before school. A 504 plan, for those of you not in the education world, addresses ways that schools will support students with disabilities that aren't part of a special education program. There are any number of reasons as to why students might qualify for a 504 plan--some examples are students with ADHD or cases of anxiety. The 504 plan then lays out strategies that the students can use or accommodations that staff can put in place in order to help the student be more successful. So, one of the school counselors came into my room and explained the situation. What made things more interesting was the fact that I was currently in charge of watching about 35 students during Peaceful Start (usually it is more like 15-20, but I was covering the students for the teacher who was sick and another teacher who had supervision duty outside). Luckily, one of the other awesome 5th grade teachers was able to step into my room while I went to the meeting. It was a fairly easy meeting--the student in question was very successful with the strategies that were in the 504 plan, so I was able to get back to my classroom when school started! Monday afternoon brought another meeting, and this time it was an IEP meeting (an IEP is an individualized education plan for students that are part of a special education program). This meeting went longer than my meeting that morning, and I left school about 4:45.
Tuesday's meetings were parent-teacher conferences. I had 8 conferences on Tuesday after school, and they covered a variety of needs, as usual. Some simply positive check-ins with discussions of how we could take schoolwork to the "next level"; others required a more serious conversation about addressing missing work, behavior issues, or difficulties between friends.
Wednesday afternoon brought another 504 meeting, but this one was longer than Monday's. This particular student has some pretty strong anxiety issues and required a more in-depth conversation about strategies being used. Thursday is parent-teacher conversations again, but this time it is at my daughter's school :-) Tomorrow afternoon will bring the final meeting of the week, right at the end of the day. I have another IEP meeting on Friday that starts at 2:15, and I have a feeling that this is going to be a long one...
After this week, though, that should be all the 504 and IEP meetings that I need to attend through the rest of the year.
Mindfulness thought for the week: Forgiveness doesn't excuse their behavior. Forgiveness prevents their behavior from destroying your heart. --unknown
Monday brought about a surprise meeting right away in the morning. One of my 5th-grade colleagues was sick on Monday morning and was supposed to attend a 504 meeting before school. A 504 plan, for those of you not in the education world, addresses ways that schools will support students with disabilities that aren't part of a special education program. There are any number of reasons as to why students might qualify for a 504 plan--some examples are students with ADHD or cases of anxiety. The 504 plan then lays out strategies that the students can use or accommodations that staff can put in place in order to help the student be more successful. So, one of the school counselors came into my room and explained the situation. What made things more interesting was the fact that I was currently in charge of watching about 35 students during Peaceful Start (usually it is more like 15-20, but I was covering the students for the teacher who was sick and another teacher who had supervision duty outside). Luckily, one of the other awesome 5th grade teachers was able to step into my room while I went to the meeting. It was a fairly easy meeting--the student in question was very successful with the strategies that were in the 504 plan, so I was able to get back to my classroom when school started! Monday afternoon brought another meeting, and this time it was an IEP meeting (an IEP is an individualized education plan for students that are part of a special education program). This meeting went longer than my meeting that morning, and I left school about 4:45.
Tuesday's meetings were parent-teacher conferences. I had 8 conferences on Tuesday after school, and they covered a variety of needs, as usual. Some simply positive check-ins with discussions of how we could take schoolwork to the "next level"; others required a more serious conversation about addressing missing work, behavior issues, or difficulties between friends.
Wednesday afternoon brought another 504 meeting, but this one was longer than Monday's. This particular student has some pretty strong anxiety issues and required a more in-depth conversation about strategies being used. Thursday is parent-teacher conversations again, but this time it is at my daughter's school :-) Tomorrow afternoon will bring the final meeting of the week, right at the end of the day. I have another IEP meeting on Friday that starts at 2:15, and I have a feeling that this is going to be a long one...
After this week, though, that should be all the 504 and IEP meetings that I need to attend through the rest of the year.
Mindfulness thought for the week: Forgiveness doesn't excuse their behavior. Forgiveness prevents their behavior from destroying your heart. --unknown
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