Exceptional Childrens Discussion Panels

Edgecombe County NELA Cohort IV fellows, Caroline Joyce, Julie

Simpson and Billy Strother, hosted a two-part discussion panel that
focused on the exceptional childrens (E.C.) program from a parent
perspective with a follow-up panel of E.C. professionals. The panel
discussion took place in the Edgecombe County Public Schools Board
Room in Tarboro on Tuesday, February 2, 2016.

In the discussion panel, parents freely shared the challenges they have
experienced in the E.C. process, and they also shared advice with the
future school executives.
What Parents Want Administrators and E.C. Case Managers to
Keep in Mind at I.E.P. meetings:
1) The child is a child, who has a disability; the disability does not
define the child
2) Include the parent in the process of writing an I.E.P. that meets
the childs needs

3) Listen to the parent, who best knows their child

4) Be sincere, empathetic and kind
5) Treat the child in an I.E.P. the way you would want your child to
be treated
6) Parents knows what their child cannot do, and they do not need
to be told over-and-over again what is wrong with their child
7) Jargon is difficult to understand; use laymans terms, so parent
understands the I.E.P. document
8) Hold high expectations of all I.E.P. members: totally devote the
time of an I.E.P. meeting to address the needs of the child; listen
attentively and be an active participant; include a regular
education teacher, who actually knows the child
9) Parent may need resources to understand the disability of their
child
10)
Many parents cry after an I.E.P. meeting

Professional E.C. Panel (from left): Renee Johnson, Preschool Transition

Coordinator; Karen Branch, NELA Cohort III Fellow/Program Coordinator;
and Karen Harrington, ECPS E.C. Director

What E.C. Professionals Want Administrators To Know:

1) Principals are supposed to be the expert on the childs I.E.P., so
know the manual, resources, and compliance
2) Do not rush the process of an I.E.P. meeting
3) Principal should conduct internal audits of I.E.P.s and
accommodation logs
4) LEA representative must be present at I.E.P. meeting from start
to finish
5) Never sign unfinished paperwork
6) Principal needs to know how to evaluate E.C. Teacher
7) Utilize internal resources in Central Office, then reach out to
outside resources, as needed to train staf
8) E.C. children are Regular Ed children first; try inclusive
opportunities first
9) In inclusion classrooms, the E.C. teacher should be modifying
assignments, maintaining I.E.P. logs, pulling out struggling
students
10)
Pre-K parents need help transitioning from an individual
family service plan (IFSP) to individual educational plan (IEP)