Our education system impacts parents and children alike. It is rare to meet someone with a deep understanding of the day to day management of a classroom and curriculum instruction as well as a firm grasp of the intricacies of the education system as a whole.

Dr. K. Lea is that person. She has been involved in special education for over 30 years. Her experience is broad in scope, ranging from aiding in the development of one of the initial early intervention programs in Tennessee to working in drug and alcohol rehab, the juvenile prison system, resource classrooms, and consulting for home school groups who enrolled students with special needs. She has presented professional development workshops on topics in Montessori and special education both nationally and internationally. Dr. K.Lea has also worked with state and local governments in special education policy and procedural alignment. Her current research focus is primarily on peer-assisted learning in inclusion classrooms and overidentification of minorities in special education.

In part 2 of our conversation with Dr. K.Lea we discuss valuable literacy strategies that can be implemented at home to help kids succeed and the differences across state lines when it comes to our education system. Unfortunately, it doesn’t matter what state you live in, the system is failing our teachers.

Our discussion today included:

• What Peer Assisted Learning Strategies look like and how it’s helping students read at grade level
• Literacy strategies that can be implemented at home
• The value of knowing sight words, letter recognition, and math facts
• Differences in the education system across state lines
• How Common Core leveled the playing field for many families
• The failures in the education system and how it falls most heavily on teachers
• How parents can pay attention to ways to advocate for schools

Thank you to our episode sponsor:

Davis Family Chiropractic @davischironc