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2.1.  Describe your thoughts and feelings during the IEP meeting. What new understandings/a-ha moments did you have during the meeting?

I felt anxious when the meeting began, particularly because I'm still learning how to navigate what may be difficult conversations with parents. I was afraid I would respond to questions with irrelevant information, but I was also comfortable with what I knew about the student's performance in our classroom. As the meeting progressed, my worries about providing irrelevant information were alleviated, especially when the student's mom expressed similar concerns about what she notices at home. An a-ha moment for me was learning that this particular student has difficulties expressing himself at home as well. While it is something I notice in the classroom, I didn't realize his expressive skills difficulties extended to non-academic conversations, which typically take place at home. I was not surprised to learn this, but I was surprised that I didn't consider this to be a challenge outside of the classroom. This conversation attested to the value of parent-teacher communication, which plays a significant role in how we extend the student's IEP goals to their lives at home and in their communities.

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2.2. What were you comfortable with during the meeting? What is your perception of what went well? Why?

I felt comfortable with the information I gathered and presented about the student. Having led reading and grammar instruction for the past 2-3 months, I knew that it was my responsibility to report his progress, including any areas where additional support may be beneficial. After I shared my concerns about the student's expressive difficulties, his mom agreed and went on to provide examples of his expressive difficulties at home. I felt comfortable while having this conversation because it is a skill we agreed we would approach deliberately at any given opportunity. Lastly, the dynamic between the teachers felt supportive, especially after my mentor and the general education agreed and added to what I shared as my concerns. This certainly contributed to how comfortable I felt during the meeting, as it validated my observations and concerns as a resident teacher.

2.3. What made you uncomfortable during the meeting? What could have gone better? Why?

There weren't many instances where I felt uncomfortable, but I did feel unsure when the student's mom asked if she should seek tutoring services outside of school. I turned towards the student's general education teacher, as I did not know how to respond to the question. I also worried that if I gave my opinion, it would somehow be held against me in the future. Had I given an honest answer, I would have said that it wasn't a decision I could make as his teacher but rather her decision as the parent and as someone who knows how the student behaves after eight hours of school. On another note, if there is something that could have gone better, it would definitely be finding coverage well before the meeting so that I could've stayed for the entire hour. Reflecting on the time I was present, however, I do feel that it was a very positive and productive meeting.

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2.4. Do you feel the parents/guardians completely understood the IEP process? Why/why not?

This wasn't the first time this student's mom attended an IEP meeting. She appeared comfortable as she asked questions and requested feedback from different members of the team; however, I also know parents may not always ask questions when something is unclear. The only change that was suggested was adding 25 minutes of paraprofessional services in reading class, which was explained to her as receiving additional support to stay on task and complete lesson activities in a timely manner. After the change was explained to her, the student's mom agreed and consented to have the case manager make that change on the IEP document. Based on the parent-teacher interactions that occurred, I would say the parent understood the IEP process, but more experience will help me to better identify how I can improve my delivery and ensure that my students' parents are comfortable asking for clarification.

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2.5.  How did it feel to write IEP goal(s)? Did you have the baseline data needed to write the goal(s)?

This wasn't the first student for whom I wrote IEP goals, but I certainly felt as overwhelmed as I did the previous times I took on this responsibility. Part of it is knowing it is a legal document, and the other part comes from not knowing if I'm spending too much time in the process. I compare my productivity to my mentor's, and while I recognize she has many years of experience writing IEPs, I feel that I don't yet know how to navigate the IEP process in a comfortable and timely manner. Before writing my student's goals, I gathered information from online progress monitoring platforms (i.e., Amira and Freckle), observational notes, work samples, standardized assessment data, and paraprofessional data collection forms. As I wrote about his present levels of performance, I was able to identify which pieces of data would support my statements, which consequently helped me narrow down all the information I began with. In the end, I felt that I had everything I needed to draft my student's IEP goals, but I wonder if I could've taken less time in my approach while still producing the same work.

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2.6. Finally, please share how this experience has impacted you moving forward as a special education teacher.

Thinking ahead to writing IEPs for my future students, this experience has helped me recognize the level of intentionality it takes to work through the IEP process with integrity. Rightfully so, there is an immense responsibility that comes with gathering data to write goals that minimize achievement gaps and help our students progress. As we've repeated in this course, "Not on our watch" encompasses all areas of our responsibilities as teachers, including our effort to write meaningful and ambitious goals for our students. We must never enter deficit mindsets where we view our students' disabilities as preventing them from growing. Instead, I know that having confidence in my students' abilities will serve as an essential foundation for developing well-rounded and strengths-based IEPs.