Early this year, Naomi’s family noticed that she was having a difficult time in kindergarten. “I noticed Naomi’s smile was fading when I talked to her about school,” remembers Naomi’s grandmother, Doris. “We noticed Naomi could not focus, she had problems with words and started getting very frustrated when she could not complete a task.” When Naomi’s mother reached out to the school for help, they agreed to conduct a special education evaluation and discuss the results at a March meeting.  Rather than conduct the meeting virtually once schools closed as a result of the pandemic,  however, Naomi’s school asked her mother to withdraw her request for a meeting and instead wait until school buildings reopened to resume the process  of developing an Individualized Education Program (IEP). When Naomi’s mother insisted her daughter needed help right away, the school tried to close the request, claiming that they had been unable to contact her while she was working long shifts during the pandemic as a first responder.

Concerned that the school was dismissing their concerns about Naomi’s academic needs, Naomi’s grandmother contacted AFC’s Helpline. Our education specialists successfully advocated for the DOE to reopen Naomi’s case and reconsider her need for additional educational support. We also contacted an outside psychologist for a second opinion on the DOE’s initial evaluation and arranged for the psychologist to participate in the IEP meeting and advocate for Naomi’s educational needs.

We are thrilled to report that after AFC’s intervention, the school finally created a plan to provide Naomi with the services and supports she needs to continue learning remotely during the pandemic and be successful when schools reopen.