Building A Dyslexia Parent Group - Step 5

STEP 5 - ENGAGE PERSONNEL

Taking legal action against your district will result in a huge black eye in public perception, so your parent group must give your district personnel a last chance to correct before moving forward. Your parent group should engage your district administrators, assistant superintendent and superintendent.

You have just educated yourself and want to share your findings with your district. The superintendent is the leader of the district, and you want your district to be the first to know. You should be respectful, knowledgeable and willing to help while also determined to fight for your child.

Use language like, “We’re worried our district is breaking federal law by not helping children with dyslexia but we can help fix this problem.” You’ll be glad you did this later. This is a very critical step. Then you all can honestly say you asked for help and your district refused, and you were forced to file a complaint.

STEP 5 - ENGAGE SCHOOL BOARD

If you are not satisfied with your district administration’s commitment, your parent group may also want to introduce itself at a school board meeting as a partner to your district with time and energy to help. You are not just parents complaining about what’s not going right. You are willing to help fix the reading issues. This will build trust and respect in helping solve important issues while putting a stake in the ground and putting the district on notice that dyslexia is an issue they’ll have to deal with. Get on their meeting agenda for an introduction.

Often times school board meetings require you sign up to speak. Bring as many parents as possible to establish yourself as a legitimate concern. Have parents share heart-wrenching stories about their children’s struggles. The school board is the only check on the administration the parents have. They need to remember that.

Finally, attempt to meet with every school board member individually and ask for help. The school board doesn’t believe your district administration works for them, but they are the parent’s only check on the administration. The school board is elected by parents.

STEP 5 - LEVERAGE MEDIA

Introduce your parent group to local media and leverage a local reporter or media outlet who will care about what you are doing to help children to read. Often times there is an education reporter who attends the school board meetings. This is a good person to develop a relationship with. They will add pressure to your school district to do what is required. This would also be a great time to have a publicist join the group. A publicist may be a great resource to your cause. Most towns have at least a few publicists, and they can be helpful making introductions. They are usually well connected to local media outlets and personalities, and may be willing to provide services pro bono in support of the cause. Lastly, make good use of social media avenues to get the word out. This includes podcasts, Instagram influencers, Twitter influencers, Facebook groups or personalities, etc.