As the School Year Begins, Take Some Notes

For most of us, the school year has already started or starts very soon. If your learner participated in ESY (Extended School Year), then that's probably been over for a few weeks already. So before we get any deeper into the new school year, I want you to do something.

Take some notes.

What is your learner doing right now? As you think about this, consider both skills (academic or functional) and behaviors. Give special thought to the needs targeted by your learner's IEP goals and/or any needs you've pointed out to the school that have not yet been addressed. And then write it all down.

Why?

Because in a couple of months, if you're like me at all, you may find yourself thinking, "Wait. I thought she was doing xyz at the end of the school year."

What if instead, you had documentation to show that your learner was doing xyz at the end of the school year?

That kind of documentation will carry much more weight during IEP meetings than a vague suspicion.

What should you document?

Again, think about your learner's IEP. What skills or behaviors are already being targeted? Think about academic skills like decoding, fluency, math computation, and writing. And think about adaptive behaviors like tying their shoe or performing a routine. Be specific in your documentation. Include:

• The skill observed

• The date

• The level of support needed

• What the child did independently

• What changed after a school break

• How long recovery took

• Work samples (with dates and amount of adult assistance required) are also useful data.

The most useful ESY data answers three questions:

1. Did the child lose a learned skill during a break from school?

2. How long did it take to regain that skill once routines or instruction returned?

3. Is the child at risk of losing meaningful progress without services during a long break?

But your data isn't just about ESY. Your documentation will serve two purposes.

1. Yes, it may provide evidence to support eligibility for ESY.

2. But it also serves as data to compare against the school district's data.

First, let's talk about ESY. What are the factors when determining ESY eligibility? (I'm in Pennsylvania. As always, check your own state regulations.)

There are seven factors, and the determination should come from a multi-factor decision. This means that ESY should not be decided upon based solely on one factor:

• Regression- whether the student reverts to a lower level of functioning as evidenced by a measurable decrease in skills or behaviors which occur as a result of an interruption in educational programming.

• Recoupment- whether the student has the capacity to recover the skills or behavior patterns in which regression occurred to a level demonstrated prior to the interruption of educational programming.

• Regression / Recoupment- whether the student's difficulties with regression and recoupment make it unlikely that the student will maintain the skills and behaviors relevant to IEP goals and objectives.

• Mastery (Emerging Skills)- the extent to which the student has mastered and consolidated an important skill or behavior at the point when educational programming would be interrupted.

• Self-sufficiency and Independence- the extent to which a skill or behavior is particularly crucial for the student to meet the IEP goals of self-sufficiency and independence from caretakers.

• Successive Interruptions (may result in Interfering Behaviors)- the extent to which successive interruptions in educational programming result in a student's withdrawal from the learning process.

• Nature of severity of student’s disability- whether the student's disability is severe, such as autism/pervasive developmental disorder, serious emotional disturbance, severe intellectual disability, degenerative impairments with mental involvement and severe multiple disabilities.

ESY decisions should not come down to a vague feeling that a child “loses skills over breaks.” Strong data, including data collected by the parents, can show what happens when school services pause, how long it takes to regain skills, and whether IEP goals are moving forward during the school year. And don't forget about those "emerging skills." Things like just beginning to use a communication device spontaneously, just starting to read CVC words, just beginning to using coping strategies before a meltdown, etc. Emerging skill data should show what is new, how often it happens, what support the child needs, and that the skill is still developing and not yet stable. Don't forget those "interfering behaviors" either. Track behaviors that block access to learning. Behavior data can support ESY when breaks lead to increased behaviors that prevent the child from accessing instruction or daily routines. Include what happened before the behavior, what the behavior looked like, how long it lasted, and what helped your learner recover.

Second, what about that part about comparing my data to the school district's data?

I told you taking these notes and writing down this data isn't just about ESY. Have you ever been told your learner is "making good progress," but you're just not seeing it for yourself? If you have your own data points, then you have something concrete to compare to the school's data points. Concrete data points have a more powerful impact than a vague feeling.

Okay, but how exactly should you "take notes?" What is the best way to document data?

Whatever way is manageable and repeatable to you is the way you should do it. You don't need to recreate school at home. You don't need to develop a complicated system. Just find something that works for you. Some people like to use spreadsheets, some people prefer handwritten data on sticky notes. You gotta find a method you'll stick to. I have a free downloadable template to track IEP goal progress on my website here. And Lisa Lightner (A Day in Our Shoes) offers a much fancier spreadsheet available for free download here.

Times of the year you should take data: the end of the school year, once or twice during the summer, right before the beginning of the school year, and before and after any long breaks in school (winter and spring breaks).

When it comes time to share your data with the school team, you may want to fold it into your Parent Input or create a separate one-pager to display all your data.

Wrapping It Up

As always, your active participation in the process is critical. Taking fifteen mintes several times throughout the year to take notes on your learner's progress could make a big difference the next time you're seated at the IEP table.

With Love, Light, & Gratitude,

Janell

P.S. Need help with your learner's IEP? I can help. Check out my packages and schedule your free initial consultation with me.