Education Advocacy

Educational and Special Need Advocacy

No matter which public, private, charter or parochial school your child attends, child advocacy is occurring.  In the classroom, after school programs, athletic programs, school clubs and associations and extra-curricular activities programs, child advocacy is occurring.  Whether your child is following a regular educational track, accelerated track, intellectually gifted track or intellectually challenged track, child advocacy is occurring in some form.  Students advocate for themselves and other students when problems arise in the classroom. Teachers advocate for students who sign up for extra-curricular activities or are assigned to special educational programs.  Any person who speaks on behalf of another person, argue in defense of another person, or plead in another person’s behalf is an advocate.  However, professional advocates bring special skills to the job of advocacy.

I specialize in Educational Child Advocacy, which always involve the school. I interact with students, school teachers, school principals, superintendents, local school board members and members of the state board of education.  I do not represent students in a court of law or legal hearing but I collaborate with legal counsel on the student’s behalf. If necessary, I am equipped to recommend an appropriate attorney.  An effective child advocate does not need to be a lawyer or practice before a bar. (Click here to see my complete Biography.)

My degrees and career experiences are in fields that provide expert knowledge about schools, school children, school policy and regulation, school curricular, organizational hierarchy, and school law. In my opinion, degrees in education or school administration are not required but necessary for mastery.  According to Weinfeld and Davis, “An advocate often is someone who has studied education at the undergraduate and/or graduate level. If he does not have a degree in education, he has taken courses and reviewed the current professional literature to further his knowledge of this field. She also may have developed her skills as a working professional in the field of education, often as a classroom teacher, gifted educator, or special educator.”

Since advocacy work requires many face to face meetings, an effective advocate must be skillful in articulating a child’s needs. The essential aim of child advocacy is to facilitate meeting the child’s needs and educational goals in the best manner for the child. When a school or school system is not providing the necessary educational materials, educational experiences, educational support, and other services: equipment, access to and from educational facilities in the form of ramps, elevators, lifts to include transportation if appropriate, the advocate can be an expert facilitator to insure that all parties have the child’s educational needs and goals in mind.  When an Individualized Educational Program (IEP) is formulated for any child, a team of professionals including the advocate and parent(s) can be available.  Parents would be advised to have an advocate with them in all IEP meetings.  Child advocacy is an attempt to have all parties in agreement with the expected outcome for the benefit of the child.  In an ideal situation this is mostly true but most advocates will agree, all parties do not always agree on outcome or how to best meet the child’s needs and achieve necessary educational goals.  Educational Advocacy revolves around a core principle; every child has potential and helping each child reach his/her full potential is the law.

Additional services:

•  Substance Abuse Education
•  Drug Counseling
•  Public Speaking

To acquire any of the services mentioned above, click here to contact me by message, or call 703-989-2335, 24/7.