Written by Mark Weiker, Esq. from Albeit Weiker, LLP; education law attorney focused on student rights & father of two. Unfortunately, it remains the norm for primary and secondary schools throughout the country to use suspension and expulsion as a remedy for bad behavior, despite almost no evidence that removing students from the educational environment…
A Teacher’s Guide to Beating First Week Jitters
It’s about that time of year again. The time when the specialty sections of Kroger and Target are stocked with rainbow bins, cartoon backpacks, and discount Crayolas. The time when you frantically fill your calendar with shopping trips, haircuts, and last minute summer fun. That’s right–it’s back to school season! The bittersweet ending of summer…
Talking to Children About Terrorism
Written by Danielle Randolph, School Psychologist & AW’s newest Student Advocate In today’s world, parents are faced with the challenge of explaining violence, terrorism and war to children. Although difficult, these conversations are extremely important. They give parents an opportunity to help their children feel more secure and understand the world in which they live….
Beating Summer Scaries (For You, Teacher)
Hey there. I see you in your yoga pants and top knot. I know you don’t know what day it is. I’m right there with you. A fellow teacher on summer break. These last two months have been glorious for us: Unlimited pee breaks, Finishing our coffee while it’s still warm, Having more than 20…
E+R=O: A Special Education Mindset
E + R = O: A Special Education Mindset Fighting for an individualized and appropriate education Let’s imagine you are not receiving progress reports on your child’s Individualized Education Plan (IEP). You have that parental instinct that something isn’t right. How do you stand up to district administrators, who are specifically trained in the field…
Own a dog? Fostering a dog? You NEED to read this!
Thank you to our first guest blogger, friend of the firm and Senior Assistant City Attorney for the City of Columbus, Isaac Rinsky. Mr. Rinsky is assigned to the Franklin County Environmental Court and has some great, easy to read info and tips for dog owners. Imagine venturing out for a walk with your big…
Applying for Grad School? What you need to disclose.
When applying to graduate programs, especially law school, many applications require that all applicants disclose any criminal or academic misconduct. But it can be tricky to know what you do and do not need to disclose. One simple answer is to read any disclosure questions carefully. While the disclosure questions can be lengthy, it is…
Straight From A Student’s Mouth: My experience defending a charge of cheating.
Straight from a student’s mouth: A college student found herself charged with academic misconduct (a.k.a. cheating). Here’s her story. “Last semester, I was in a Marketing class required to pursue my Human Resources degree in the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State. It was not the most difficult class, nor the most interesting. Each…
Changing Student Records
Parents and Students Have a Right to Request Amendment or Removal of an Education Record Students ages 18+ and parents of students under age 18 have a right under federal law to request removal or amendment of inaccurate files contained in the student’s education record. The right exists under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act…
Do you have a gifted student?
Suspect a student is gifted? Parents, students or teachers can refer a potentially gifted child for screening at any grade. Public school districts in Ohio must provide screenings at least twice per year, and must have a procedure for parents to appeal any decision about the results or scheduling of testing, or the placement of…
Educators & Social Media Interactions
Many of you have heard about the teacher fired for her Twitter response to a student’s misspelling of the word tomorrow. See: http://abc6onyourside.com/news/nation-world/experts-defend-school-staffer-fired-after-correcting-students-spelling-on-twitter While the teacher’s response in the article certainly appeared to be more playful than harassing, it does highlight the inherent problem facing educators interacting with students on social media. The first rule and best rule…
Dyslexia 101
Does your child struggle to read? Does your preschooler have trouble with common nursery rhymes, can’t learn and remember the names of the letters in the alphabet, or have a hard time recognizing common rhyming patters like cat, rat and bat? Does your kindergartener or first grader read “puppy” instead of the written “dog”…