Let me just say that I have a phone phobia. I hate making phone calls! Since I am a procrastinator I tend to put my phone calls off until I absolutely need to make that call. And then I get nervous and worry that I will say the wrong thing or worse yet...sound unintelligent. Yes...HATE those phone calls.
The truth? School counselors make A LOT of phone calls! I am getting a little better at that...but still hate picking up that phone.
ANYWAY...
I suddenly found myself with 3 504 plans coming due and made myself pick up that phone and schedule the meetings. Such a process! Sometimes I think it is harder to pick the right date and time than fill out the actual paperwork!
Enter DOODLE! The new technology tool that helps schedule meetings. I have not tried this out yet, but other counselors were singing its praise at our regional meeting yesterday. I am definitely going to try it out.
How Doodle works (or at least how it was explained to me): You enter possible dates and times and all stakeholders are invited to see the possibilities and choose the ones that work. The person scheduling the meeting can then determine the best time to have the meeting. :)
So today I found myself in two parent-student-teacher meetings.
The first meeting was a long one (over an hour long), but resulted in the student telling us, "I feel more confident in what to do to improve in this class and now I have strategies to use when I get overwhelmed and my anger comes out." WOW!
After that meeting the teacher involved thanked me for taking so much time out of my schedule to help her work through these issues.
Yeah!!!! Let me just say I watched the student totally change demeanor from the beginning of the meeeting to the end. When we started out, there was a lot of friction in the air between the mom and the teacher. I had such a positive feeling at the end of the meeting as the teacher and mom thanked each other again and the student smiled. :)
Next up on my agenda today was a 504 meeting after school. This was my 3rd 504 meeting this year and the most attended one! Teacher, parent, and student feedback was so positive! This student is really maturing and finding academic and athletic success. This has not always been the case with him. He has some tough diagnoses that make school challenging for him. Today, I saw how his 504 plan has really offered him a security net so that he can find success. I really had no part in his success, but let me just say it was a pleasure to hear the reports and see the grades! As much as people complain about the extra work 504s bring, they REALLY do support our students when they are put into place and followed!
I feel so blessed to be in a profession where I can witness positive change and its effect!!! What an AWESOME job I have!
