Tip # 5 — Hire a KAY!

These Tips are all about TRUST — how to build it, how we need it in schools (and everywhere), how to spot and avoid distrust, etc. etc. etc.

Here are vignettes –short, very short stories — that I’ve gathered over the years. Why? Because I believe they may bring some wisdom, a smile, common sense reality, a path forward — in our challenging world of special education. These gems come from my clients, colleagues, famous people whom I don’t know personally, passers-by. You get the picture.

Just call me the “Trust Lady” — after more than 50 years in public education — as teacher, hearing officer, school attorney, author of eight books, including Special Education 2.0 and opinion pieces, including in The Wall Street Journal, Education Week, EdSource, and other publications, even traveling salesperson for educational materials, speaker, reformer, parent and grandparent, I’ve come to understand that, too often, TRUST is the missing piece in our quest for excellent education for all students.

Let me know what you think. Best way to reach me is through my email: miriamkfreedman@gmail.com.

If you have colleagues or friends who may enjoy these Tips, please send their emails and I’ll add them to our growing list.

CAVEAT: These Tips are intended to be used for general information only. They are not provided as legal or other professional advice. In the event that legal advice is required, the services of an attorney should be sought.

Tip # 5 Hire a Kay! One way to build trust — hire a Kay!

As you may know, I was a school attorney, focused mostly in the special education and Section 504 arenas for many years. I represented many public school districts across Massachusetts when disputes arose or were threatened, when state or federal governments added or amended requirements that school personnel needed to know, when staff needed training and support, when memos had to be written, when confusion arose between schools and parents and among staff, etc. etc. etc. If you’re in the special world, you get all this.

I loved my career and my many clients! I believed that if I could help unplug situations and get the lawyers of out there (including myself), teachers and students could get back to…