Culturally Responsive Practices Transform Outcomes with Samantha Dudding

Um, it is hard to serve in a leadership position and it really takes, um, understanding and grace from those that are adjacent to and above and below, right? Um, because especially when you go in and you're, it's your first time and, um, when you identify systems change and you wanna make changes, it's the right team when you go through that, uh, storming, forming, norming stages.

Like that's, and there's always those little hiccups and bumps and, um, but you have, and I've seen you in action at state leadership.

I've seen you in action watching you ride the waves and deciding how and where to plug in and spend your time.

So like, this is amazing.

But I am-- So I do early intervention but the way, and for those of you that don't know Virginia systems, Virginia system, um, it's not like one system for the entire state.

There's like regional variations and everybody has their own little, um, regional flavor if you will.

Um, but ours is actually through the schools.

So I'm working in the schools but just in the EI branch and what's been great is that the lead SLP for the schools, um, serves as the, kinda like the coordinator for the early intervention IEP meetings.

The continuity of care has been better than I have ever experienced in my life because I can pop down the hall and be like, "Hey, hey, hey," and then we meet to say this person's here and this child, this person's here and this diagnosis, this person's here and this feeding viscosity and we can streamline for the child and it's given me new appreciation for what that person has to juggle on their plate and how I can support to make that person's job easier.

But like what exactly does your role like entail?

Sure.

So, um, I think it, you know, it's different in all districts.

Yeah.

Um, the, the role that I have is really primarily like first and foremost compliance.

So I ensure that we're complying with all federal and state, um, regulations, right?

Yeah.

Ensuring that all students have access to those services that they require.

And, um, the other main part of my job is in ensuring that for, um, compliance piece I am kind of balancing and serving as an intermediary between families and staff and the student, right? Um, so I kind of, um, see myself like as an advocate for the kid and for what their rights are, um, in so much that I, I, I need to make sure we're complying with, you know, regulations, um, protecting the child, right? But also so that parents know their rights.

It's, um-

Yes

... my job to educate them, right?

Yeah.

On what their rights are.

It's my job to educate teachers because so often even as a special education teacher you might not know all of the regulations, right? Like you're focused on doing your job providing services but what do the laws say? Um, and then I also, um, you know, really support the special education process from start to finish, um, with any student.

So if a teacher or if a parent has concerns about a child we kind of start that process together with a referral and we talk about- Have we provided the, the right supports for them so far? Have we given them the chance and the space and the time, um, before we move forward with like a team consensus of whether we require an evaluation, right? And then what does that process look like? And we go through that and we meet and we determine if they're eligible based on our eligibility criteria.