What is an ARD?

Question

A special meeting used in public schools that is conducted annually to evaluate and plan for an educational program for all students with certain deficits.

Answer 1

An ARD is a multidisciplinary meeting that includes the parents, teachers, therapists and all persons involved with a child’s special education in public schools.The letters mean Admission, Review, and Dismissal. These meetings are sometimes called IEP meetings, which means Individual Educational Plan. In an ARD, a testing specialist called a Diagnostician, will lead the meeting and each educator or therapist has a turn to talk about how the child’s been doing in their area. Have they mastered the goals drawn up previously? And if new goals are in order, what should they target? Usually each educator or therapist has already talked with the parent about these topics previously, so the ARD goes quickly. However, if anyone has anything to say, their feedback is welcomed. I have sat on both sides of the ARD table, as a parent and as an educator. These meetings can be difficult for some parents, including myself. A good educator develops a good relationship with the parent beforehand and all goes smoothly.