Hello 👋 my name is Laurie Weis and I am your Parent Liaison here at Wheatland! As your liaison I will be happy to help you with your child's journey through school as a special education student. If it is a conversation about the IEP, goals, how to become more active in your student's learning, I am your go-to person. But before we make an official connection, let me tell you about my journey as a parent of a special education student.
My son, at the age of 4, was suspected of having a learning disability. As a mom, it was very hard for me to figure out what our next steps should be. I was told about the process and what needed to be done to determine if my son was eligible for special education services. Through additional testing and evaluation the team gathered for the first of many IEP meetings to set up specific goals for my son, and to determine what additional resources he needed in order to achieve those goals. That first meeting, I was LOST, I walked out of the meeting not knowing what I really agreed to and upset about the whole situation. (Don't worry, it doesn't have to be this way, that's why I'm here!) Our son's educational team had a great speech/language therapist that was going to be working with my son on his goals, it wasn't always easy but we created a great relationship to help my son achieve his goals. By attending more IEP meetings I learned to speak up and ask questions to be a more active participant in my son's learning. I am happy and proud to say that my son has graduated from college and is pursuing a career in criminology/forensics. He was able to use the tools and resources garnered during his earlier years to accomplish all of his goals.
With my experience as a parent, I wanted to be a part of the great team we worked with. I have now been working at Wheatland on the Special Education team for 16 years and enjoy working with both students and parents. I like to use my experience and knowledge to help parents learn about the IEP process and how they do play a critical role in their child's education. To have parents grow in their knowledge and comfort level is truly special and I love being the person by their side cheering them on.
I would be happy to talk with you about your student and ease your concerns. Need someone by your side at a meeting, reach out; have a question you don't feel comfortable asking a teacher/staff member, call me. Remember you are the one that knows your child best and you are your child's voice. We are all in this together!
