Sgt. Joe Friday, LAPD, was the earnest, monotone and oh-so-serious main character from the 1950s-1970s cop drama, Dragnet. He was famous for saying, "Just the facts, ma'am" in an attempt to keep all of the witness "fluff" out of the equation.
When I conduct an assessment, I write up a Fast Facts sheet to give to teachers. Basically, it's a "cheat sheet" that includes critical data about my client. As a parent, you can give it to them at any point in the year and revise it as needs change. Here's how I structure the sheet:
Fast Facts for Sally Smith/5th Grade
Strengths:
Weaknesses:
Sally has an IEP (or a Section 504 Plan) and I can get a copy of it for you right away. Mrs. Johnson is her case carrier and she can give you a thumbnail descriptions of her services, goals and objectives.
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Draw an arrow at the bottom right-hand corner indicating that there is content on the back of the paper.
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How you can help
Thanks so much, Susie Smith, Sally's mom
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I recommend putting the Fast Facts sheet in individual envelopes and include a Starbucks card of whatever denomination you can manage and express your appreciation for them taking the time to review Sally's issues. Let them know you are ready to support them. It's nice to be part of a team.
It's important that teachers understand their student's needs before a negative impression develops. Many teachers are not advised of a student's special needs until well into the school year. You take charge and advocate for your child. This sets the stage for a positive and productive year.
Your child does not need to be a special education student or have other exceptional needs. You can simply reach out to teachers, be supportive and let them know about your child's personality or family situation. If there is a pending move, an illness or other life event in the family or even if a beloved pet dies, let your child's teacher know. They want to help.
TTFN, Claudia
Join me on Facebook at Dr. Claudia McCulloch
At drclaudia.net, click on the "Ask Me" button to submit a question!
When I conduct an assessment, I write up a Fast Facts sheet to give to teachers. Basically, it's a "cheat sheet" that includes critical data about my client. As a parent, you can give it to them at any point in the year and revise it as needs change. Here's how I structure the sheet:
Fast Facts for Sally Smith/5th Grade
Strengths:
- Hard worker, wants to learn, wants to work with you as a cooperative learner
- Has no behavioral or emotional problems
- Competent with most grade-level math skills
- Great organizational skills
Weaknesses:
- Reading quickly and remembering the information. Needs to read everything at least twice and still, she will struggle with comprehension
- Gets lost in math problems and makes "careless" mistakes as a result
- Has good ideas, but does not organize them well on paper
- Spelling is a disaster
- May get anxious when called on. Has been humiliated in the past and is worried about being ridiculed
- Gets easily overwhelmed and may become tearful
Sally has an IEP (or a Section 504 Plan) and I can get a copy of it for you right away. Mrs. Johnson is her case carrier and she can give you a thumbnail descriptions of her services, goals and objectives.
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Draw an arrow at the bottom right-hand corner indicating that there is content on the back of the paper.
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How you can help
- E-mail or phone us as frequently as you'd like. We will immediately act on your requests or suggestions. Our e-mail is [email protected].
- We would like to have a "heads up" on assignments that require extensive reading such as book reports because we will need to read the book aloud to her. This process is very labor-intensive, but she learns better this way.
- Allow her to dictate her written work to us and we will generate it from the computer.
- Give her extra time when there is a particularly heavy homework period. We want her to benefit from the homework instead of rushing through it just to finish it.
- Call on her when her hand is raised. She needs a lot of time to process what is being said and if she has her hand raised, it means she is ready. We will remind her daily to raise her hand so that you know she is "engaged".
- If you call on her to do a "cold read", she is likely to stumble, get embarrassed and cry. She is afraid. Please be patient.
- Feel free to communicate with her tutor, Judy Jones, who can be reached at 555-5555. She sees Sally twice a week. She can help with assignments or reinforce concepts.
- Sally has accommodations to take her tests in the learning center and she has extra time to complete them. I am sure Mrs. Johnson has made all of the arrangements for this to happen. If there is a glitch, let us know and we will smooth the way.
- If she has any missing assignments, we'd like to stay on top of those, so please let us know.
- If she has failed a test or done poorly, please advise us. Perhaps she can rework some of the failed items or have the test read to her to see if her errors are related to reading or to her understanding of the concepts being taught.
Thanks so much, Susie Smith, Sally's mom
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I recommend putting the Fast Facts sheet in individual envelopes and include a Starbucks card of whatever denomination you can manage and express your appreciation for them taking the time to review Sally's issues. Let them know you are ready to support them. It's nice to be part of a team.
It's important that teachers understand their student's needs before a negative impression develops. Many teachers are not advised of a student's special needs until well into the school year. You take charge and advocate for your child. This sets the stage for a positive and productive year.
Your child does not need to be a special education student or have other exceptional needs. You can simply reach out to teachers, be supportive and let them know about your child's personality or family situation. If there is a pending move, an illness or other life event in the family or even if a beloved pet dies, let your child's teacher know. They want to help.
TTFN, Claudia
Join me on Facebook at Dr. Claudia McCulloch
At drclaudia.net, click on the "Ask Me" button to submit a question!
