Sample Letter of Understanding

Date

Dear ______________

I appreciated your taking the time to visit with me on (date). I am still confused on a few issues and would appreciate your clarifying any points I might have misunderstood. My goal is to see great communication and networking in addressing the needs of my son/daughter, (your child's name). The following is my understanding of our phone conversation:

1. You believe it isn't possible for my child to change teachers because if she does, others will want to do the same thing.

2. That even though my child is eleven years old and struggles to read her sister's second grade books, her reading comprehension tests show she is on grade level. I am really puzzled by this statement and wonder which is incorrect, the sister's second grade school books are not second grade books, or (your child's name) testing perhaps was not in-depth enough to truly give us an accurate picture of my daughter's true performance.

3. That although other children laugh at her and isolate her socially, we cannot institute a mentorship or give her a designated school job because then everyone would want the same thing. I am puzzled and would like to know how the children all have the same thing when my daughter is illiterate and her peers are not.

4. That it's appropriate for my child to spend three hours on homework each night because she needs to "learn responsibility". I would truly like the district's definition of the word "responsibility"? Perhaps this is an area causing some of the confusion.

5. That while my child has Attention Deficit Disorder, her real problem is that "she doesn't pay enough attention". I am really puzzled here. I understood that the diagnosis in itself meant an "inability or inconsistency in attention".

If this is not your understanding of our conversation, I would appreciate it if you would clarify your position on these points. I truly want to work in a positive way and in a team spirit, and I hope that is still possible.

Please let me hear from you soon, say in two weeks, if I have misunderstood you. Again, thank you for the phone call and, as members of the IEP team, we look forward to working with you on "Joanie's" behalf.

We can be reached at (phone) and our address is

___________________

Sincerely,

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