The following editorial was published by The Jonesboro Sun on Friday, February 22, 2019, on pages A4-A5. It was written by my colleague, Robin S. Kuykendall, an educational consultant and owner of Advocate & Educate, LLC, in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Robin has a long history of advocacy on behalf of special needs students and their parents, …
How to Stop a Bully - Part III
This is the third post in a three-part series about what to do if your child is being bullied at school. In Part I, I discussed how to handle bullying at the school district level, and in Part II, I discussed the options parents may have if they want to file a complaint with a …
How to Stop a Bully - Part II
In my last post, I discussed what parents can do to address bullying at the school district level, and how schools should often respond once bullying is reported. In Part II of my three-part series, How to Stop a Bully, I’ll discuss what parents can do to address bullying at the state and federal agency …
How to Stop a Bully - Part I
I recently watched the second season of Thirteen Reasons Why, and as a parent, just the thought of my daughter ever enduring the harassment and bullying taking place at the popular series’ Liberty High School is a nightmare. The harassment depicted by Thirteen Reasons Why is extreme, to say the least, and goes far beyond …
Arkansas Ranks 19th in Early Education
Earlier this week, the financial news site, 24/7 Wall St., published its rankings of states with the best and worst early education programs. Specifically focusing on 3- to 4-year-olds, the website ranked states using an index based on five different measures of early education quality: (1) annual per-child Pre-K spending; (2) percentage of fourth graders …
Special Education FAQ for Parents
There are two times during the year that I get the most calls from parents of special needs students: (1) when IEPs are being developed in the spring, and (2) at the beginning of each school year when parents become concerned about whether their child’s school is following their new IEP. So in honor of …
The Argument for Early Childhood Education
Access to affordable, quality early childhood education is a critical piece missing from the education system in this country. Children from poor families who live in impoverished areas benefit significantly from quality early childhood education. Yet, it’s those same families who struggle the most with the availability and affordability of quality care. An article published in …
An Introduction to Best Buddies Arkansas
In 2015, I was asked to serve on the State Advisory Board for Best Buddies Arkansas, the local affiliate to Best Buddies International. Founded by Anthony Shriver in 1989, Best Buddies International is the world’s largest organization dedicated to ending the social, physical, and economic isolation of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Best Buddies does …
What Level of Education Does the IDEA Require?
This is a question that plagues parents and teachers of special education students almost daily. And though the U.S. Supreme Court has remained silent on the issue since 1982, it looks as if it won’t remain silent for much longer. Today, the Supreme Court granted certiorari in Endrew F. v. Douglas County School District, in …
What Happens if I Break My Teacher’s Contract?
It’s hard to believe, but another school year starts in Arkansas in less than three weeks. Even at this late date, some school districts are still trying to fill positions that have gone unfilled all summer. It’s this time of year when I get questions from teachers who have already signed a contract with one school …