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Powell Educational Associates LLC Erika Powell Ed.D~Delaware educator with over 25 years of special education experience

10/14/2026

Getting It Done Isn't Always the Goal

Sometimes a child gets through an assignment because an adult sat beside them, reminded them what to do next, helped organize their thinking and kept them moving. The assignment is finished, but I still have questions.

What could the child do on their own? Where did they need help? Most importantly, what are we teaching so they can do a little more independently next time?

I'm not suggesting we stop helping children. Support matters. I just don't want completing the assignment to become more important than teaching the child.

Evidence. Instruction. Opportunity.

10/12/2026

Struggling Doesn't Always Mean the Work Is Too Hard

When a child is struggling with schoolwork, one of our first instincts is often to make the work easier. Sometimes that's appropriate. But before we decide what needs to change, I want to understand what's making the task difficult.

Maybe your child understands the content but has trouble reading the directions. Maybe they know what they want to say but struggle to get it into writing. They may understand how to solve the math problem but lose track of the steps along the way.

Those are very different needs, and they won't necessarily be helped by the same support.
This is one reason the work itself can be so helpful. Instead of only seeing that an assignment was difficult, look at where your child got stuck. Ask them to tell you about what they were doing.

The goal isn't to remove everything that's difficult. It's to understand what is getting in the way so we can figure out what will actually help your child learn.

Evidence. Instruction. Opportunity.

10/11/2026

The University of Delaware is conducting a study on school-based transitions for students with autism in Delaware.

The study focuses on transitions from elementary to middle school and from middle to high school. UD hopes to learn about families’ experiences, including what supports were helpful, what challenges arose, and what families wish schools did differently. By gathering perspectives from families and school professionals, UD aims to better understand current practices, identify gaps, and inform future training and resources.

Participation involves completing an anonymous survey that takes approximately 15 minutes, and is completely voluntary.

Scan the QR code or visit https://delaware.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_ePBntKZOTltZI3A?Q_CHL=qr to take the survey.

10/10/2026

Parent Question That Changes the Conversation

Here's one question worth keeping for your next conversation with your child's teacher:

“What is my child able to do now that they couldn't do before?”
I like this question because it moves us beyond “How are they doing?” and asks about actual growth. The answer might be academic. It might be greater independence, better use of a strategy or something your child is beginning to do with less support.

And if it's difficult to identify what's changed yet, that's useful information too. Progress is about more than where a child is today. We also want to know whether they're moving forward.

Evidence. Instruction. Opportunity.

10/09/2026

We spend a lot of time talking about what children are struggling with. I think it's just as important to notice when something starts working.

Maybe homework isn't taking as long. Your child is less frustrated with reading. Mornings are going more smoothly. A class they complained about every day isn't coming up quite as often. Those changes give us information too.

When I see a student beginning to make progress, I want to know what changed. Did they learn a new strategy? Is a particular support helping? Have they had enough practice for something to finally start clicking? Has the teacher found a way to explain something that makes sense to them?

Understanding why something is working helps us know what to keep doing. We absolutely want to notice where children still need support, but we shouldn't become so focused on what's difficult that we miss the evidence that something is beginning to work.

Evidence. Instruction. Opportunity.

10/07/2026

By October, there has been enough school for us to start asking how the skills in the IEP are showing up in everyday learning.

If your child has a reading goal, are you beginning to see changes in how they approach reading? If organization is an area of need, are they using any of the strategies they're being taught? If the goal involves communication, what does that look like during class?

I don't expect a child to master an annual goal a month into school. That's not the point. What I do want to know is whether we're beginning to see movement.

The goals in an IEP shouldn't feel separate from everything else your child does during the school day. They're there because the team identified skills your child needs in order to learn, participate and become more independent.

As the year moves along, those connections should become easier to see.

Evidence. Instruction. Opportunity.

10/05/2026

Family SHADE's Learning Community is comprised of free, one-hour workshops tailored to Delaware families of children and youth with special healthcare needs. Workshops center around topics of Medical Home and Transition to Adult Healthcare.

All interested community members are welcome to attend. Registration is required. Register today at www.cds.udel.edu/familyshade

10/05/2026

By October, parents are starting to see more schoolwork come home and grades are beginning to tell us something about how the year is going. But grades are only one piece of the picture.

A child can earn a good grade and still need a great deal of support to complete the work. Another child may earn a lower grade while making real progress with a skill that has been difficult for them.

That's why I want parents of children with IEPs to look beyond the grade sometimes. Is your child doing more independently? Are they beginning to use strategies they've been taught? Can they explain something they couldn't explain a few weeks ago? Are they sticking with a difficult task a little longer before giving up?

Of course grades matter. We want our children to be successful with grade-level expectations. We just don't want a number or letter to be the only thing we use to decide whether they're making progress.

Sometimes the most important growth happens before it ever shows up on a report card.

Evidence. Instruction. Opportunity.

10/02/2026

𝗙𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝗪𝗲𝗯𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿! 𝗦𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆!

The transition to adult health care can seem scary, but with a little bit of planning and knowledge, it doesn’t have to be!

Join 𝗟𝗮𝘂𝗿𝗲𝗻 𝗚𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗲, Transition Social Work Coordinator for Nemours Children’s Health, to discuss targeted action steps that every parent of a young adult with complex or special health care needs can take to make the transition from pediatric to adult care easier.

𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗲: Thursday, October 8
𝗧𝗶𝗺𝗲: 1 - 2 p.m.
𝗟𝗼𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Virtual (Zoom)

𝗥𝗘𝗚𝗜𝗦𝗧𝗘𝗥 𝗧𝗢𝗗𝗔𝗬! https://bit.ly/3Vrntzy

10/02/2026

Good Grades Don't Mean Accommodations Aren't Needed

I hear this far too often when parents raise concerns about accommodations: “But they’re doing so well academically.”

Perry Zirkel’s October 2026 Special Education Legal Update highlights a recent Section 504 case that is a good reminder that grades do not tell us whether a student has equal access to their education.

The student in the case graduated with a 4.0 GPA as co-valedictorian and had a 504 plan with accommodations related to disabilities that affected reading and concentration. Her family alleged that accommodations were repeatedly not implemented and that some teachers responded negatively when she needed those supports.

As Zirkel explains, the court found there was enough evidence for a jury to consider whether the failures to implement her 504 plan denied her the benefit of a public education. The court also allowed a hostile learning environment claim to move forward.
This is why I encourage parents to look beyond grades when discussing whether a 504 plan is working.

What does it take for your child to earn those grades? Are the accommodations actually being provided across classes? Is your child spending significantly more time and energy completing work because supports are not consistently provided? Are they avoiding classes, activities or opportunities because managing school has become too difficult?

In the case Zirkel discusses, the student was highly successful on paper, but the family alleged that she lost educational opportunities because of what it took to navigate school without consistent implementation of her accommodations.

A student should not have to struggle academically before their disability-related needs matter.
A 4.0 GPA does not make a 504 plan optional.

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