Do IEPs make you just want to tear your hair out collecting data,

getting all the paperwork together, all the meetings, everything that goes into

an IEP? Today, I am interviewing Stephanie D'Alessi, owner

of the intentional IEP and Missus D's Corner. And we're talking

all about IEPs for those who might be new to them, why they are important,

how you can streamline the process, and why collaboration is really what

makes IEPs a huge success. Welcome to educate and

rejuvenate the podcast, episode 136. Let's get going.

Welcome to educate and rejuvenate, the podcast to help you

revitalize your teaching, renew your spirit, and reignite your

passion for life. I'm your host, Kelsey Sorensen, a former

teacher, current homeschool mom, published author, and certified life

coach. Whether you are a teacher in a traditional class room, homeschool

from your kitchen table, or anywhere in between, I am on a mission to help

you not only survive as an educator, but thrive. Get

ready to up level your skills with incredible insights from guest experts

and discover the missing piece, rejuvenating yourself. Are

you ready to both educate and rejuvenate? Let's

go.

Welcome back to the podcast on this beautiful summer day, or

hello and welcome if it's your first time here on Educate and Rejuvenate the

podcast. Either way, I am so glad that you're here, and I hope that you've

been enjoying some time in the sun and making time for rejuvenating yourself

this summer. But as we've been talking about, it's also so important

to rejuvenate through engaging our minds as well and learning things that

are going to make us excited for making things even easier or

better or, you know, just more fun next school year. And that's

why I brought on today's guest, Stephanie D'Lessi of the Intentional

IEP. Now when I think of Special Education and IEPs,

Stephanie is the really the first person who comes to mind. Ever since I've seen

her Instagram post on Missus D's Corner, for

I don't know, years now. She's just really the person who comes to mind because

she really knows her stuff and is really kind of honed in on

supporting educators and parents with IEPs.

So if you are new to this, like say you're one of our homeschool parents,

or you're new to teaching and you don't know what I'm talking about with IEPs,

we're going to talk about what that is on the podcast and how it

applies to you as well. Even just talking about, you know, ways we can

accommodate for our kids. But also, we're really going to talk about

the full IEP process, how you can streamline it, make it easier,

all of that. So you're not going to wanna go anywhere with today's episode. She

also shares some great free resources that are going to help you make it easy

and more If you're wanting to really get support, which, like I said,

Stephanie is the total expert in that. You're going to want to take her up

on it if you want more support with your IEPs. Also, Stephanie is

a presenter at our upcoming summer 2024 Educate and

Rejuvenate Conference. She's teaching about easy team collaboration for

students in special education. Education. So we'll be diving even deeper into the

collaboration piece that we talk about on today's episode during the educate and rejuvenate conference.

So if you don't have your ticket yet, be sure to snag 1. Would love

for you to join us at the event. It's going to be a great time.

And if you already have a ticket, this episode is going to give you some

of the background information, and just some more ideas that kind of

go along with her session. It's not like a repeat of it. It's

both are some different information that will help you to,

again, thrive with the IEP process. In her session, she's sharing

the 5 key ways to make collaboration work without adding more to anyone's plate and

how to read an IEP for implementation with fidelity. We're really kind of

focusing on just that piece in her session. Today on the podcast, you're getting the

full big picture. So they're really complimentary to each other. You'll love to

listen to this podcast. And then if you're attending the event, make sure to watch

your session too. Like I said, they really compliment each other and you're going to

want to watch and listen to both. Okay. Before we dive into the interview, let

me introduce Stephanie a little bit more for you. Stephanie is the owner of the

intentional IEP and missus Dees Korner. She's a veteran, special

education teacher, IEP coach, and dual certified in special education,

and 12 and elementary education k 6. She earned her

bachelor's degree from Coosetown University, completed an IEP coaching

program in 2020, and is studying to be a board certified

inclusive education specialist through the National Association of Special Education

Teachers. Stephanie has been featured in publications like, Exceptional Parenting

Magazine, a guest on the autism helper, and Be Kind to Everyone Podcasts, and

others. More than 500,000 online followers across platforms trust

her expertise and turn to her her for inspiration, and not only planning effective

adaptable lessons for students, but in utilizing a more collaborative special

education process for all students and families. Visit the intentional

IEP.com and missusd'scorner dotcom to learn how to work with

her. When Stephanie isn't working with teachers and staff, she's spending time

with her husband, young son, and 2 dogs on the beach in Northwest

Florida. Okay. Let's get to today's interview.

Welcome, Stephanie, to educate and rejuvenate the podcast. We are so

excited to have you on here today. Thank you so much

for having me. I'm excited to be here. Yes. I just can't wait to

chat about IEPs on the podcast because we haven't yet. And I feel like

when I think of who can help with IEPs, you're the person I think of.

So I don't know I don't know if I mentioned that to you, but but

yeah. No. That makes my heart really happy. I'm

excited to nerd out over IEPs, which is probably something not a lot of people

ever will say. I know. Everybody's like, oh, this IEP. They'll even happily in coaching.

People will be talking about, oh, I'm stressed about that. You know? So I I

feel like you're such a great resource for for teachers when

they are working, and even parents who have a child with an

IEP. You know? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yep. So can

you introduce yourself briefly and tell us your background and what led you into

becoming so passionate about helping others with their IEPs?

For sure. So my name is Stephanie De Lusi. I'm the teacher author behind Missus

Deese Corner as well as The Intentional IEP. I have a dual

certification in special education and elementary education, and I'm

certified in other things too. Like, you know how you take those tests, and you're

like, oh, now you can teach middle school math. I'm like, cool.

So I have taught in, oh my goodness, 4 or 5

different states. I'm certified in 5 or 6 different

states, something like lost count at this point. But I've taught pretty much everything in

special ed from k to 12. I've done inclusion. I've co taught, done

resource, push in and pull out. I've taught self contained. I've done

extended school year, and I've taught in public and charter schools. And

the one thing, yes, IEP formats change

state to state, and it's so different. But what hasn't changed ever and what

I've always I'm very much into organization, and I love the

paperwork because I can organize it and make it make

sense to myself and be in such an organized

way. Like, again, nerding out, but making it more

efficient for me to write IEPs. So I'm that person that has always loved

writing IEPs. And so when I left the traditional classroom setting

due to my own mental health, I was like, how can I still be a

part of education without being in the classroom? And I was like,

IEPs. Teachers hate writing IEPs. The majority of them

They do. Yeah. And I love it. I mean, I did too. Oh, I hated

it. So that is when

I started the intentional IEP, and I'm just that's where

my teacher soul currently is lit on fire is just helping other

teachers and parents with making a more collaborative IEP

process, and I think that's something that we don't often see, unfortunately.

Yeah. That's what I'm really passionate about. I love that. I yeah. And we'll get

we'll talk about that too, about how collaboration is important. I feel like there's so

many great things we're going to touch on today. But what I love that you

just mentioned too is that you're like, most teachers hate it, so I'm here to

help them. And I find that when you're really passionate about something that other people

don't like to do, it's like, okay. You figured out that way to make it

less unbearable. Yeah. You know? And so you were able to help people so that

they now won't dislike it as much as they used to to either. Maybe they're

not, like, nerding out on it as much as you are, but but it might

be like, okay. This is totally doable. Like, I'm not super overwhelmed

about it anymore. Yes. That is my whole purpose and everything

I do with missus Deschor and the intentional IEP and just in education in general

is I just wanna make the process processes

easier for teachers so that we can actually do what we love, and that's

teach and build those relationships with students. Yes. Because that's what we

got into education for. We didn't get into it for all the paperwork

and the red tape and all of that. I do my best to try and

help other teachers just simplify the process and

make them more efficient at writing the IEPs and the IEP

process and all of that. I love that so much. So before we get too

deep into that, we've been talking a lot about IEPs, and most people here are

going to know what we're talking about. But just so we make sure we're all

on the same page for those who are new or considering teaching or parents

who haven't yet been at the IEP table or homeschooling whatever. What is

an IEP, and what is the purpose of it? So an IEP is

an individualized education program. It is

covered under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which is we call

the IDEA law. It's a federal law, and then the states have their own,

like, policies and laws and regulations and things from there. But it

all stems from this 1975 IDEA. And, essentially,

for any student who has a disability and they qualify, which we're gonna talk

about here in a minute, how to qualify for an IEP. But if they qualify

for an IEP, it's basically their road map

to being successful with their peers in the class. They're gonna have goals to meet.

They're gonna have accommodations and modifications, so supports,

additional services. A lot of our students have, like, speech therapy or

occupational therapy. And so you're gonna get those supports and

services to help them make success with the general

education curriculum, which is what their peers in the general ed classes are

learning. That's such a perfect explanation. Okay. So

how does a child qualify for 1? And then also the difference

between a lot of times the IEP and 504 comes up. So can you explain

the difference between those 2? Yes. I'm gonna I'm gonna

explain the the difference, and then with that will come the qualifications

for an IEP and for 504. So, again, IEPs are

covered under the IDEA law. 504 plans

are covered under the section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of

1973, And so they're very different. A lot of

times if students don't qualify for an IEP, they may qualify for a

504 plan. So to qualify for an IEP, a child must

formally be diagnosed with one of the 13 disabilities outlined in

IDEA. Well, there's 13 disability categories rather, and

so they have to fall under one of those categories. From there,

as a result of their disability, the child needs to

have, like, they need to need to have, I

guess, special education services to make progress

in school and learn the general education curriculum. Again, so

go back going back to what an IEP is and what it does,

they have to have a need for that.

And so with a 504 plan, the child has to have a disability.

It can be any disability, not just one of the 13 categories

outlined under the federal law. But that disability has to

interfere with their with a child's ability to learn

in the general education classroom. So they they call it with a

504 plan, it's like general functions, I guess. So it could be

if they have trouble breathing and they need to do breathing exercises throughout the

day. That may not qualify them for an IEP, and it probably won't

unless there's, like, a secondary or tertiary disability, but they would qualify for

a 504 plan. So if they maybe broke their

leg and so for a couple of months, they need accommodations to help them

get onto the school bus or walk down to the classroom,

and they need those accommodations. They may will probably qualify for a

504 plan During that time, they were not going to qualify for

disability because it or for an IEP because it's not a

long term disability. It's not going to affect them for a long time.

Now you can have 504 plans for a long time, and IEPs generally are

for a longer time. And then your 504 plans are only gonna

include those accommodations and modifications. Example of

an accommodation, extended time on a test, or

having the test read aloud to you. Your IEP is where you're gonna

see those accommodations, those modifications. You're gonna have learning goals, again, all

those things that we previously talked about. And then with IEPs,

you have to have parental consent on the initial eligibility

IEP. Depending on your state, each IEP then from

there, you need to have that parent or guardian consent.

Again, check with your state because every state is different. And IEPs are

reviewed annually, 504 plans are as well, but they're much less

formal, I guess. Mhmm. And I've talked to some teachers, and I'm like, we don't

even write our 5 zero four plans down. I was like, how do you know

you have that? It's so interesting how things are done differently in different

places. It's very and it's very different. And

in the role that I'm currently in, now I'm just like, I just wanna learn

about all It's fascinating to me how different everything

is. But at the same time, I'm like, I wish that we could just get,

like I would take 5 IEP formats, honestly. There

are 100 and thousands of different IEP formats. They all have the

same guts, but I would take 5. That would be fantastic. Yeah.

Everything is so different state to state, district to district in terms of

that. But yeah. And I'm sure with what you do, you've seen such a

variety with all of that. It's there's a lot. Yeah. But

it's probably informed you on the best ways overall no matter where you

live on how to organize it and do it and how you can help them

wherever they are. Yes. And I think my experience

in teaching in so many different states, we move around a lot

from my husband's job. And so I didn't have a chance to stay

in one school for 6 years. It was I was here a year. I was

here 3 years. I was here 2 years. So one of the

benefits of that, though, of moving around a lot was I got to

experience how different states handle things, how different schools handle

things. And so that, I feel, has just given me a really good

Uh-huh. Look at what works best, what's not working, and how

can we overall make it better for everyone. I love that. And you didn't know

it was preparing you to do what you do now. I didn't know. It's amazing

how life happens. Right? Yes. For sure. Okay. Well,

that was a great overview about the difference between the 2. But, yes, as you

said, definitely check with your state and what, like, little specific

granular things you need to do, but that's overall the difference between

the 2 and how they qualify. But up next is what

does the process look like? And we are focusing on IEPs for today. We just

wanna talk about 504 as well. But what does the IEP process look

like in general? Yeah. So if the

student is new to the IEP process and they've been referred, there's

going to be an evaluation period. And so they're gonna have their evaluations.

So you have your referral, then you have your evaluation,

which there has to be parental consent for no matter where what state you're

in. You have to have parental consent for evaluation. You're gonna go through the evaluation.

You're gonna come to that evaluation meeting, which is typically your eligibility

meeting at the same time. And so that is where you're gonna go through all

the results of everything and find out if the student

qualifies for special education services or not. And then once

they do qualify, that's when you have that first IEP meeting, and so that's

when you're gonna develop that first IEP. Now every year, you have to have a

new IEP written, but you can update the IEP at any

point in the year. You can it's called an amendment IEP, and they call

it different things in different states. But it's an amendment IUP. It's basically when you

make changes to an IUP. It's a living, breathing document, so even if you

do sign it and agree to it, you can change it next week if you're

like, oh, this really isn't working for that child, or, oh, I would

love to see this. It can be changed at any time. But every

year, it has to be changed annually or updated

rather not changed. And then every 3 years is what we call the

triennial review, and that's when they go through the evaluation process again

to get new data on how the student's doing and if they still qualify for

services. And so it's just basically a big circle of eligibility

and updating the IEP once they're in special education.

So good. How you're just able to explain that whole process so it's easy

to understand and all the different like, they need to wait this long for this

and this long for that. I feel like even when you've been teaching for the

1st few years, it's just overwhelming to keep track of how long between

each different thing and all the different steps and

everything. So that's very helpful. One thing you

also mentioned is how collaboration is so important during the

whole process. So all of these different steps and all the different things. And

updating the IEP, I'd love that you mentioned how you can change

it next week if you need to because it's not like, okay. We made this.

It is set in stone. If you find that something's not working for a kid,

you want to have that ability to change it. Right? Yes.

But we can talk about that for a minute too. How often do you feel

like teachers usually changing up those IEPs, like,

in general? Oh, goodness. I think it depends on the student, and I

think it depends on I don't wanna say how well or how

poorly written the IEP is or I love the word intentional. Right?

So we have the intentional IEP, but how intentionally

chosen the supports and services are for that student. If

you if you have all of the data and you have really good data

and you analyze it and you listen to it and you let it guide you

to making your decisions, so those data driven IEP

meetings, you're going to follow through

with what is best for that child and what they really need. If

you're just picking things and pulling things out of the air, you're probably gonna find

that you're going to maybe update things more frequently because things

aren't working. The accommodations aren't working. You're not using them,

or this service isn't working. I'm not seeing any benefit

after, you know, a whole marking period or 2 marking periods. We're not seeing any

growth. But then, also, it depend you know, if you pick the

right supports and services for the student and they're thriving

with it, you could meet goals sooner than a year. And so you

could come to the table and update them early because

everything's working, and, like, it's that is that is the whole purpose.

Ideal. Yeah. Yeah. To, like, have it work So it really just

depends on the student and how intentionally

the supports and services are chosen and decided on. Yeah. And I think that's a

great point. Like, how intentional was that IEP? I love how you call because I

love the word intentional too. I've done a lot about intentional planning and

scheduling more for just in general for your life, but it's the same way when

you're creating an IEP. Like, you want to be really intentional about it. And if

you're intentional to begin with, then more likely it's going

to, you know, work, be what the student needs.

Yeah. Yes. I love that. So we have also talked

about collaboration. Why is that such an important part during the creation

and implementation of an IEP? And be sure to touch you mentioned that

sometimes that's done better than others. So I'd love to hear a little bit about

that. Like, why is it important, and how does it contribute to

it going better overall? Yeah. So a lot of

times and even just in my own teaching,

even as, like, a new teacher, because you I will never throw anyone under

this except for myself. So as a new teacher, you know, you go into the

new school year and you're like, this school is always going

to do what's best for the kids, and you just truly believe that. Because as

a teacher, you're like, I will always do what's best for the kids. Mhmm. But,

unfortunately, that's not what always happens. And

so you just you really have to, at the end of the day,

think about what is best for this student. And so when it comes to

collaboration, a lot of teachers, I've been

there myself, we feel like special education teacher. I'm the only self

contained teacher in this classroom. I'm a or in this school. I'm an island of

1. I'm all by myself. Nobody else understands at the school what I'm doing, and

that very well may be true. You may be the only resource teacher for grades

3 and 4 at your school. You may be the only math resource teacher at

your school, but there are other people in your district and online that have

the same position as you. So you can collaborate with them, which the

Internet is a great thing for that. Just be very careful and double check all

of the information that you do get from other people. But

collaboration within itself of the special ed teacher working with the

general education teachers, working with administrators, working with support

staff, working with specialists, and most importantly, working

with the student and working with the student's parents. And so when I

say parents, I mean the caregiver, whoever is the adult Right. For that

child, but I'm gonna use the term parent. But keeping them

in that whole process, so that whole IEP process we just talked about that goes

in a circle. There are things that you can do throughout the whole process

that really make collaboration

work more easily. And so, for example, when you're

writing the IEP, the beginning stages, you're writing those present levels, which is

where you should always start because everything else stems from the present

levels. You want to get information. Right? So we send

out parent input forms, teacher input forms, student input forms,

if applicable, if appropriate. And we want everyone

on the IEP team's view because everyone comes to the IEP

table with a different lens Mhmm. And with different experiences.

And so it's really important to get everyone's lens

view, everyone's experiences on paper, what they're seeing at home, what

we're seeing at school, how can we help each other, what's working at home that

we can try here, what's working at school that you might be able to try

at home for something. And so getting advice also

on as special education teachers, some of us have our students for 3

or 4 years, and then some of us have our students for 1 year,

or they move up to middle school. Right? Our kids eventually move up to middle

school, move up to high school, and then graduate, or move into adulthood

or whatever that may look like. But we have to

plan for that with the parents. Even in 1st grade, even

in 3rd grade, even in pre k, their long term goal

is independence for that child, and that's gonna look very different

every family. But we have to help them with that. And

so when we're IEP goal planning, we have to talk about what are your

priorities for skills that you want your child to learn this year. It doesn't always

have to be, we need an ELA goal, we need a math goal, we need

a science goal and a social studies goal. Well, what about a life skills

goal or like a functional academic school? Yeah. Life balance. Have a math goal,

but why don't we have a math goal about learning how to use money or

making sure that we have enough money to pay for something? Still a math

goal. We can still tie it to standards, but we're working on those

more functional goals and following through with what the

family's vision is for that child long term. I

love that you mentioned this because they feel like a lot of times,

like, you know, math, ELA, all those, we think those are what's most

important. But, really, when you think about it, then becoming independent

in society, getting a job, yeah, that money goal. To know how

to use money is very important. So I think a lot of

times we focus so much on just the math, language, arts, and all of that.

And not that we don't want to because, obviously, we want them to know those

things. But They're still important. But, yeah, it's all important. So it's

looking at it very intentionally, like you said. Yes. Well and if

you think about it, in your day to day life, we don't think about it

as adults. Right? Because we're like, oh, I can read that

stop sign. I know what it means. I'm comprehending the words and what

the sign is to know what to do when I'm there.

Or a crosswalk, like, I'm comprehending the sign that's showing

me the stop Yeah. So I don't walk. So we're still

working on those ELA skills. We're still working on those math

skills and science and social studies. Wants and needs and

the seasons. We have to know what clothes to wear each season. That is the

science goal. But it's just making it a little bit more functional for

long term independence and not so much, can you pass the state

test, which is a whole other conversation. For sure.

They're they're different conversations. Yes. Yeah.

So with the IEPs, collaborating is so important.

Also, we face some different challenges as

we're doing the IEP process too, and collaboration can help with that. But what are

some common challenges that are faced during the IEP process?

And and maybe this is, like, what we talk about after, but how do we

navigate each of those challenges with as much ease and grace as we

can? I think just from personal experience, one of and

seeing in Facebook groups and what like, I'm in parent support groups for

IEPs and things. So just from what I've seen in my own teacher

experiences, one of the biggest

hurdles that we see as IEP teams and special education teachers

is it's a very real thing and

parents feeling like the school is against them. And I think as

teachers, we might not have the key to

fully fix that because as teachers, we do walk a very fine line

Mhmm. To not getting fired because we do work for the school, but

we also care so much about our students. Right. But we

we have a lot of power, and I don't think that we realize it for

maybe being a little birdie in the parents' ears or saying, here's a

resource outside of school that might benefit your child,

or here's a summer camp that I think Stephanie would love this summer.

They're working on all these things. Mhmm. I just think that as teachers, we can

be such a valuable resource when we work together and collaborate,

and it doesn't have to be so much of butting heads. Yeah. But

I do I do see the parent perspective of

they're not listening to me, or I want this for my

child. And so I think both sides have to come to the table

and all sides because it's not school against home. Right. It's every single

person at that IEP table has to come to the IEP

meeting discussions with the lens and

the mindset of coming to

communicate what we think is best for this child based off of the data. But

also when we're listening, we're not listening to

respond. We're listening to to hear

somebody. We're listening to understand how

they feel about it, what they think, and then how can we

help the child with this, through this, the family with or through

this. And so I think that, honestly, just coming and being able to

listen, not to always fix something, but listen just

to hear someone would solve a lot of problems

at the IEP table. Solve a lot of problems in general.

Right? In general. Yeah. Definitely at the IEP table because I

feel like especially when we're talking about what when parents are involved and

it's their child, then definitely emotions can arise, and then

there's all this stress. Like, you know, teachers have stress too with it. And

so I think it's understanding that everybody who's at the IEP table

wants that child to succeed, and they might have different perspectives. But,

yes, listening to understand and being willing to compromise on all sides and be like,

okay. I wanna listen to you. I wanna hear you out, and what can we

come to consensus with? Yes. Yes. Love that. For sure. And

consensus with? Yes. Yes. Love that. For sure. And it's not a a

no is not always a forever no. Yeah. It might just be no and not

right now. We need

to work on this skill before we can work on this skill. And so also

being able to explain things Yeah. So that everyone understands that I

think is a big thing too. Not just saying, well, here's the LRE. This is

where they're going. Okay. But what is LRE, first of all?

Why are they going there? Why did we make this choice? So just explaining and

asking clarifying questions, I think, would also help. Yes. I think a lot of times

clarity is, like clarity in the communication of

reasoning behind things can also, again, help that

understanding and you to come to an agreement of, oh, yeah.

I understand where you're coming from with that. Yeah. Yeah.

Love that. You'd also talked about, at the table, like, all the people

collaborating and sometimes the student being part of it. When is that appropriate

to involve the student and how so?

So at transition age, and transition age is age 16

according to the IDEA. Now some states, they've come in in, like, the state of

Florida where I'm in, they're saying at age 12, students can be a part of

their ID process, and they have to starting at age 12. It's usually the year

before they turn 12. But 16 per the IDEA.

And that's when they are required to at age 12 or age 6. Correct. That

is when they are required to. Yep. And so states will set a different age

for that, but that is when students are required to be a part of the

IEP process. And that's when they come in and we start talking about

transition. That's when we start thinking about, what do you wanna be when you grow

up? What skills can we help you learn to to do that? And

helping them with those more functional skills? But I think that and I

and I what I think is because in my

experience working with students of all ages, I've had students come to

the IEP table at age 16, and they're like, I didn't even know I had

an IEP. I don't know what that is. And in my teacher

heart, I'm like, we are doing this child a disservice.

They cannot self advocate for themselves if they don't even know they have an themselves

if they don't even know they have an IEP or what their accommodations are. Yeah.

And so I think that, truly, we can start kids even in pre k

with being a part of the process. And a lot of times, that just looks

like teaching them self advocacy skills. Yeah. And that might not

always be them coming to the IEP meeting, but it might just

look like asking them, you know, what goals do you wanna work on? What do

you like? Mhmm. What don't you like? Do you like when I

read the story to you, or do you like listening to it on the

computer or something like that? You know, asking their preferences.

And, again, it's gonna look so different student to student,

but I think just starting those self advocacy skills and making them

aware that they have an IEP, which whole

other conversation because some parents want their children to know, and that's their

own right. And that's a very delicate conversation to have. But,

you know, the sooner, the better that we start students knowing that

they have a disability and what that means for them and how they learn, the

better they can advocate for themselves, not only during transition age, but

also when they become adults and they're out in the real world Yeah.

Working a job and going to school because they

have to be the ones at that point to ask for accommodations and ask for

help. So I just think self advocacy can go a long way, and that can

start at any age. Yes. I do think that that can just help so

much with when they go out into the world and everything. And even it

also helps them to just even teaching in general, not even only students

on an IEP, when they get some choice and some autonomy in their learning,

it's much more engaging. You have more of the buy in because they feel like

they're part of it, and everybody wants to feel like they're part of something, and

that includes children. So I think Yes. However we can

do that can be very helpful. Yes.

Yes. So now let's talk about the data, because I know that's

what a lot of teachers are like, oh, this is the part I don't like.

What do teachers need to know about data collection for their IEPs?

Oh my goodness. So many things. But if I had to narrow it down, so

the first thing that you want to know, because there no

laws or regulations are gonna tell you you need to have this many data points,

you know, this many data points per week, per marking period, whatever it may be.

That is generally a school policy or a district policy. And

so the first thing you want to know is per IEP goal,

how many data points do I need to have per week or per

marking period or whatever that may be? I've worked in a school where I had

to have 2 data points per subject per week. I've worked in a

school where the district just wanted 8 data points for the whole marking period, and

so I could split that up however I saw fit. That was 1 a week

or whatever it was. And so knowing what the district or school policy is

for that will help you in knowing, one, how to keep your job

in terms of doing what your school responsibility is. Mhmm.

From there, though, when it comes to data collection, there's so

many different ways that you can take data or progress monitor. And

so it doesn't always have to look the same way. But what I think the

most important thing is is that when you're taking the data,

you're analyzing it to see what the data is

saying. Is the student making progress? Are the accommodations working?

Are the services the right amount of time? Do we

need a different accommodation or modification? And you don't know that if you're

not looking at the data. So if you don't do anything with it, it's kind

of pointless. But then, also,

when it comes to data, you want to make sure that the student is

generalizing the skill. So if the student let's just say that Stephanie is

practicing her times tables, her multiplication, and

we're giving her a one minute times test every single time, and that's the

exact same way we're taking data every single time. And she finally

hit a 100% mastery. She met her goal.

But when I give Stephanie a multiplication fact in

the general education classroom during a lesson where we're doing

word problems, she can't solve it. Well, Stephanie didn't master that

skill. She has to generalize that skill. Mhmm. And so

generalization is really, really important. It ties so much into

data collection. So it's really important to remember that if a student

hasn't generalized the skill, they have not mastered that goal. And

so just keeping that in mind when you're collecting data, it shouldn't be the

same exact setting with the same exact person Yeah. The same exact activity every

single time. Yes. You can do that to learn the skill,

and some students do learn best through repetition. But

to master that goal, they have to be able to generalize it with other people

in different settings outside of the classroom, outside of

school? Can they do it outside of school? Yeah. That is

really important to your data collection. Yeah. So how do you recommend they collect that

type of data where it's outside of school? Yeah.

So you can if you have a really good collaborate collaborative

rapport with the parents, you can say, hey. We're working on

this at home or at school. We're working on multiplication. And so

when you're out at the store and say, if you go to

Walmart and you just say, hey, that t shirt is $5. How much would

it be if I bought 3 t shirts? Oh, yeah. Just kind of probe them,

you know, and practice with them. That's not a 5 times 3 on a piece

of paper that they have to answer. Like, that's a real world thing. If I

really like a t shirt and it's only $5, I'm gonna probably buy 3 or

4 of them in different colors. But I need to make sure I have enough

money for that. So I have to be able to do that multiplication in the

real world. And so just asking them questions like that, but

also if you go on field trips or if you're out on

out at recess and you're like, we have

2 students who each wanna swing or make up real world scenarios. It

just makes it much more real for them, and the buy in is a lot

better when the parents are also part of it too. So good.

I I love that example of real world application. That's really what I

try to do with my kids too, because we we homeschool. So I try to

help them to use it in the real world, and I love how you're tying

it into the IEP process as well. Yeah.

Okay. It all comes back together. It really does. It really does.

Okay. So the final question before we start closing up,

what tips do you have to share that will make the data collection process

less overwhelming? Because I feel like that's what I hear a lot is, like,

the data is overwhelming, like, just collecting all of

it. Yeah. Piggybacking and backing back tracking a little bit, I guess, not

piggybacking. I said that there's so many different ways to collect data.

And so what I really wanna challenge you to do

is learn the different ways to collect data.

Because 1 year, how you collect data might work for that classroom, but the

next year, you might have different goals or different students, and that

method doesn't really work that well for what you're currently working

on. You just wanna have a lot of tricks in your teacher toolkit,

especially when it comes to data collection. I love the sticky note data collection

method. There are a lot of people who use Google Forms for data collection. There

are apps that help you with it. You can do the hybrid model, which I

absolutely love. So just learn all of the different

methods that you think you're like, man, I would really like to know more

about this. And then frame that

into or mold that into your own data collection method

and what that looks like. You don't have to follow it to a t,

each one, because every classroom is different.

And how every classroom functions is different even if they have the same title of

life skills or self contained unit or autism unit. Each

classroom is gonna function very differently, and so you have to find what works best

for you. You're gonna have to trial and error some to see what works

best. But knowing that you you're

like, yeah. I can be flexible, and, okay, I can't do the sticky note

on this because we have a tablet though in the general

education classroom that the pair goes with with Stephanie to that class. We can just

do a Google form, and I can have them do the Google form for me,

and then it'll collect data. You just, again, find what works best for you. Don't

be afraid to learn a couple of different ways and mold it into really what

works best. Again, what works best for you, not for everyone else.

Yes. Stephanie, I hope that everybody who's listening can just breathe a sigh of

relief when they're like, okay. It's just about finding what works best for you. And

I feel like that could really sum up a lot of what we talked about

today because I what works best for you works what works

best for the student and trusting that we are doing what we can.

Yeah. We're looking at the data, we're collecting the information that we

need and collaborating and

finding a way to collect it that works for us, we are doing

exactly what we need to do with these IEPs. So I I love it.

Yes. Okay. So I plan this interview simply by

I I told Stephanie this, but I hadn't told everybody else here. I bought a

copy of her book, The Intentional IEP. And let me tell you,

everybody, it is, like, the handbook for IEPs. I I really believe every

teacher needs a copy of it and every parent who has a child with an

IEP because I just dove into the first two chapters to

grab these questions, and I couldn't even cover everything that was in those two chapters.

There's so much there. And then there's what? How many chapters in the book? Oh

my gosh. I don't even know. I have it in front. I think there's 5

chapters. I think yes.

5 plus an introduction and an outro and an appendix. So, yeah,

there's a lot in there. So much information. It is really like the handbook

for IEPs. Can you tell us a little bit more about the book and why

they should definitely snag a copy if they liked the information they got here?

Yes. So the book is called The Intentional IEP, A Team Approach to Better

Outcomes for Students and Their Families. And I wrote this

book because I just felt like there was such a

need for learning more about that collaborative process

for IEP writing, not just for teachers but also

for parents. And so not only do we cover what to

do throughout the process to be more collaborative for teachers and for parents.

There's that perspective, both perspectives there of what each should be doing

or could do. But then it also walks you through, like, how to write

the IEP, what data to collect, how to collect data. It goes

through different data collection methods to how to analyze the data

to be able to know what to do next or what goals to

plan. But then it also gives you that the very first chapter is, like, IEP

basics, the IEP rundown. And so all of that really boring, like,

law stuff and case studies, I went through all of it and just pulled out

what you need to know. Because I think not only is it fun for

me, but it's really important to know,

like, why do we have the rules and regulations that we do for some of

the things that we do within IEPs. And I so I just think it's really

fun to be able to know, oh, this is why we do this, and this

is why it's important. Yeah. So that there is the first chapter, and then it

just rolls into everything else. And I love to see, like, that, like, the history

behind it and everything. And I did that in my book too. Like, I wrote,

like, the history behind, like, what I was talking about was, like, cognitive behavioral therapy

and all of that. It's just really interesting to be, like, okay, why is it

that this works or that we do the things we do now? And and

so I definitely learned quite a bit just, like, going through that. And I I

need to read it more in-depth. I, like, skimmed through it, but it was so

good. I am so thrilled that this

book is available as a resource now. I wish I would have had it Right.

When I started teaching it. So I feel that's what we do. We create what

we wish we had. Right? So Yeah. Now Yes. Now it's

available to all the teachers out there who need support or parents

who working on an IEP with their child. I feel like Yep. I've

talked to, like, parents I know who are, like, I just I we're working

on an IEP with with my child and, like, what is it? They'll even

ask me questions of, like, what does it need to do? And now I'll be

like, okay. This is the book that you need. Oh,

yeah. For sure. I wish that I had this book 14 years ago

when I graduated college because it's

what I didn't learn in college, quite honestly. There's a lot there

that it's like, oh, you have to learn in the real world, but it would

be nice. Yeah. It would be way better if you had that book. You know?

So Yes. Even student teaching didn't prepare me, I don't think. Yeah.

Because you're just teaching. You don't get into the paperwork stuff. It's definitely a great

a great resource to have, and I'm I'm excited that it's out in the world

now. Me too. I and I'm so glad you're here on the podcast to kinda

give that sneak peek of what what you have in the book, but there's just

no way to fit everything in the book in our quick interview today, so they

should definitely grab a copy. Yep. There's not. And then if they want even more

in-depth support from you, I know that you have an awesome membership for the intentional

IEP as well. Can you tell us a little bit about that? Yes.

So we also have, the intentional IEP, which was started

in May of 2020, is when we opened the intentional

IEP. And so it's a membership for teachers or parents. I have lots of parents

that are in membership as well. You get access to an IEP

goal bank, and it has pre written there's, I think, just

over 10,000 pre written IEP goals in there. And then

anything academic pre k through grade 6 comes with screeners, which

are data collection probes that you can download and use directly related to that IEP

goal. We also have a member library, which has, I

think, over 70 different downloads like data sheets,

forms, all the things for IEP writing. You can

download those in the member library. And then every month, we do new

trainings at the intentional IEP. And, also, over summer, we do our summer

PD series, and so we just do there's probably over a

150 trainings inside of our video vault now Of all things

IEP, anything IEP, getting your classroom ready as a special ed

teacher. We have parents come in and give their perspective

and how you can help your student long term transition. It's not just

elementary age. It's really for for all the ages for special

education, which is awesome. Yeah. And you you've done a lot with that summer

PD too. We actually did an interview for it. So those of you who follow

the podcast, like, if you join, make sure you watch for

our interview in there too. That'll be fun. Yes. It's coming up.

Yes. It sounds like the perfect membership for for teachers

or anyone involved in the IEP process and just continually

getting support. Because throughout the year, if you have questions or whatever

you need, support with your the kids' web IEPs, you'll have that

there, that resource. And Yes. I think that that is so helpful.

So I'm really glad you agreed with that. Definitely there to help.

Okay. Well, I'll put both of those links in the show notes so you can

grab a copy of your book. All of you should do that at the minimum.

Grab a copy of the book. And then if you want even more support, be

sure to check out the intentional IUP membership as well.

And you'll also be speaking at Educate Remedy, which we're excited about. So if

you're coming to the event, make sure you watch Stephanie's session

because it's going to be really good. What what are you speaking about again at

the event? I think it's IEP collaboration.

Honestly, I think I think it was. Yeah. About collaboration. Yeah. Yeah. I, like, looked

at it, and then I'm like, oh, of course, when we're live, it, like, left

my brain. That's what it does, but that be amazing. So everybody watch for that.

But in the meantime, where can our listeners connect with you online? Where's

the best place or places to do that?

Yeah. So I'm on Facebook and Instagram at the intentional

IEP or at missus d's corner, whichever. But if you're looking for

more IUP stuff, definitely at the intentional IUP and reach out, DM

me, send me an email. I'm here. I'm happy to help. Amazing. Thank you

so much, Stephanie, for your time and sharing your expertise here on

Educate and Rejuvenate the podcast. We really appreciate you. Thank you. Thank you

so much for having me.

If you enjoyed this episode, please hit subscribe so you don't miss the next

one. And if you're hungry for more, be sure to check out the book that

I wrote. It's called Educate and Rejuvenate, a 3 step guide to revitalize

your teaching, renew your spirit, and re ignite your passion for

life. It is scheduled to be released in the summer of 2024.

This book takes all the life coaching skills we talk about here on the podcast

and puts them together one easy to understand guide. Plus, when you

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