Erika Newsome-Rodriguez-Special Education Parent Advocate

04/04/2025

Sometimes advocacy is a lot more than just fighting for rights about services and accommodations. We have some parents that are struggling with the basics and doing all they can to make it work. NYCPS Cares shows that the school and it's community are there to support parents with resources, referrals, and even with just an ear to listen. I am honored to be a Family Connector and support with this new initiative.

New York City is aiming to have a ‘family connector’ in each of the city’s 1,600 public schools, helping parents access city resources such as housing and food support.

02/07/2024

Broadway is an amazing way to expose our students to live theater and bring out their passions for the arts and music.

MANHATTAN, N.Y. (PIX11) — Making Broadway more accessible. That’s the goal of the Broadway Bridges program that allows 10th graders in any public high school in the five boroughs to buy…

02/02/2024

So proud to have been part of the Reimagining Special Education Advisory Council and glad that the work created is now starting to make it's way into classrooms and schools. Though it will take some time, it is exciting to see change happening.

NYC Public Schools Chancellor David Banks Delivers Special Education Announcement.

08/29/2023

News 12 Bronx meets with parent advocates, including me, to talk about services paid for and missed throughout the year.

Those services include speech, occupational therapy and physical therapy.

06/21/2023

Had the amazing opportunity to hang out with powerful parent leaders at Gracie Mansion for the Parent Appreciation Dinner. Parents were thanked, other parents used their voice to protest the mayor's budget cuts, and it was an overall incredible experience!

05/24/2023

This is a great event for parents who are in NYCDOE Public Schools, but also to all parents with children with an IEP.
Be sure to register below. Registration is FREE.
**THE DATE IS JUNE 13, 2023**

Join us on May 16, 2023, for a thought-provoking interactive virtual event on digital accessibility, inclusion, and teaching information fluency.

05/24/2023

Summer IEP Evaluations:

Summer evaluations bring an added cost to the school districts especially if they are held during the time after the school year has ended. These evaluators and teachers work on a per session basis and are paid directly from the district or school depending on where your child is enrolled.

The pros of having a summer evaluation is that it will usually be someone who is not familiar with your child and will provide an unbiased evaluation. The IEP will also be completed prior to the school year allowing proper placement without any disruptions or classroom switches last minute. The time and place can also be flexible for testing as well giving your child the ability to relax prior to or after the testing periods.

The cons are that there will usually be another team evaluating them and that team may not know your child or any special accommodations they have gotten that may not have made it to the IEP. In the areas of trauma or physical illnesses, you will need to brief the team about this before the evaluation begins. The IEP meeting will be held in the summer which may or may not conflict with summer family plans or events.

Either way, whenever possible, I advise taking the evaluation in the summer so that the new school year goes off to a strong start. If you feel the same, be sure to stand your ground and do not allow teachers to tell you that you need to wait until the first report card (This happened to a client today.) and (My other client is going through this one.) don't consent to a waiver for an evaluation just because if falls in the summer unless the items in the cons part of this post apply to your situation.

Ultimately, do what is best for your child and your family. Got questions or a different circumstance that may impact your decision? Feel free to PM for a consultation.

Good luck!

04/17/2023

This is a great read for parents of high school children about to enter college. Discover the truth vs myths when it comes college level accommodations and support.

Students with learning disabilities or ADHD may hear a lot of different advice about what documentation they'll need to register for accommodations at college. Get the facts.

04/17/2023

Do you have a Special Education Binder for your child?

Create one today! How? Like this:

In a binder with dividers, you will put all evaluations, report cards, medical evaluations pertaining to your child's disability, yearly physicals, past IEPs, IEP paperwork, teacher reports, classroom, state, and local exam and assessment results, and work product (tests, projects, assignments) you may have that your child created where there are concerns, and anything else you feel is pertinent to your child's academic progress.

Bring this or have it with you for every future IEP meeting or evaluation and it will make things go faster and support will be more accurate.

Need assistance with this? Feel free to send me a PM or become a client. Every one of my client gets one created free!

04/17/2023

Excited to be part of the Literacy Advisory Council and getting work done.

New York City Public Schools has convened a diverse group of stakeholders to join the Literacy Advisory Council to help shape the direction of literacy in NYC. The council, which includes local community members, experts in literacy, public school staff, students, and parents, meets monthly to help....