Guest Article

by John R. Frye, Special Education Advocate, Brownley Law Group

(John worked with general and special education students in a local public school system for 30 years before joining The Brownley Law Group as an advocate.  He writes occasional pieces for our web site about families and public schools.)

Spring vacation is over and everyone is back in school until the school year wraps up in June.  Parents should expect that April, May, and June provide plenty of time for learning this year and some time to prepare for next year.

From a teacher’s point of view, most of the school year is a busy mix of projects, lessons, units of study, and more.  Each week, some thing is starting, some other unit is right in the middle, and still some other set of lessons is ending.  In a strange and wonderful way, all of this keeps things busy, balanced, and interesting.  After Spring vacation, things start to change!

The two main jobs teachers have every day remain the same.  Every day teachers must keep the children safe and help them learn.  Now that the end of the school year is within sight, added responsibilities include end-of-the-year activities, IEP meetings, and planning for next year.


All through the year, especially in Spring, it is crucial to monitor your child’s IEP.  When the Spring IEP meeting occurs, two main questions can guide your side of the discussion.  1.  Is the current IEP being implemented?  2.  Is it working?  If things are going well, then current practice will help the team to plan for next year.  If things are not going well, it is important to determine what the problem is.  Did the school fail to implement the IEP?  Or, was the IEP well implemented and that failed? 

As the parent, you know very well how things seem to be going in your child’s day-to-day life at school.  You want to note the good things that are working so you can steer the IEP goals in that direction in the future.  It takes effort to make good things happen.  You want to keep those resources available.

It is important to review how things are going regarding the specific language of the IEP.  Are the promises made being kept?  Matching what you see and feel in the every day with the language in the IEP will help you to achieve your goals in an IEP meeting.  When you know that the current IEP promises are being kept, then you can evaluate if goals are being achieved. 

In addition to specific review and preparation for a Spring IEP meeting, it is important to keep up those good home-to-school communications.  When something goes well, in the specifics of the IEP or in school life in general, let the school and teacher know about it.  A positive note or e-mail to the teacher and principal telling about some thing that went well is the right thing to do and it builds the good will that can help you through the sometimes bumpy back and forth of that IEP meeting.

And, the last little “Spring is the Thing” reminder is that as the days grow longer and the after-dinner time is lighter, make sure your children get their rest.  Cranky kids can derail the best plans!  Read them a story and put them to bed on time! 

As busy as it will be, the routine is in place and it is almost always nice enough to get out for a little recess time!  April, May, and June, the “Spring is the Thing” months, can be a  great time for learning.