Topic 3 Assignment #1

A. One of our district Special Education department goals is to engage parents/guardians as

meaningful partners in the special education process and the education of their child. Last year,
85% of our parents participated in CSE or 504 plan annual reviews in person or by phone. This
data can be viewed as summative, since it tells our final percentage of participating parents at the
end of the year, and formative, as we can use it to help us adjust our strategies for this school
year.

B. In the past, we discussed ways to get parents involved in CSE/504 meetings. We decided that
parents would be sent a formal invitation from the school, and case managers would reach out
personally prior to the meeting to confirm the parent could attend. While these strategies are
effective and should remain in place, we might want to consider what we should do about the
parents who do not respond to our contacts, or who say they will attend but do not show up.

C. As a leader, I would present the information to the Special Education department and
encourage them to brainstorm reasons that might keep parents from being involved in their
student's meetings. I would identify with them what strategies we are already using to get
parents involved with their student's education. We would discuss why we think there is a
disconnect for some families and how we can be more effective in our parent communication,
especially for families who repeatedly do not engage in meetings. I would also set a time frame
for meeting back again to review interim assessment data as the year progresses (to see how our
efforts are impacting our parent participation rate).