Initial Meetings

Preparing for the Initial Meeting

1) Read the Initial Student Assignment Policy and Procedure before making contact with any parents.  It is critical that you complete no official enrollment paperwork with any student not on your prospective student list in the database. You may give out enrollment applications to those who ask you for them, and parents may request a specific ES on the enrollment application form. We will honor every request that we can.

 

2) As soon as the student is on your prospective list in ES WEBfiles (you will receive an assignment email at your school email address), call the parent to set up an appointment for meeting with the parent face to face: 

·   Make sure that the student will also be present at the first meeting since both the student and parent signatures are required on the student agreement.  

·   If the student is in high school, the parent must obtain a copy of transcripts before your first meeting.  (If the student is 19 or older, they will need to fax/mail a copy of their transcript to IEM with "adult student" written on it, and the ES should wait for an e-mail from ES Support before meeting with the student for enrollment. See "adult policy".)

·   Make the appointment long enough to allow time for questions and paperwork. 

·   Some education specialists visit the family in the home; others arrange to meet their families at a centrally located appropriate meeting place (e.g. the county library). The decision of where to meet lies with the parent and if the educational specialist feels unable to accommodate the parent's decision, a different specialist may be requested.

 

3) Before leaving for the meeting:

·   Print necessary forms and documents from "New Student Paperwork". If a form has ** (i.e. Student Agreement) it must be printed from WEBfiles. See "Using ES WEBfiles" for directions.

·   Print Interview Questions for Initial Meeting.

·   Print Initial Meeting Checklist. Use the following Initial Meeting checklist and process below as a guide to take with you to an initial enrollment meeting. * Prepare two generic assignments (typically one writing assignment, one math) to bring for the student to complete for your first two portfolio samples.

·    Please do not submit enrollment paperwork until all issues have been discussed with the parents/adult students. 

 

The Initial Meeting Process:

(each link below leads to directions found in the ES handbook on each of these topics)

Bring all forms, interview questions, and checklist to the meeting.

 

  • Go through Interview Questions; if everything is satisfactory, proceed to enroll student.
  • Go over Charter and have the parent sign the Charter Summary.
  • Complete the Student Agreement.
  • If AESS, fill out AESS Contract.
  • Give the parent the General Information Sheet printed from WEBfiles and explain each item. This is a good time to ask for an emergency contact number from them, and their best days and times to meet each month.
  • Explain Attendance Policy and the Truancy Policy, and how to fill out Attendance Rollsheet. The ES fills out the information and explains to the parent how to mark the attendance. Be sure to leave the first rollsheet with the family at the time of the initial meeting; a replacement if the dates are wrong can be brought with you at you next meeting, or pdfed adn emailed to the family as soon as possible. All future rollsheets must be printed from WEBfiles once the student is activated in the database, with the correct next school dates listed on it.
  • If high school student, fill out Graduation Requirements Agreement.
  • Set up an appointment within 30 days to administer the students the Scantron pre-tests.
  • Explain process for ordering materials and arrange for curriculum. Give the parent a copy of the parent version of the state standards as an option that will best prepare their student for standardized testing. Explain how to access the school's vendors. You and the parent/student will discuss the classes, types of curriculum appropriate for the student, and what is available based on the amount of instructional funds (print out IF calc chart from ES webfiles). Take the family's order if they know what they want. Counsel them to the best of your ability if they are undecided about details. Ask you advisor for help about the specifics. If you are ordering for high school students, use the copy of the transcript provided by the parent and the Graduation Requirements Worksheet to check the courses that the student has already taken, assuring that you don't order curriculum that the student does not need.
  • Assign work (When applicable, as with AESS)
  • Explain monthly Learning Record documentation. The parent will want to know how the learning record is written and the requirements the school has for documenting learning. This will help them to be prepared for your first learning record meeting.
  • Explain Portfolio policy so that the parent will be prepared for you to collect samples at the next meeting.
  • Fill out First Meeting Information Sheet, making sure that each item has been explained and covered during your meeting.
  • Set Weekly/Monthly meeting time and place. Give the parent a copy of the school calendar. It is a good idea to set a regular time, place, and frequency for your regular meetings. Some ESs plan the entire year of appointments at this time. You will have to space your meetings as you will be unable to meet will all of your families in a few days. For some ESs and families, weekend meetings are convenient. Others prefer evening meetings. Every effort should be made to meet with the family at their convenience.
  • Answer the family's questions the best that you can. Don't make up answers. Write the question down and let them know that you will call them later after finding the information.
  • Check your Initial Meeting Checklist to see if you've accomplished all elements of the initial meeting.

 

REMEMBER:

  • It's important to call your prospective students and enroll them as soon as possible, as some students may have been waiting for an ES for quite a while.  Within 2 weeks of the prospective student being assigned to an ES during the school year (unless we are near our enrollment cutoff date, then meeting should occur before cutoff date), they should be enrolled, or taken off your list as “not enrolling” after following the process for this at http://www.ieminc.org/handbook/studentenrollment/inistuasspol.htm .
  • A student will be enrolled as of the date that all correct documentation is signed by the parent. The following paperwork is required before the prospective student can be enrolled in the school: Student agreement, Additional ES Services Contract (AESS if this option is chosen), Initialed Charter Summary. If you meet with a parent and do not complete all the correct documentation or complete them incorrectly, the documents will be returned to you to be resigned by the parent. The first day of attendance cannot precede the day that all correct documentation is signed.
  • Submit signed, original completed enrollment paperwork to IEM, 4535 Missouri Flat Road, Ste. 1A, Placerville, CA 95667
  • Our goal is to set our students up for educational success. When enrolling a student, each ES should be careful to assess the student's history, current home support, and commitment, to determine if enrollment in our school is the best solution to their finding success in their educational pursuits. Not every student is suited to work in an independent study program. Given our many opportunities that include AESS and contract programs, they may find success where they have failed in the past, but each ES needs to carefully examine each situation and consult with their ES Advisor if they have any questions or concerns before enrolling a student that they are unsure whether placement in our school would be to the student's best interest. It may be necessary, if a student is not AESS, to check in with him/her after 1-2 weeks to see if the student is going to be able to stay on track. If you receive any signs that the student is falling behind, make sure that you suggest AESS so we can help the student. If our school is not the best fit for the student, we want to find out as soon as possible. It isn't good for the student or our school's reputation to send a student back into the traditional setting with the student having made no progress while enrolled with us.

(Special Education has already made this determination prior to allowing the students to be assigned. Enroll these students, email special ed of their “start date”, and contact the special education department if you think there may be a problem.)