Module 4, Lesson 1: Advanced Planning
The key to less stressful IEPs is planning waaaaaay in advance. As we discussed in Module 1, your calendars should already have “schedule Johnny’s IEP” written down at least 4 weeks in advance. But, as anyone who has ever tried to schedule anything involving more than two people knows, scheduling can be a grand headache.
1. Doodle. I highly recommend that you utilize free scheduling programs, such as doodle.com, to make scheduling a lot easier. You also need to remember to re-email everyone the link if they haven’t replied in a day or two. If there are no times that everyone can attend, you can expand your original doodle and then re-send a link to try to find a better time.
2. Schedule. After you decide on a meeting time, use schedule the meeting on an online calendar system Encourage participants to check yes/no so that you have documentation of who is able to attend the meeting. Include all relevant information: time, date, place, purpose, virtual/in-person, parent rights, etc.
3. Remind. Nothing is worse than a last-minute cancelation or no-show. Then you have to go through the process again! I love the feature that Google has where you can send an email to all participants within the calendar program. I typically do this the day before, but a great strategy would also be to do it three days before as well.
Resources for this lesson:
Homework
- Create a doodle for someone you like for something fun.
- Schedule it in your calendar and send them in the link.
- Send a reminder email at least one day in advance.
- Tell the community what you scheduled and with whom!
Link to ROADMAP for all lessons.