IEP Goals: Let's Fix One‪!‬ Decoding Learning Differences with Kimberlynn Lavelle

Hi, *|FNAME|*! Happy Monday!
When I first became a special education teacher, I had received NO instruction on how to write an IEP.  I asked another special education teacher how to write it and was told to mostly just copy what the previous year’s IEP said, just making the goals more advanced.I was so clueless going into that first IEP meeting. I cared DEEPLY about my students, and I wanted to do right by them.  
 
I wanted to provide every student with a really great education that would meet their needs and see them excel.I felt that parents were an important part of the team, knowing more than I did about their student and best positioned to address and suggest certain parts of the IEP.I did not feel well-positioned to make suggestions on the rest of it…
 
A few years later, after talking to more special education teachers, receiving a little training, and writing and holding over a hundred IEP meetings….
 
I was still inadequate.
 
I still cared.  I still wanted to do what was best.  And I still felt like there was a ton I didn’t know and needed to know in order to best serve my students.
 
Eventually, I got A LOT more training and feedback from experts on how to actually write effective IEP goals.
 
I had someone over my shoulder showing me what was right and what I needed to change to write effective goals.
 
I will forever be grateful to that person and the training I received which allowed me to finally be better at that aspect of my career.
And now that I’m not writing hundreds of IEP goals every year as a special education teacher, I want to help others know HOW to write and recognize good IEP goalsWhen the IEP team sends you a draft IEP goal, I want you to be able to look at it and determine for yourself if it is any good.
Check out the video for this week’s episode: “IEP Goals: Let's Fix One!​” by clicking here!