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An overview on how to use student data for progress monitoring and analysis

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What do I do after I collect student data? | Progress Monitoring with Mrs. D

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Parent Workshop: How to Monitor IEP Goals

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Parent Workshop: How to Monitor IEP Goals

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Video on how to monitor progress on IEP goals and look at data in a meaningful way as a parent and professional.

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How to Monitor Progress on IEP Goals with Real Examples! (2020 Special Education Parent Workshop)

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Games to promote SEL at home!

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At a glance

Kids can learn to manage their emotions and work on social skills.

You can help your child with social-emotional learning by playing fun games at home.

There are lots of simple games you can play during everyday activities.

Many schools have started teaching kids how to do things like cope with feelings, set goals, and get along with others. It's called social-emotional learning. You can help your child work on these skills at home, too.

Here are a handful of activities that can help your child manage emotions and work on social skills - and have some fun with you along the way. These games are very low-tech. And all are designed to fit easily into daily routines.

1. Starfish and tornadoes

Try playing this game at different times of day, and help your child describe the energy levels. For example, if you play this game before dinner, you can say, "You have so much energy, I bet you could run up and down the stairs five times before I finish cooking!"

Keep in mind: Self-awareness can help kids build a skill called self-regulation. This skill is about managing your internal energy. It helps kids manage their emotions and their body movements during tough situations. It also helps them pay attention and learn.

The goal: To help kids practice observing what's going on around them. Picking up on social cues helps kids get their needs met and understand the perspective of others.

Help your child connect these observations with choosing how to behave. For example, when the swings are crowded, your child may decide to go on the slide first.

To help your child come up with ideas, comment whenever you notice your child's positive behaviors: "You just offered to teach your sister a nursery rhyme. Let's talk for a second about what kind of person you're being right now."

Also, you can buy these kinds of cards or find templates online. But kids might like making the cards themselves.

How to play: When you and your child can't agree, use the tune of "This Old Man" to sing these lines: "You want this. I want that. How can we both get what we want?" Then brainstorm solutions and choose the best idea for right now. For example, if your child is demanding to bake cookies at 8 a.m., the best solution might be to wait two hours so you can bake when the baby is napping.

5. Taking turns taking charge

Key takeaways

Simple, fun games can help kids learn to cope with feelings, set goals, and get along with others.

Self-regulation helps kids manage their emotions and their body movements.

Praising good behavior often leads to more of it.

About the author

About the author

Kate Kelly has been writing and editing for more than 20 years, with a focus on parenting.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Lynne Kenney, PsyD is a Harvard-trained pediatric psychologist and international educator in Scottsdale, Arizona.

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5 social-emotional learning games to play with your child

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Social-emotional learning activities can help kids learn to manage emotions and get along with other kids. These games are simple, low-cost, and low-tech, and can be built into your daily activities.

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Kids with certain learning and attention issues may have trouble managing their behavior at school. If your child often gets in trouble for acting out or for not following directions in class, a behavior contract could help. Your child's teacher may suggest one. Or you could bring up the idea to the teacher if you think it'd be helpful.

Here's what you need to know about behavior contracts.

What is a behavior contract?

A behavior contract is an agreement between your child and your child's teacher. It often includes you, too.

The contract outlines expectations for your child's behavior. It lays out any specific behaviors your child struggles with or is working on, along with goals for those behaviors. Ideally the goals will be attainable, but still challenging.

It also outlines the rewards and consequences for meeting or not meeting goals.

For example, if your child has trouble remembering to raise her hand in class, the contract may include a goal that she call out less than three times a day. If handing in homework is a problem, the contract might specify that she turn hers in at least 90 percent of the time.

If your child follows the terms of the contract, she gets a reward that's spelled out in the contract. For example, a reward could be extra computer time. And a week of good classroom behavior might mean a family movie night at home or a weekend sleepover.

Behavior contracts can take many forms. They may look like formal agreements, or they may be sticker charts. They may also include "daily report cards" that your child's teacher gives your child. No one form is better than another. What's important is for the contract to work well for your child.

Who's a good candidate for a behavior contract?

A behavior contract could benefit any student who needs to improve her behavior at school. It could be helpful for kids with ADHD, who can have issues with impulsivity, inattention or hyperactivity. A behavior contract may work well for kids who have trouble with organization and completing work. They could also be helpful for kids who often throw tantrums or for those who have oppositional behavior.

If your child has an IEP or a 504 plan, a behavior contract could help her meet any behavior goals that may already be part of that plan. Or a behavior contract may follow a functional behavioral assessment and be part of a resulting behavior intervention plan.

Behavior contracts tend to work best for kids in second grade and above, all the way up through high school. Kids younger than second grade may have trouble understanding how the contract works and what's expected of them.

How can a behavior contract help your child?

A behavior contract can be an effective tool for many reasons. Here are some of the benefits:

It can improve communication between home and school. Ideally, your child, her teacher and you will be present when the behavior contract goals are set. The school social worker, psychologist and/or behaviorist may also attend that meeting. This keeps all of you on the same page.

It can make behavior expectations crystal clear. The behavior contract spells out specifically which behavior(s) your child needs to focus on. It also explains how rewards and consequences will work.

It can motivate your child to self-regulate. Your child is involved in the process of making the behavior plan goals and choosing her rewards. That can make her more invested in achieving those goals. This "buy-in" can help motivate her to improve her self-monitoring and self-control skills.

It can make your child more accountable for her actions. Even the word "contract" sounds formal. And a behavior contract is a written agreement, which makes it easy to go back to if there's any confusion. (This can help if your child says something like, "Oh, I forgot that was in there.")

It can provide valuable feedback for your child. Typically, each day the teacher or you would go over with your child how the day went. So every day your child can talk about and reflect on what she accomplished and what she could do better.

It can be used (and adjusted) over time. A behavior contract can be created any time during the school year. You don't need to wait for an intervention or an IEP meeting. Once a contract is created, it can be changed at any time, as long as you, your child and the teacher agree to the new terms. And if a behavior contract is working, it can continue from year to year if everyone is on board.

Behavior contracts can be a good way to help your child learn to manage her actions at school. If you're looking for solutions to everyday behavior problems at home, explore Parenting Coach.

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Behavior Contracts: What You Need to Know

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Kids with certain learning and attention issues may have trouble managing their behavior at school. If your child often gets in trouble for acting out or for not following directions in class, a behavior contract could help. Your child's teacher may suggest one.

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Resources and tips for organizing a student's IEP binder.

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Making an IEP binder is a great way to keep information organized and at the ready when you need it. An IEP binder can help you prepare for IEP meetings and stay up to date on your child's progress. This powerful tool can also help you communicate and collaborate with teachers and your child's IEP team. Here's what you need to get started:

Organizing an IEP binder with your child's evaluation reports, IEP, report cards, and other paperwork may sound like a lot of work. But this guide walks you through what to gather and where to put it.

Start With the IEP Binder Checklist

Print this IEP binder checklist and put it in the very front of your binder. The checklist has details about what you can put in each of the tabbed sections in your IEP binder.

The checklist has another very important purpose: You can update it as you add new paperwork. As your binder grows, this checklist will help you see what you've updated and when you updated it.

Label the Tabbed Section Dividers

Label the tabbed dividers for each of the sections of the checklist: Communication, Evaluations, IEP, Report Cards/Progress Notes, Sample Work, and Behavior. Keep in mind that if you're just starting the special education process, you may not have much to put in each of these sections yet. Over time, here's what you'll be putting in each section-and why:

Print and fill out a school contact sheet and put it in the front of this section. The contact sheet will help you quickly find and reach out to key people with questions or concerns.

Next is the school communication log. Print one out and use it to help you keep track of meetings, phone calls, emails, and other important interactions you have with your child's teacher and school. As you fill out each entry, be sure to note what was discussed and what was decided.

The rest of this section is for letters and important emails. Put the newest ones on top, behind the communication log. Why keep printed copies of emails? Having a paper version in your binder means you'll have it on hand for meetings, so you can easily find and reference what was said.

As you file letters and emails in this section, remember to include a brief summary of each one in the communication log.

Next comes the school-based evaluation report. (It's handy to have this in the same section as your request for evaluation, so you can match up each request with the evaluation results.) If your child has had a private evaluation, include that here too.

Down the road, your child might have another school-based evaluation. If so, file it as a trio that includes the new request or referral and the new consent form. Put this new set of documents on top of the previous set.

Also, in this section, you may want to consider flagging key information with paper clips or sticky notes. Come up with a system that can help you quickly find what you want to discuss with the IEP team.

It's a good idea to start this section of your IEP binder with a copy of your rights and procedural safeguards the school gives you. That's because whenever you go to an IEP meeting, the IEP team will offer another copy. It's important information. But if you show the school you already have it, you can avoid taking home another big stack of paper!

In this section, file your child's IEP and the prior written notice for each meeting related to the IEP. Many schools attach meeting notes to the prior written notice form. Keep those notes here as well as your own notes from the IEP meeting.

The IEP needs to be updated annually. But you may have more than one meeting a year. And if changes are made to the IEP, put the newest plan and prior written notice on top, behind the procedural safeguards.

Tab 4: Report Cards/Progress Notes

The federal law, the Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), says you have to be updated on your child's progress toward meeting IEP goals at least as frequently as you get progress reports on your child's general education. Keep these progress notes and report cards in this section.

And if you want to keep track of your child's progress on your own, print and use this IEP goal tracker. It can help you monitor your child's progress toward each annual goal in the IEP.

Use this section to file samples of your child's homework or classwork that show signs of progress or concern. It's a good idea to file samples at least monthly. And just like in the other sections of your IEP binder, put the newest stuff on top to help you find the most up-to-date information.

Start this section with a copy of the school's code of conduct. Some teachers may have also sent home class-specific behavior plans and rules. Keep copies of these here too.

Consider Including a Supply Pouch

Since your IEP binder will come to IEP meetings with you, you may want to add a zippered supply pouch. Stocking it with some pens and an extra set of sticky notes means you'll have one less thing to worry about during your IEP meeting.

About the Author

About the Author

worked as a classroom teacher and as an early intervention specialist for 10 years. She is the author of Amanda Morin The Everything Parent's Guide to Special Education. Two of her children have learning differences.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Bob Cunningham, EdM serves as executive director of learning development at Understood.

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Making an IEP binder is a great way to keep information organized and at the ready when you need it. An IEP binder can help you prepare for IEP meetings and stay up to date on your child's progress. This powerful tool can also help you communicate and collaborate with teachers and your child's IEP team.

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A resource for students to better understand their accommodations.

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Answer:

Yes, it's definitely OK to ask for self-advocacy goals to be included in your child's IEP. The IEP should have any goals that you and the rest of the IEP team think are important to help your child get an appropriate education. Schools know that self-advocacy is essential for your child to thrive in the classroom and in the community.

For example, it's common for students who learn and think differently to have trouble asking teachers for help. Many students also struggle to speak up for themselves with other kids. As your child gets older, these self-advocacy skills become more and more important.

Just like the academic goals in your child's IEP, self-advocacy goals and objectives should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-oriented, and Time-bound). Let's say your child has a hard time asking teachers for help. The IEP could include a goal like this:

When Jeffrey doesn' t know what to do, he will ask for help by raising his hand during class and/or asking to see the teacher after class. When meeting with the teacher, Jeffrey will ask for assistance with a specific problem.

Like all goals in an IEP, self-advocacy goals are most successful when paired with smaller objectives that can be measured. Here's an example:
By the end of the third quarter, Jeffrey will ask for assistance with a specific problem during four out of five consecutive meetings with the teacher.
Don't hesitate to ask for one or more self-advocacy goals to be included in your child's IEP. These are particularly important when designing transition plans for kids who are changing schools or preparing for life after high school.

Keep in mind that there are many ways to reinforce your child's self-advocacy skills. Something as simple as ordering a pizza can help kids work on figuring out how to ask someone for help and what to say.

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Can I Ask for Self-Advocacy IEP Goals for My Child?

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Yes, it's definitely OK to ask for self-advocacy goals to be included in your child's IEP. The IEP should have any goals that you and the rest of the IEP team think are important to help your child get an appropriate education.

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Your child's IEP goals should be reviewed and updated annually.

These goals should focus on helping your child succeed in his school subjects and with everyday life skills like socializing.

Once your child's new IEP goals are set, the IEP team decides what supports and services will help him reach those goals.

The whole point of having an IEP is to help your child reach state grade-level standards. To do that, the IEP team will set annual goals and measure improvement against those goals.

At each yearly IEP meeting, the IEP team reviews your child's progress toward annual goals. In some cases, those goals may not have been met and will need to stay the same for another year. But if your child has met them or the team thinks that they need to be changed, you'll work to develop new goals for the coming year.

Setting annual IEP goals takes more than just knowing where your child's skills are now. It also means knowing what skills need work to make progress toward grade-level standards. As an equal member of the IEP team, it's important for you to understand and be involved in the process of setting goals.

Here's how to set annual goals that are effective and appropriate for your child.

IEP Goals Are Set Using Present Level of Performance

Your child's present level of performance (PLOP) is key in setting annual goals. (You may also hear this referred to as a PLAAFP, PLP or PLEP.) The PLOP describes how your child is doing now. It looks at current skills and specific areas of weakness-not just in academic subjects, but in other areas, too, such as motor and social skills.

Your child's PLOP helps map a plan of what needs to happen to get those skills from where they are now to grade level.

Information is gathered from many sources. This can include your child's most recent evaluation, standardized testing, work samples and progress monitoring, as well as reports from you and teachers.

For example, the information may show that your child, Heather, has trouble decoding two-syllable words. But she can decode one-syllable words well. Her annual IEP goal might read as follows:

Heather is currently able to decode one-syllable words. When given a list of regular two-syllable words, she will use her prior knowledge of decoding one-syllable words and skills gained through explicit instruction to correctly decode 15 out of 20 words in two-syllable word reading activities.

The Value of Strengths-Based, SMART IEP Goals

Aligning goals to PLOP is just one part of a standards-based IEP. Ideally, your child's IEP should also be strengths-based. Weaving strengths into IEP goals can help you follow your child's progress, and it can help your child see how to make progress by taking into account what she's good at.

One way of doing this is to include a strength assessment as part of determining PLOP. This provides information about your child's abilities-for both the IEP team and your child. There may be areas where your child excels at home or in other environments that could be used to help in school. And there may be areas of strength that your child hasn't even discovered yet.

Those insights can be used to make SMART goals stronger. (If your child has recently had a full evaluation, the report should include strengths as well as weaknesses.)

SMART is short for Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Results-oriented and T ime-bound. Here's what that means:

Specific: Each goal is specific in naming the skill or subject area and the targeted goal.

Measurable: The goal is stated in a way that your child's progress can be measured by standardized tests, curriculum-based measurements or screening.

Attainable: The goal represents progress that is realistic for your child.

Results-oriented: The goal clearly lays out what your child will do to accomplish it.

Time-bound: The goal includes a time frame in which your child will achieve it, with the right supports and services. It also states when and how often progress will be measured.

What does this look like in practice? A SMART, strengths-based annual goal might say:

Given fourth-grade level reading material on nonfiction topics, Heather will deploy her love of learning and her interest in science and history to write three details from the passage in her own words with 85% accuracy on three out of four consecutive assignments.

This is much more useful than a vague goal such as: Heather will improve her reading skills.

How to Monitor Progress Moving Forward

Keep in mind, you don't have to wait until the yearly IEP meeting to see how your child is progressing toward IEP goals.

Your school should provide progress reports during the year-at least as often as when report cards are issued. Ask the IEP team when you can expect to receive those updates on your child's progress.

Your child's annual IEP goals should address the skills that need support due to learning and thinking differences.

Effective IEP goals are strengths-based and SMART: specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and time-bound.

You can track your child's progress toward IEP goals throughout the year to stay informed.

About the Author

About the Author

The Understood Team is made up of passionate writers and editors. Many of them have kids who learn and think differently.

Reviewed by

Reviewed by

Melody Musgrove, EdD served as director of the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) in the U.S. Department of Education.

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Setting Annual IEP Goals: What You Need to Know

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Your child's IEP goals should be reviewed and updated annually. These goals should focus on helping your child succeed in his school subjects and with everyday life skills like socializing. Once your child's new IEP goals are set, the IEP team decides what supports and services will help him reach those goals.

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Chances are when you were in school, report cards were the only way to find out how you were doing. Schools now track and report progress differently and more deeply. Public schools use universal screening , progress monitoring and response to intervention (RTI) to measure progress and ensure that each child's needs are met.

Practices vary between states and schools. If you don't understand how your child's school is tracking progress, you're not alone! Here's an overview of the most common testing practices at various ages.

Universal Screening and Progress Monitoring

Most schools now use universal screening and progress monitoring as part of their RTI programs. (In general, schools use RTI programs to help children who are struggling academically or socially.)

Universal screening means every student is tested at least once during the school year. Many schools screen students two or three times per year. This helps schools identify which students need extra help. Students who needed extra help are then tested again to track their improvement.

Progress monitoring can be done weekly or only every few months. Whatever framework your school uses, it needs to be systematic and consistent. The school should use the results to shape each child's curriculum.

The process looks a little different at various grade levels. But the goal is always to identify student needs early and to measure progress often.

Early Elementary: Kindergarten Through Second Grade

Schools usually focus on reading readiness and achievement in the early years. Most schools test often and thoroughly at this age. They may use tools called DIBELS (Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills), AIMSWeb, MAP or other tools.

These tests identify key skills of early literacy. Such skills include:

Letter naming (knowing that the letter A is called by the name "A")

Letter/sound correspondence (knowing that the letter A can sound like the short ă sound, like in mat, and the long ā sound, like in mate)

Sight word reading (the ability to quickly read common words without sounding them out)

Reading comprehension (understanding what's read)

Fluent oral reading (reading at a good pace, with a smooth feel)

Schools now test math skills in a similar way in the early elementary years. The focus is on memorizing basic addition, subtraction and multiplication facts and understanding basic math concepts.

Middle Elementary: Third Through Fifth Grade

Progress monitoring at this age is often less intense, but it's a critical time to stay on top of it. In third grade, children transition from "learning to read" to "reading to learn." This means they begin to apply higher-level skills. This is when many kids begin to struggle.

Most statewide testing begins in these grades. Many schools rely heavily on state test scores to identify struggling students.

Reading tests shift to higher-level skills in reading comprehension and vocabulary. Some schools continue to emphasize oral reading fluency, with a focus on speed. You may see reports from school showing how many words per minute your child is reading. If the rate is too slow, your child can get extra support to increase reading speed.

Most screening and monitoring continues to focus on reading. However, math testing has also become popular in recent years. Progress monitoring in math continues to focus on speed in all the basic facts. It may also start to test for understanding fractions and using math reasoning skills.

Many states stop screening and monitoring by mid-elementary school.

Middle School and High School

Most high schools and middle schools measure student success with classroom tests, projects and homework. Report cards are the primary way of reporting student progress.

Your Right to Information

Universal screening and progress monitoring in RTI programs has become more common in the last decade. Even so, practices vary between states, districts, and schools. It's important to know how your school handles the process.

Unfortunately, the progress reports some schools send parents are hard to understand. If you receive a report on your child's progress but don't understand it, ask the school to explain it.

You have the right to ask your child's school to send you progress-monitoring reports on a regular basis. Knowing those scores will help you stay on top of your child's progress. That way you can address any concerns that need attention.

A good system of screening and monitoring can keep students from failing.

The process looks different at different ages. But the overall goal is to identify problems early.

Don't hesitate to ask questions about how your school monitors progress. Having a solid understanding will help you better support your child.

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Chances are when you were in school, report cards were the only way to find out how you were doing. Schools now track and report progress differently and more deeply. Public schools use universal screening , progress monitoring and response to intervention (RTI) to measure progress and ensure that each child's needs are met.

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Group reflection positively impacts progress towards BIP goals.

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Students, especially those experiencing personal and academic stress, benefit from reflection opportunities and chances to participate in school in positive and productive ways. In their book, Social and Emotional Education in Primary School: Integrating Theory and Research into Practice, Carmel Cefai and Valeria Cavioni have excellent ideas about how to help students have a better social-emotional learning experience during the school day.

Reflection on Constructive Group Participation

Helping students understand that much of what they do in life -- academic, social, civic, vocational, and recreational -- involves working in groups. What makes for constructive group participation? Encourage your students to rate and/or reflect on the following questions, each of which describes an important element of successful group participation.

Help your students to identify their strengths and focus on an area of improvement. Have them buddy up to work on those areas. Consider students' skills in these areas when forming them into groups:

Rating: 1(rarely true), 2 (occasionally true), 3 (frequently true), 4 (almost always true).

I am able to identify and communicate how I am feeling.

I can appropriately handle my feelings.

I can set and achieve goals that will make me more successful.

I am able to keep going in the face of difficulties and setbacks.

I can reflect on my thinking and learning.

I am aware of the feelings and opinions of others.

I care about others and do my part to make my school/group better.

I care about and respect the individual differences of others.

I am aware of how I perceive others and how they perceive me.

I will interact appropriately with others.

I will work on having positive and caring relationships.

I will collaborate with others in learning and social activities.

I will learn to handle conflicts in constructive ways.

I will act in an honest and responsible way with others.

When making decisions, I will consider the needs and rights of others.

Setting Personal Social-Emotional Goals

As part of a reflection journal (see section below), or morning meeting, advisory, other related activities, or simply within your classes, help students evaluate how things are going and how they can go better. Have students reflect (via writing and/or discussion) on one or more of the following:

1. Write one or two things you like about your classroom/group.

2. Write one or two things you would like to see happen in your classroom/group.

3. Write one or two things that might help you learn better in. . .

4. Write one or two things that may help you to behave better in. . .

5. Write one or two things you would do when you have problems or conflicts in your group.

6. Write one or two ways in which you would include all others in your group.

7. Write one or two ways that you give and get support to/from others in your group.

I don't think it takes a great deal of imagination to see the many ways in which these prompts can be used not only to help individual students improve, but to also to provide valuable guidance for making group and classroom time more constructive and satisfying.

Student Social-Emotional Journals

As students focus on specific social-emotional skills or are working on particular character attributes, Carmel and Victoria recommend that they keep a weekly journal. They mention two formats. In the open-ended format, students are asked to document their experiences in getting along with others during the past week.

Among the questions they can reflect on are:

What they like doing

What they are good at

What they have learned

What they need to learn or develop more

Where they need more help

What they are looking forward to in the upcoming week

They can use modalities such as drawing, writing a story, jotting down thoughts and feelings about anecdotes, or using a picture of some kind to represent the past week. Some teachers like to get students started by explicit guiding questions or by using prompts, such as, "One thing that went well with other students this past week was. . ." or " Something I wish went better this week was. . ."

A more structured version is linked to specific social-emotional or character-related lessons or skill building experiences students are receiving. It would begin with whatever the focal skill(s) or character attribute is, and then could follow many of the same guidelines as the open-ended format.

This activity can be completed as part of language arts or art instruction, or during circle/morning meeting/advisory time. Once students complete their individual entry, you can have them discuss their reflections in pairs, small groups, and/or the full group.

Student reflection journals can be shared with parents at parent-teacher conferences. At the end of the year, copies can be sent home with parents, as well as allowed to move on with students as part of their social-emotional and character growth portfolio.

Carmel and Victoria's book is especially strong in providing assessment and benchmarking tools, as noted above, to foster educator and student reflection, denote progress, and help define areas in that would benefit from future attention.

The focus on both individual social-emotional competencies and improved group functioning helps prepare students for the many future contexts in which their success will depend on both.

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When Students Reflect on Group Participation and Social-Emotional Goals | Edutopia

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Students, especially those experiencing personal and academic stress, benefit from reflection opportunities and chances to participate in school in positive and productive ways. In their book, Social and Emotional Education in Primary School: Integrating Theory and Research into Practice, Carmel Cefai and Valeria Cavioni have excellent ideas about how to help students have a better social-emotional learning experience during the school day.

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6 strategies

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During the Covid-19 pandemic, meeting IEP goals can be a challenge. We offer ways to help.

Like many parents, my friend, a mother of three, has worried since the Covid-19 school closures about how to help her children with three grades of schoolwork while also balancing her own work responsibilities. Every week, it's been a juggling act. However, her biggest concern doesn't have anything to do with assignments. Instead, she's worried that her oldest child will lose the progress he recently made on his individualized education program (IEP) goals.

She isn't alone. With schools closed across the country, delivering services for students with disabilities has been a pressing and ongoing issue. Compliance with IEPs is a particular concern, as schools are required by federal law to deliver services in alignment with each student's IEP, and while children are at home, it is not possible to perfectly replicate the services that happen inside schools. Further, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)-the legislation governing IEP services-doesn't include guidance for prolonged school closures. Educators and families are both operating in uncharted territory.

Fortunately, the Department of Education (DOE) released new guidance granting schools, teachers, and specialists unprecedented flexibility in adhering to students' IEPs in March. This permission to be flexible leaves many questions, however: Most important, how can we do right by our students and support them remotely? The short answer is, it is complicated, and we're still figuring it out together. As teachers work more closely than ever with families to support their children's learning at home during Covid-19, here are six considerations to navigate IEP goal conversations with families.

Health and Connection Come First: While meeting IEP goals is certainly important during this time, the health of and connection with families are more so. Explore what each student needs to be healthy at home (or in their place of care) by checking in with their family to make sure that everyone is safe, healthy, and fed.

If needed, help connect families to resources like Feeding America, partner food banks, or community health centers. Many children received food and health support (mental and physical) through public schools, so the Covid-19 closures, coupled with rising unemployment, have increased the needs of students and their families. Recognizing that students cannot learn as well if they are hungry or feel unsafe, one special education teacher I spoke with is doing weekly runs to drop off hygiene items and nonperishable foods for the children in her caseload.

Get Everyone on the Same Page: Start by asking the family if they have a copy of their child's IEP. If they cannot find a copy, send one, and schedule a phone meeting one week later to talk through the document. On a call together, acclimate families to the IEP, pointing out key sections and helping locate the IEP goals that typically follow the Present Levels of Performance (PLEP). While this article addresses IEP goals specifically, IEPs also include important information about accommodations, modifications, and related services, which are all being interpreted and translated for the new learning-from-home reality.

Ask students and caregivers how they are feeling-and honor those feelings-and answer any questions they have about IEP goals, school progress at home, or special education services. Emphasize that persisting toward IEP goals and scaffolding practice won't look the same as when children are in school, and that's OK.

Translate Goals to the New Reality: Work with caregivers and students to determine what goals and benchmarks can look like at home. Talk through how to translate school practices to remote learning, and be open to revisiting these targets, given the family's-and student's-shifting reality. If an elementary student has a social skills goal measured by turn taking and sharing in peer group settings, for example, the family might start by writing a social story about the importance of sharing and turn taking, then seek out examples where this skill applies at home (e.g., "This is a good time to practice sharing by giving your brother a turn with the iPad [or bicycle], and then it will be your turn").

In many districts, videoconferencing is becoming an important service-delivery method to help meet IEP goals. But before offering video support, find out if the family you are working with has a reliable connection and a device with that capability. If not, either help families find these resources (some schools and organizations are providing free hot spots and computers to families during Covid-19), or choose a different communication method.

Provide Tools and Strategies to Help: Share insights and learning strategies that work for the students in your caseload. These might include making daily schedules with visual cues, offering sensory breaks, using if/then boards, and creating memory jogs such as acronyms and/or silly melodies.

It can also be beneficial to connect families to community organizations and parent support groups that specialize in serving neurodiverse populations. The Council for Exceptional Children is offering free membership through May 30, 2020, to anyone who needs access to their resources and discussion forums. For families with reliable technology, there are also several apps and technical tools available to help.

Schedule Communication: Close each communication with clear steps for how to stay in touch, and schedule a specific date for your next conversation. Each family will have different tools and methods that work for them, depending on their circumstances. More than ever, connection and communication have become equity considerations in providing education services. Being in this together-which is the only way-means meeting families halfway through the avenues and schedules that are possible for both parties.

It's also important to remember to document all of your conversations with families and students, which is required compliance under IDEA. Even though services are being delivered in different ways right now, documenting is a continued best practice. When schools reopen, this documentation will be helpful for reporting and addressing services.

Think Outside of the IEP: Encourage families and students to work with what they know and have available at home. Suggest reading together, getting fresh air, creating art, playing games, and practicing life skills. Many of these activities actually directly help with IEP goal attainment, and support children's academic and social and emotional development.

Finally, give yourself grace, too. It's OK to feel like you're fumbling-we're all practicing educational services in ways that none of us planned or prepared for. At the end of the day, know that continuing to put students first is our best educational compass for these uncertain times.

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6 Ways to Transition IEP Goals to Remote Learning

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During the Covid-19 pandemic, meeting IEP goals can be a challenge. We offer ways to help. Like many parents, my friend, a mother of three, has worried since the Covid-19 school closures about how to help her children with three grades of schoolwork while also balancing her own work responsibilities.

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Apps to Support Students with Special Needs

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Apps to Support Students with Special Needs

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Mobile apps that utilize UDL to support learning at home.

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The coronavirus creates a unique challenge for students with special needs-educators share recommendations for apps to support learning at home.

Special education is facing severe challenges as remote becomes the new norm for K-12 learning during the coronavirus pandemic. Delivering differentiated content in a well-equipped classroom can be difficult on a good day, but now that most schools are closed or closing, educators who work with children with special needs must, in many ways, completely reinvent their approach to teaching.

One of the main concerns for both teachers and parents is keeping students on track to reach their individualized education program (IEP) goals and objectives as they are tailored for each student. Teachers must also work much more closely now with parents/caregivers to support this learning at home. In some cases, students are accustomed to having aides, in addition to teachers, in the classroom. It is a lot of responsibility for caregivers to bear, but luckily some of the digital tools now available can really help.

I reached out to my special education colleagues via the Facebook Group called Education App Talk (E.A.T.), asking for their favorite digital tools; what follows includes some of their recommendations, but it is just the tip of the iceberg of what is available. Remember, as with any tool, what may work wonders for some students will only frustrate others. Customization is key with any app, so adults and educators should be prepared to put in some time learning the apps themselves or how to make modifications in the settings. Many apps come with great teacher-made materials; look for video tutorials, lesson plans, and extension activities.

Free Apps or Apps With a Free Trial

SentenceBuilder is a conversation simulator designed to help elementary-aged children learn how to have conversations with their peers in a variety of social settings, which can be a particular challenge for special needs students. ConversationBuilderTeen, for older students, is geared to help kids learn when it is appropriate to introduce themselves, ask questions, and change the subject of the conversation. This app also covers sarcasm and addresses how kids should respond to bullying.

Digital Modifications

Aside from apps, digital modifications are critical for online home learning for special needs students. Text to speech (TTS) is a type of assistive technology that reads digital text aloud and works with almost all digital devices-phone, iPad, computer. Many types of text files and most web pages can be converted into audio with TTS software.

Speech recognition (dictation) is another necessary tool, found on most digital devices, that enables students to express themselves by simply talking without having to worry about typing, spelling, and grammar. Dictation software is available on most devices in the settings menu, and it helps students expand their writing skills and achieve new levels of success. Note: Apple has a more advanced speech recognition system than Windows.

During the coronavirus pandemic, out-of-school learning is a great challenge, but it is particularly so for special needs students, who already face hurdles in their schooling. Be mindful-and patient-with special needs students as they try to adapt to this new dynamic. Change alone can be very disruptive for many children, and they will need time to adjust to their new routine. Don't be surprised by regression in social and emotional behaviors. Small strategies like breathing exercises, creating structure, and helping students methodically work through problems are essential at this time.

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Apps for Students With Special Needs-As School Buildings Shutter

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The coronavirus creates a unique challenge for students with special needs-educators share recommendations for apps to support learning at home.

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Learn more about FastBridge as a progress monitoring tool.

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Support MTSS Success with FastBridge: Research-Led Innovation

Build a strong Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) that ensures educators have the right tools and the right data to provide timely, targeted supports with the FastBridge assessment system. FastBridge combines Computer-Adaptive Tests (CAT) and Curriculum-Based Measures (CBM) for universal screening and progress monitoring - and delivers reliable data and insights along with built-in assessment and instruction coaches - to transform the way you bolster student learning across reading, math and social-emotional behavior.

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Build a strong Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) that ensures educators have the right tools and the right data to provide timely, targeted supports with the FastBridge assessment system.

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Resources for supporting students' academic content goals.

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Resources for supporting students' behavior intervention goals.

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Articles and video modules to learn strategies to support social skills instruction.

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Every child in special education is entitled to a functional communication system. If your child does not have a functional communication system that they have access to throughout their day, you can expect that they will communicate with you through behavior.

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Preparing for Success: Leveraging Social-Emotional Behavior Data to Plan for Next Year

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Preparing for Success: Leveraging Social-Emotional Behavior Data to Plan for Next Year

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Webinar on how to assess social-emotional behavior (SEB) data for planning

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Presented by Nathaniel von der Embse, Ph.D., NCSP, Associate Professor of School Psychology, University of South Florida; and Stephen Kilgus, Ph.D., Associate Professor of School Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Sponsored by Illuminate Education
WATCH THE EDLEADER PANEL RECORDING LISTEN TO THE PODCAST Closed captioning will be added to the recording within 2 weeks of the live presentation.
Get a CE Certificate for this edWebinar Learn more
While this school year is still in full swing, planning for 2021-22 is gearing up. As you look ahead to programs, practices, and priorities, social-emotional behavior (SEB) data can provide helpful insights. The past year has put everyone's social-emotional skills to the test. Has your schoolwide social-emotional learning (SEL) program provided the supports students need? Which competencies will need attention next school year? Do teachers need additional professional learning to effectively implement SEL or build their own social-emotional skills?

In this edLeader Panel hear two leaders in the field of SEB assessment discuss how to use SEB data to:

Evaluate the effectiveness of your SEL programs and initiatives

Align resources for the coming year to address deficits and guide instruction

Uncover unconscious bias among adults and address inequities

About the Presenters
Supporting the social-emotional needs of teachers and students will continue to be a priority next school year. Don't miss this opportunity to learn how to use this year's SEB data as a planning tool to inform your budget and programming decisions, build on student strengths, and address student needs effectively in 2021-22.
Closed captioning will be added to the recording within 2 weeks of the live presentation.
This recorded edLeader Panel will be of interest to preK-12 school and district leaders.

Nathaniel P. von der Embse, Ph.D. is an associate professor of school psychology at the University of South Florida. Dr. von der Embse serves as an associate editor for the Journal of School Psychology, and his research interests include universal screening for behavioral and mental health, teacher stress and student test anxiety, and training educators in population-based mental health services. He received the 2018 Lightner Witmer Award for early career scholarship from Division 16 of the American Psychological Association. He is one of the authors of the Social, Academic, and Emotional Behavior Risk Screener (SAEBRS) assessment suite and is an author and behavior team member with FastBridge.

Dr. Stephen Kilgus is Associate Professor in the School Psychology Program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where his research primarily relates to social-emotional and behavioral assessment. His work has resulted in the development of evidence-based assessment procedures, as well as the validation of tools for universal screening, problem analysis, and progress monitoring. Dr. Kilgus has authored and contributed to the development of a number of assessments, including the SAEBRS screener and Direct Behavior Ratings (DBRs). He currently serves as a principal investigator on a grant from the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) regarding the validation of the Intervention Selection Profile (ISP), a suite of tools to inform the selection and modification of Tier 2 targeted interventions. Dr. Kilgus is also researching the development and evaluation of Tier 2 targeted interventions.

Join the Creating a Positive School Climate community to network with educators, participate in online discussions, receive invitations to upcoming edWebinars, and view recordings of previous programs to earn CE certificates.

Illuminate Education partners with K-12 educators to equip them with data to serve the whole child and reach new levels of student performance. Our solution brings together holistic data and collaborative tools and puts them in the hands of educators. Illuminate supports over 17 million students and 5200 districts/schools.

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Preparing for Success: Leveraging Social-Emotional Behavior Data to Plan for Next Year - edWeb

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Presented by Nathaniel von der Embse, Ph.D., NCSP, Associate Professor of School Psychology, University of South Florida; and Stephen Kilgus, Ph.D., Associate Professor of School Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Madison Sponsored by Illuminate Education WATCH THE EDLEADER PANEL RECORDING LISTEN TO THE PODCAST Closed captioning will be added to the recording within 2 weeks of the live presentation.