Summer is here, our schedules are a little less than what they are during the school year. Are you ready for a new school year for your Child? Brush up on your advocacy skills this summer so you are better prepared when it comes time to attend that next IEP meeting.

Have a SAFE July 4th weekend!

Nancy Linley-Harris  Blogger & Webmaster

July 2nd, 2010

I know many will say having your IEP in one hour is 'ample time'....but an ANNUAL or a PARENT REQUESTED INTERIM is not always feesible to do in one hour. Why is it that some schools are so much easier to work with than others? Having time to go over your child's IEP document from start to finish and with adding what a parent feels needs to be put into that document takes time! How can an IEP that is being updated and worked on really be completed in just ONE HOUR? It may be ok for some families to go ahead and agree to the entire IEP DRAFT that was written up ahead of time by everyone but the parent!! So how does a parent participate in the IEP process if the DRAFT becomes the final IEP document?

If parents want to be part of the IEP 'team'....that IEP DRAFT has to be worked on and tweeked out to be what the parents want written in there also. How can that be done in just one hour? I don't understand why this  is being done at some schools and not other schools. Where is this coming from? Why is this happening more and more in our Broward schools? Are parents putting anything into the document and really getting a well written IEP for their Child? Are parents really PART OF THE IEP TEAM PROCESS??

Parents...tell me your experiences at your schools. Is this happening more than we are fully aware of? When you go to an IEP is it being read to you and your other IEP team members directly from the DRAFT that was created before the IEP meeting? Are you able to add your parent input throughout the entire document in the different domains or are you just there to listen to it being read to you?

POST YOUR COMMENT TO THIS BLOG POST ~ Let's hear from you and how things have been at your IEP's. 

Nancy Linley-Harris  Blogger & Webmaster

March 12th, 2010

On the EVE OF ELECTIONS...Reflections

With the ending of this 2007-2008 school year upon us all too quickly and with the elections of a new Executive Board for our Broward ESE Advisory Council, it is at this time a new blog entry.

Elections of a new Executive Board is a 'growth thing' for the council. With hope that the new Executive Board will carrying on with the mission of providing a way for parents of ESE Students living in Broward County to have a place to come together for resources and information that pertains to Special Education in Broward County Public Schools.

Several new and exciting  things were implimented this past year! The NEW PARENT PACKETS that are given out to any FIRST TIME VISITOR to the ESE Advisory Council meeting has been a well received idea that was put into place this 2007-2008 school year. We hope to have this idea carry over for years to come for all the new first time visitors to be able to go home with something from the group.

The PHONE BRIDGE ~ WOW! This ESE Council is the VERY FIRST COUNCIL to every try this type of technology within Broward County...maybe even in the entire State! We found this to be a way for many that for whatever reason couldn't make it out to the ESE Advisory Council meetings to keep them involved and to be able to listen in on the meetings each month. This Council has been the leader in providing yet another way for parents of ESE students a way to be and stay informed with what is going on District wide.

The RESOURCE TABLE and ESE Advisory Council Lending Library table has become a valuable resource provided to Broward ESE Families during the monthly meetings. This type of resource available each month takes several executive members to maintain and have available each month. Just bringing the several boxes that it takes to store the resources each month is a job in itself each month. Keeping some of the resources that are reports from the district or from the State again, takes time and effort to keep current. The ESE Parent Resource & Lending Library was started and maintained by our 2007-2008 Chair-Ivan Brantz. I want to personally say a BIG THANK YOU to Ivan here, for all the work that it required each and every month to do. That 'table in the back' has been a very big resource made available to us by a desire to be able to have at your fingertips great resources and information that is of importance to us...Broward parents of ESE Students.

The ESE FORUMS being the most recent 'new thing' has been well received by those that came out and participated. Each of the ESE FORUMS had a very different feel, each having their own personality because of the different issues and/or parent concerns that were spoken about and discussed. ESE Staff that were in attendance were very helpful with providing input to the parental concerns/ issues that were spoken about.

This type of ESE PARENT FORUM is just what is needed to help us be able to create a bridge to having more open and honest communication between our ESE Department Staff with our day-to-day issues and concerns that we all are faced with. This type of ESE FORUM will provide everyone a place to be honest with what is really happening out there in our district and to be able to help make more positive changes for the future development of being able to provide Broward County families with a way TO BE HEARD. The relaxed and free-flowing format of these types of ESE PARENT FORUMS is a way to be able to know about possible SYSTEMATIC PROBLEMS that maybe happening District wide and to be able to let it be known so something can be done to improve things.

The Executive Board wanted to be able to start these ESE PARENT FORUMS as a way to attract the attention of maybe families that don't usually attend the ESE Advisory Council...and it did! We are hoping to be able to also have School Based ESE PARENT CHAT GROUPS at individual schools where an ESE Parent Chat Group Leader wants to start this type of neighborhood ESE PARENT CHAT Group at maybe their Child's school. If you are interested in being an ESE PARENT CHAT Group Leader and want to start this at your Child's school, please get in contact an Executive Board member for more info on this. This is a way to provide a grassroots way of being able to hear from a larger group of families by 'going to the neighborhood schools' to hear from them. This is something that can work only if more parents of ESE students GET INVOLVED and will take the first steps to reaching out to others at your own individual schools!

Once several ESE PARENT CHAT Group Leaders are found and these types of ESE PARENT CHAT Groups are started, then we will be able to bring to the ESE PARENT FORUMS what are the real issues and concerns of individual schools and the feeder schools nearby those schools where the ESE PARENT CHAT Groups are being held. This is the original vision and purpose for starting the ESE PARENT FORUMS this 2007-2008 school year!

Want to be part of an new group of ESE Parent Leaders? Offer to start one of the first ESE PARENT CHATS in your neighborhood! Contact an ESE Advisory Council Executive Board Member and ask for help in getting started!

As the Webmaster to the BROWARD ESE ADVISORY COUNCIL WEBSITE I take great pride in being able to provide to our Broward County families of ESE Students a way to be heard and also a great way to be able to provide resources that is helpful to us. I have enjoyed being able to create a way to START communications online with our families, this project is a personal vision and goal I have had for Broward County ESE for several years. I hope you enjoy it too!

This website and this blog is for YOU, parents of children receiving special education services in Broward County Public Schools.

Let this be a place to let your voice be heard!

Nancy Linley-Harris ~ Blogger & Broward ESE Advisory Council Webmaster 

May 18th, 2008

Oh my goodness!!! ...what does this mean for us??! So now we have our very own ESE BLOG!?

This makes me so pleased...it is making me feel all giddy inside with excitement! I know Ivan is going to be letting out a Yahoo and a hip hip hooray...a way to have FREE FLOWING COMMUNICATION back and forth with our ese parent community! Is this what you were hoping for? I am so excited about this, I feel like jumping up and down and making my little doggie feel like for a moment I might be getting off the computer...finally and take him out for a little fresh air...I feel like calling all my friends and letting everyone know about this!!....but hey wait a minute!!...it's in the middle of the night!...the only time I have to be 'creative' with no interruptions or phones ringing or needing to be the cab driver for my kiddo's! HEY!!...isn't anyone up and clicking all over this new and exciting website that is being created just for them? Who can I call?

I need to get my sleep! Doesn't anyone care that I have been up ALL NIGHT creating, updating, deleting, adding, copy and pasting code, figuring out what size fonts to put here and if I should make something BOLD and what colors to make things...this website 'building' is a process...a very long process...one that will forever be on the internet for all to enjoy! Now that's an exciting thought...that what I am doing here in the middle of the night, while everyone else is sleeping and in dream land...I...your good and faithful ese parent servant I am missing my sleep today!!!

Let me know what you all think..post something and let's get this BLOG a rolling!

BOOKMARK this website and tell your friends - neighbors and relatives...send out a newsflash...call the tv and radio stations! This is BIG....BIG....Really Big News! www.BrowardESEadvisory.com is the place to hang out! There is so much to do here...click on anything and see what happens!

This entire website & this new blog has been created especially for ese parents that have a son or daughter attending the ESE program in Broward County Schools.

Welcome & Enjoy our new ESE BLOG!!

Nancy Linley-Harris ~ Blogger & Webmaster creator 2007

March 5th, 2008