By Cg LaScala, Director of Advocacy

Nope, it’s not too early to start getting your mindset together for next school year.  You can make lists and copies and plan your August schedule for visits to your child’s current or new school.  And you thought you were ready to breathe a sigh of relief that school was done!  Well, you do have all of July, but you can begin to prepare now, enjoy July, and ease into August and the beginning of the new school year.

Here are 5 summer planning tips for a better beginning to the school year:

• Whether or not your child will attend the same school, is moving to a new school, transitioning from elementary to middle school or high school to beyond, take your child to the grounds of the school they will attend a week or two before school starts. If it is a new building, ask permission to “tour”, in order to get your child acquainted with the new school.
• Review your child’s individualized education program (IEP) . Familiarize yourself with important components and things you want teachers to know about your child.
• Develop a three or four paragraph thumbnail sketch of your child and his or her needs/skills. Keep it short!  Make copies for each teacher.
• Attach a copy of your student’s accommodations that the teacher can tap into and refer to frequently to assure your child’s success.
• Provide your child’s teachers with a hard copy of the IEP. They can access it through the special education teacher but may not have had time to review it.  Putting it directly in the teacher’s hands may help them read the content sooner rather than later.

I bet you have other great ideas you might share that could be helpful for others.  How will you prepare for the school year over the summer?