My child has been passed along through each grade with huge learning gaps in reading comprehension, fluency and vocabulary. He also still counts on his fingers to do basic math so they added 'may use a calculator to his IEP'. I WOULD LOVE to see him close some of these gaps over the summer. I am drawn to all the ads on FB. "Gain 1 school year of progress this summer." Etc. Has anyone found one of these programs to actually work? They are so expensive. I can't afford to invest if they are frauds. Is there anyway the school district will help pay for them? CSE MEETING tomorrow (Tuesday) ugh!

those summer program ads are tempting, especially when you feel like your kid has been passed along with no real progress. But here’s the thing: flashy claims like “gain 1 school year in 6 weeks” are usually too good to be true. Some of these programs can help, but many aren’t backed by solid research, and they are expensive. I would look online for reviews, keeping in mind that some places actually pay for reviews. You can also look in the "what works" database, if it's still online. Linda McMahon may have pulled it down, I actually haven't used it myelf in several weeks.

If the school has acknowledged that your child hasn’t made meaningful progress, you can ask for compensatory education services. This is different from summer school. It’s about making up for services or instruction your child should have already received. Bring this up in your CSE meeting. If you have data (or lack thereof), point to it. Ask what evidence-based programs they can offer or fund.

Also, don’t let them skate by with “he can use a calculator” if he still hasn’t been taught the foundational math skills. That’s an accommodation, not instruction.

I remember hearing about a dyslexia camp from a parent.  From what I remember, it was in NH; we're in PA.  Like you said, it was expensive but from, what was said, the child made significant progress in one summer.  I'm sure there are a few where the results are being oversold or the instruction isn't a good match with what the student needs.

Students make progress when the remedial program works to fill the student's area of need.  If you have a 40 minute session and 5 students, this could translate into 8 minutes of helpful small group instruction for a student which isn't a whole lot.  (I'm thinking this is daily during the school year.)  This may be why IEP services aren't helping all that much.

Given your meeting tomorrow, I would ask the school:  If my child meets the goals in the IEP, when will they be at the level of their classmates?  (You might want to break this out by asking this for each goal.)  If a student is 2 years behind & makes 1.3 years of progress every year where typical classmates make a year of progress in a school year, it will take them 6 years to catch up.  With 1.5 years of progress, it takes 4 years.  With one year of progress, they will never catch up - they will remain 2 years behind forever.  If this is what the school expects given the IEP goals, it sounds like this isn't meaningful progress.  If the school's offer of FAPE isn't meaningful progress, it definitely provides information (data) that would support them paying for an outside program where your child will make meaningful progress.  Asking the school to provide info on their remedial protocol so you can see how well it matches your child's area of need is another thing you can request.  I've seen where schools are not using IEP level remedial programs.  (There is general ed support like MTSS where these programs are appropriate.)  Definitely ask if the school feels the IEP goals from a year ago were met & if they weren't, ask why.  I've seen where schools don't have a well trained teacher who can provide the IEP level instruction so many students need.  (I think there's a post on Adayinourshoes about gaslighting that covers this.)

I want to Thank you both for your replies. I'm sorry I didn't respond. I got advocates after this. Worked with them with the school district for an entire year. Pretty much in the same place as a year ago. Time to move forward though I won't post much more publicly. Need to keep my cards close to the vest. Is that the phrase?