Cassandra Smith

EDU 460
IEP Reflection

In October, I virtually attended an IEP meeting with my mentor for one of our students. Their
IEP had not been officially updated since middle school, which they were in the year prior. The
student’s mother and father were also present at the meeting. I had always thought that only one
parent would come, but it was nice to see that both were present. The meeting was to make a
transition plan for this student and to refine their current plan so it wasn’t so bulky and confusing.
The support staff and teachers decided that the student no longer needed breaks. They decided to
keep comprehension checks, which is always good. The primary focus for this student is reading and
writing (our department). This student is very driven and self-motivated to succeed. They are slow
reading, but very accurate. To help this student they have put in their file that they need to have
twenty-five minutes of reading and writing each. We also have to implore this student to get better at
asking for help when needed. Students don’t like to ask for help or admit they need it sometimes, and
that is something educators have to watch out for. Our job in our classroom is to help create an
environment that aligns with this student’s and other students’ IEPs. We want to give them extra time
to work on reading and writing assignments. We give this time in class on a routine basis. My mentor
and I work to work the common accommodations of IEPs into the framework of our classes. This
benefits not only the students with IEPs, but all of our students.
This student has aspirations beyond this school, for further education. Some of the discussion
was to think about classes the student could take that would help them get closer to their goals of
either going into nursing or criminal justice. They are varied fields from each other, but have the
necessity of science. Science is a class this student excels at. I was very pleased with how attentive
everyone present was to the student’s goals and ambitions despite the student not being present. I
wish the student had been present so they could use their own voice to advocate for themselves, but
their parents are the next best thing. Their parents are very involved in the little community that
makes up the district's two schools. They actively participate and help put together events. They have
two students that are in my mentor and I’s classes. They were a great representation of involved
parents. I hope to see more parents as involved in their child’s education and wellbeing as these
parents were in the future. The commitment to student success should not just come from educators,
it should come from home too. They indeed know more facets of their child’s behavior and ideas
than we often do and are an invaluable resource in education.