Love it!
What process did you use to find and choose your advocate. What do you think the advocate brought to the table?
I chose the advocate on the recommendation of a friend who has 2e children. The advocate has a lot of experience with the district and knows the people involved. Both parents and administration genuinely seem to respect her and welcome working with her. There's another advocate I talked to who also seemed to have a great reputation in the district amongst both parents and administration, but she seemed less familiar with the gifted piece and has a demeanor that made my teeth itch.
In short, I'm again reaping the benefits of being (moderately) open about my kids' needs with other parents. It's a tight rope to walk, but once again, I'm learning that my best network at the school is the network of parents with children with special needs. As a group, they are empathetic, collaborative, and genuinely concerned when hearing *any* kid's needs are going unmet.
