Stacey Hoaglund
ADVOCATE, LIFE COACH, CONSULTANT, SPEAKER, AUTHOR
Author: stacey
Author: stacey
Inclusion Shouldn’t be a Fight
It’s hard to believe that the first few weeks of school are gone already! Most of the calls our office receives at this time of the year are related to a school’s failure to successfully include students in general education classrooms (even if it’s on the IEP). There are a variety of reasons why this
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Ever-So-Important “Day in the Life”
While you have the time during the summer to reflect on your child’s experiences this past school year, it’s a good time to think about what information their new teacher could use to make his/her transition as smooth as possible. Those first weeks can be a bit bumpy for any kid who thinks, processes, or
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5 Tips for Ending the School Year on a Positive Note
It’s hard to believe that the school year is gone already. For some parents, there’s still another week or so, and for others, the year is done and gone. Are you ready? Is your IEP ready? If your child is changing schools, have you visited the new school? Do you know what to expect? Hoping
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Battling the System’s Culture of Low Expectations
Many, and I would venture to guess most, parents don’t understand that when a student spends their school years inside separate special education classrooms, they are not going to have what’s needed to go into a trade school certification program or a college degree-seeking program. Yes, there are “special programs” in some tech schools and
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Ugh! Standardized Tests! Now What?
We are in the height of testing season. It seems like every school I walk into, all I hear is chatter about the FAST, STAR and I-ready. It’s so sad that the education of children has been hijacked by standardized tests. Be that as it may, testing is nothing new; even when I was in
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Mammas Need Reminders Too!
How often do you run around reminding your kids, and your spouse or significant other, of all the things that need to take place within each 24-hour cycle? As moms, we have a tendency to be the person in the home who manages the lives of everyone else who lives under the same roof. For
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Making Space to Filter Out the Nonsense
What a month! I wish I could say that I had the time to write a post filled with tidbits of fabulous information this week, but yikes, this month being autism acceptance month has me running a bit ragged 😬 In case you didn’t happen to see it, Monday night I had the honor of
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Envisioning an Improved Continuum of Services
As many parents are participating in their child’s matriculation meeting at this time of year – transition meeting from preschool to kindergarten, elementary to middle, middle to high – there are a few things to understand about what’s referred to as a “continuum of services”. What’s This All About? Those 3 words basically mean that
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Figuring Out What’s Worth Fighting for
ad·vo·cate [v. ad-vuh-keyt] According to Webster’s Dictionary, the word advocate has been around since the 14th century. The definitions include: 1: one that pleads the cause of another; to plead in favor of 2: one that defends or maintains a cause or proposal 3: one that supports or promotes the interests of another. Advocating can
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Don’t Miss Asking these Questions at Your Matriculation Meeting
As matriculation meetings will be starting soon (they typically begin after Spring Break), it’s important to know and understand your child’s rights to inclusive education. I find that most parents don’t know that the federal law (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) requires that all IEP teams consider a regular education placement EVERY YEAR – not
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