Wednesday, February 3rd, 2010
I have quite a handful of information to share with you today. I’ll give you a quick recap: Erin’s IEP meeting went great. Really great! You have no idea how relieved I am! Erin will continued to spend half of her school day in specialized classrooms that focus on improving her reading, math, & social skills and the other half of her school day she will be in regular classes such as: Science, Choir, & Art (at least for this year). In the past, Erin has had her own Assistant that has been assigned to her. I have had many concerns about this. I know Erin has the capacity of being extremely independent and I have seen her becoming dependent on her Assistant. It got to a point where she began to depend on her Assistant to complete her classroom work and was having a challenge finishing any assignment or task she was given. She began to ask her Assistant to do things that she was completely capable of doing herself, therefore last year I requested that we either start to fade her Assistant out or find other resources that would provide Erin with the support she needs and the independence at the same time. I was so ecstatic to see the outcome! The Teacher started a Peer Mentoring program which consist of students that are Erin’s age who have been trained/educated on her needs and how to work with Erin. The Peer Mentor spends one of her classes with her as one of their electives. They help her with things such as: opening doors, taking notes, etc.. I have been told Erin fits right in! How cool is that?! Kudos to Ms. E for making it work!!! She found out how to make it work for everyone to win! Brilliant! Can you tell, I’m a fan? All team members on the IEP team said that they fully enjoy working with Erin. She is always pleasant, always happy, and always smiling. That makes my heart flutter with joy! I’m so proud of you my Erin Marie!