IEP Meeting Observation Madison Nadeau

The IEP meeting I observed was an annual IEP meeting for a student in one of my
mentor's classes. The purpose of the meeting was to review this student's accommodations. In
the meeting, three of their teachers, the assistant principal, the mother, and their case manager
were present. The student was not present. The case manager was also leading the meeting.
The meeting started with introductions around the room. Everyone introduced
themselves and who they were to the student. The parent had the opportunity to air out any
concerns they had right away about their child and then the case manager listed out what the
student's current accommodations were. After the accommodations were listed, the teachers
and the assistant principal had the opportunity to talk about their reports about the student.
These reports contained what behaviors they have witnessed from the student, their concerns
with the student, and what has worked well with them. The reports also included how well the
student is doing in their class. The teacher reports have to be based on some kind of evidence
that the teacher has witnessed. After each teacher gave their report, the parent had the chance
to give any input or comments, either about whether they experienced similar situations with the
student or about what works well with the student. After the parent gave their comments, the
case manager also reported any other teacher reports for teachers who weren’t able to be
present for the meeting.
Next, the case manager went over what goals the student currently has and what the
student is responsible for doing during school. The case manager also asked for input from the
teachers about putting down any additional accommodations, removing any, or modifying any of
the current accommodations. They also made sure that all the teachers agreed before moving
forward. Usually, the case manager would ask for student input about their accommodations,
however, the case manager wasn’t able to speak with the student before the meeting. Lastly, the
case manager asked if there were any questions or concerns from the parent at the end of the
meeting. Then the case manager made a note that if any changes needed to be made to the
current accommodations, those would be updated.
The case manager made sure that everyone in the meeting was comfortable by making
sure everyone had the chance to give their input during conversations. Additionally, the meeting
was like a conversation with the parent. After each teacher had the chance to give their report,
the parent had the opportunity to give their side of things and this process followed throughout
the meeting, after each faculty member gave their report, the parent was able to give their input.
The environment was very relaxed during the meeting and no one was stressed or anxious and
everyone had their chance to say what they needed to say. I have no suggestions or
recommendations to make in this regard.
The preparations that I will make as a teacher to be ready to be an active participant is to
make sure to check the student's grades before the meeting and take note of how well of a
student they are, behavior and grade-wise. I will also keep in mind what works best for the
student and what doesn’t following up to the meeting and afterwards.
I wonder how often parents don’t go to IEP meetings. These meetings seem very
beneficial when a parent and student are present so everyone can voice their concerns and
their side of things. I do like how the meeting was like a conversation with the parent and they
were very involved in giving their input. It was a very open conversation about the student and it
was very apparent that everyone wants to help the student be able to pass and succeed in
school.