Help me out here:
DD10 is on the first year of an IEP for disorder of written expression and a reading disability. After a rough start last week with pull-out Wilson, things seem to be humming along. It got off badly because the IS launched into her standard speech about how it's ok not to be a good reader yet. DD reads. Very well. Not the problem. That situation is now smoothed over, and the IS seems to be hitting it right down the middle of where she needs to be given DD's talents and personality.
DD also has a push-in IS to work on the writing goals, 90 minutes a week, with 2 other kids in the room getting services from the woman at the same time. I'm hearing from other parents that this IS is passive aggressive about enforcing the IEP accommodations, has low expectations, teaches on instinct rather than best practices, and she expects kids to be "self-directed learners" on the areas covered by the IEP.
DD's goals are about a mile higher than the school's ever written for IEP goals before, as the goals are tied to her present levels of performance. In short, we've got a pretty good 2e document, recognizing DD's extreme verbal abilities. DD already meets low grade-level expectations. She'll move to middle school gifted language arts next year, which has closer to high-school level writing expectations. That's the IEP's target, not grade level.
We've established that teaching however the teacher feels like teaching doesn't work. That's what the school did for K-4 for DD, and DD ended up on an IEP as a result. Teaching on instinct isn't going to work. DD needs the multi-sensory approach outlined in her IEP.
DD is not self directed when it comes to her writing goals. Simply put, they're hard. She will need to be motivated.
As I was triple booked for back-to-school night, I didn't meet her last night. Instead I have an appointment with her Friday after school.
Given the above, yet recognizing that at this point I'm mostly working on hearsay (but independently from 3-4 parents of not-dissimilar kids), any suggestions on how to address this meeting to get off onto the right foot?
