Hello friends. I hope you are well today. I’ve been doing a lot of box breathing lately. Have you tried it? It’s so simple and so re-centering. I highly recommend it if you have never tried it. I also used it recently with my kids when big feelings were overwhelming their bodies and our collective space. However, this post is not about box breathing. It’s about advocating. I do think box breathing and advocating go nicely together.

So, where do you start as a parent of a child who is struggling in school? I recently attended an event led by Equip for Equality and cannot recommend them enough. They talked about so many things around advocating for your child’s educational rights and can share all their information with you if you give them a call. For free. It will be worth your time.

One of the things they talked about is the importance of requesting in writing an evaluation for your child. I recently wrote one such advocacy letter for a Redwood student and decided to share it with you as one example of what an advocacy letter can look like. I still highly recommend you call Equip for Equality before writing your own since they are truly experts around all things educational rights. And I hope this letter is one supportive resource to you in your advocacy process.

The data I refer to in this advocacy letter was provided by one of Redwood’s online placement consultation evaluations that can be immensely helpful in building your case for requesting a full evaluation for your child through their school. You can also use data reports provided by the school as long as you have fully internalized them and understand what they say. You can schedule a free call with Redwood anytime to get our input on a letter you draft ahead of time as well. We would love to be a second set of eyes.

So, here is my sample letter. I hope it’s helpful. I’m rooting for you!

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To whom it may concern, on February 16th, 2023:

I’m writing this letter on behalf of (student name), a current student at (school name). STUDENT was evaluated at Redwood Literacy. Her scores fall below the 1st percentile in reading rate, reading accuracy, reading fluency, and reading comprehension as measured by the WIST and the Gort-5. Please click here to view that report. This was at the beginning of her 2nd grade year, with her 1st grade year being a year of virtual learning due to the Covid-19 pandemic. These percentile scores are very concerning, as they indicate that STUDENT was behind 99% of her age-based peers nationwide.

Percentiles are so important, as you know because they help us identify students who likely have a neurodivergent learning profile and will likely require screening, norm-referenced assessment, diagnosis, intervention, and continual progress monitoring to close their academic gap. STUDENT’s percentiles in 2021 indicate that a learning difference, or even multiple learning differences, might be a part of her learner profile. As proven by ongoing research, the earlier these can be identified in her educational career, the better set up for success she will be.

STUDENT is a brilliant, high-energy, creative young woman whose future is bright and full of opportunity. According to federal and state law, STUDENT’s parents have the right to ask for an evaluation of their daughter if they have concerns about her current academic performance. It is highly recommended that STUDENT undergo a full evaluation that screens for dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyscalculia, and ADHD so that she can be set up to receive the supports she needs to achieve her full potential. Feel free to contact me with any further questions at XXX-XXX-XXX.

In partnership,

STUDENT’s parent