Recently, I was talking with a colleague after a community event about a case that had been weighing on me. The details of the case are not important. What mattered was the conversation that followed.
Like many parents and advocates, I can become deeply invested in a student’s success. When you spend enough time looking at data, reading reports, attending meetings, and hearing concerns from families, it becomes easy to focus on what should happen next. Sometimes it becomes easy to focus so much on the outcome that you forget how many different people are involved in getting there.
During our conversation, they reminded me of something that seems obvious on the surface but is often forgotten during difficult IEP and 504 meetings.
Every person sitting at the table knows the student differently.
At first glance, that sounds simple. The longer I sat with it, the more important it became.
As a parent know your child in a way nobody else ever will. You see the late nights, the medical diagnosis, the therapy office sessions, the frustrations, the victories, the anxiety, the growth, and the moments that happen outside of school. You know the history behind behaviors and the context behind reactions. As well as what happened before the school day started and what happened after it ended.
Teachers know students differently.
A Math teacher may describe your child as confident, engaged, and eager to participate. That subject may be your child's strength.
An English teacher may describe your child as hesitant, overwhelmed, and reluctant to complete written work. This may be because your child has a learning disability in written expression or reading comprehension.
Neither teacher is necessarily wrong. They are observing the same student in different environments with different expectations and different academic demands.
Service providers bring another
perspective entirely.
A speech-language pathologist may notice communication weakness that never appear during a classroom discussion such as a lisp or letter replacements.
A social worker may observe emotional regulation challenges that are not visible during academic instruction such as inattention.
An occupational therapist may recognize barriers that other team members have never considered such as a sensory need for noice cancelling headphones.
Administrators and district leaders often bring yet another perspective.
Their understanding is frequently based on data, reports, observations, and the information shared by the staff working directly with the student. Their perspective is valuable, even though it may not always be firsthand.
