It's all unicorns. The words the district uses do not translate into actions at the classroom level. I can advocate for whole-school change but the bureaucracy will prevent it from impacting my kids. I have to put my actual effort into individual accommodations rather than fixing a broken system at this time.
Been there. And I can tell you that no amount or skill of advocacy will extract a single action from the school that they absolutely will not perform. Sometimes you're tilting at windmills. But you never know until you try.
Why am I such a chicken when I get in front of the people that matter? Does anyone else experience this? I can prepare and prepare, and they start talking and I shut-down in these meetings, allowing them to use their method. Again and again I've been disappointed. This is where I need to change my approach. I need to be more firm. I just don't want things to be adversarial. I'm afraid of the repercussions of that long-term as I have to work with these people for the next 11 years.
Probably a personality thing - some people are just better suited to conflict than others. It's for this very reason that I was brought into meetings. Is your DH better suited, and available? Otherwise, I would suggest you come in with notes on the major topics you want to address, and do what you need to to redirect the conversation to your core points when it starts veering off the track.
Be prepared that it may turn adversarial no matter what you do, because you can't control other people's reactions. But you're there to ensure your DS gets a proper education, not to make friends.
