Walking into that IEP meeting doesn't need to feel this hard.
This session is built to shift all of that. Lorraine Hightower, a longtime advocate for children with learning disabilities, will walk you through how an advocacy mindset, meaningful data, and real preparation can help you navigate IEP meetings and other hard educational conversations with more clarity and confidence, whatever seat you're in.
Date: October 14, 2026
Time: 7:00-8:00pm EST
The Details:
Where: Zoom
Cost: FREE!
You don't need to feel alone in this.
This month's free Community Coaching Conversation is an interactive session with advocate Lorraine Hightower, built around one of the hardest parts of this process: the IEP meeting.
- Separate data from personal judgment, so the conversation stays productive
- Communicate what matters most, clearly and without getting lost in jargon
- Ask better questions and keep the room focused on solutions
- Walk in prepared, so there's less uncertainty and more confidence in the room
What you’ll take away:
A practical way to show up more intentionally, not just in this meeting, but in every IEP meeting, parent conference, and hard educational conversation ahead, no matter which side of the table you're sitting on.
SAVE MY SEAT
Lorraine Hightower
Advocate for Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities
Lorraine works with parents, school staff and administrators to create a positive relationship that ensures the best possible outcome for the child. She assists families at every stage of the special education process and remains dedicated to her mission - to ensure that the 1 in 5 children with dyslexia have the supports and services they need to be successful. Lorraine is a recognized dyslexia advocate with proven success, supporting children of all ages with the disorder. Through personal outreach she continues to inform and influence local education leaders, legislators and community members on best practices for children with specific learning disabilities. She has been instrumental in affecting change both locally and statewide. Lorraine has also been a parent trainer for the Virginia PTA, the VA Department of Education, the VA Board for People with Disabilities and the Virginia Parent Educational Advocacy Training Center (PEATC).
Meet this month's guest speaker
What is a Community Coaching Conversation?
Community Coaching Conversations are live, group-based coaching sessions designed to replace surface-level advice with real understanding, practical support, and shared language.
This isn’t a lecture or a workshop. It isn’t a Q&A free-for-all.
And it definitely isn’t another list of things to try harder at.
This a guided conversation led by an experienced coach where educators learn why something isn’t working and how to respond in ways that actually do.