Perspective: Finding the True Spirit of Success
By Dr. Jenny McClintic
Through the implementation of ASPIRE (Active Student Participation Inspires Real Engagement), a student-led Individual Education Plan (IEP) initiative where the student takes an active role in their education decisions, we have found that IEP meetings have instilled a renewed sense of individualization in many of our students in the Houston County school system. The student, seated among the IEP committee, steals the show with their carefully crafted presentations on their perspectives of their strengths, challenges and next steps in both school and life.
After participating in these student-led meetings, parents, teachers, administrators and school psychologists continually describe their experiences with words such as astonishing, dumbfounded or flabbergasted. One cannot help but feel the overwhelming sense of pride and empowerment resulting from such a personalized meeting. So many positive outcomes result from these meetings including more appropriate accommodations to help the student learn better, highly motivated students, more consistent parent attendance and less stressful meetings.
We are currently in our third year of implementation in Houston County schools and will surpass 1,000 ASPIRE students this school year. We are increasing participation each year and will reach full implementation during the 2015-16 school year. As a county, we knew this program was the right thing to do for our students, and I want to recognize our Director of Student Services, Dr. Zabrina Cannady, for her vision and support for approving implementation of ASPIRE in our county.
ASPIRE's success only becomes more evident as we observe our students and see them more highly motivated, eager to conduct their own progress monitoring and continuously reporting to committee members as they are seen throughout school buildings. One principal, after witnessing the positive effects of these IEP's for students with disabilities, is determined to implement student-led conferences school-wide for all of his students.
Students are sharing the news about ASPIRE with their peers, resulting in more student requests for participation. And, it's not just the students who are seeing the positive impacts of this education approach.
Parents who were previously reluctant to have their students involved in ASPIRE are now wishing this would have been implemented earlier. They report great satisfaction in seeing their child communicate effectively with adults and their peers and displaying self-advocacy skills.
Committee members also continue to be surprised at the vast amount of knowledge gained through providing students with this voice in their education plan.
And, teachers explain that this process allows them to gain individualized insight into each student that they would have never had access to previously and results in them being able to provide more personalized guidance. This could be anything from providing the student with something as simple as a book recommendation or as significant as a more appropriate course choice.
Regardless of a student's age or exceptionality, through the ASPIRE program, students are able to meaningfully contribute and give input in their own IEP meetings. To witness the pride of a parent, the confidence in an exceptional student and the true spirit of success, is what it means to participate in the ASPIRE program in Houston County.
Dr. Jenny McClintic serves as a program specialist for the Houston County school system, and is the district liaison for the implementation of the ASPIRE program throughout the county. She received her doctorate in Curriculum Studies from Georgia
Southern University. She has served in the field of special education for 21 years. She has one son, Will, who attends high school in the district.
