IEP's
An IEP meeting must be held at least once every year to review your student’s goals and plans. During this meeting, teachers will meet with parents and the student to discuss the student’s progress and performance in the classroom. The focus of the meeting is to discuss and plan for the student’s transition into the “post high school” world. Often the goal on the IEP is for students to meet graduation requirements to earn a diploma. The student’s current performance in the classroom is discussed as well as strategies to help that student be successful in such a setting.
Once current performance has been
discussed, a plan for the future is the topic of conversation.
First on the transition discussion are classes the student will
need to take in the coming years. The student’s academic needs are
taken into consideration as well as the student’s goals after high
school. As a student becomes a junior and senior, more elective
choices are possible if the majority of required classes have been
taken and successfully completed.
If the student plans to work following
graduation, courses are selected to give experience in the field of
interest. At times, college classes are available to high school
students to help develop skills before graduation from high school
(welding and engine repair to name a few). The student is
encouraged to take classes at NWHS to help develop skills to become
“work-ready”. Depending on the student’s needs, Work Place
Readiness and Work Release are often strongly encouraged to allow
for work experience while being monitored/supervised by a
teacher.
If the student plans to attend a
post-secondary school following graduation from high school, NWHS
will encourage the student to apply for testing accommodations for
the ACT as well as take any ACT preparation courses. It is the
student’s responsibility to communicate with their school of choice
concerning any accommodations that may need to be made by the
school. The student’s case manager will make information available
upon request so the school has the needed documents to continue
services in college. (NWHS will only release this information to
the parent or student) When choosing a school, make sure to contact
the Special Needs Counselor to learn what services are available at
their institution.
Parents and students may invite anyone they
would like to attend the IEP meeting. Depending on the needs of the
student, Vocational Rehabilitation and/or DDS should attend the
meetings of high school students to assure a seamless
transition.
To have an open conversation about needs
and goals, a checklist has been created. Both the parent
and the student should complete this separately to compare where
each feels the student is performing and what goals each has. This
is helpful in creating a conversation about where parents and the
student perceive the student is performing and where he or she
wants to go in the future.
