Spring Training for Advocacy: Strength-Based Conversations That Set Students Up for Success

By Reby Parsley, Ed.D., Parent, Family & Community Committee Chair-Elect

As daylight stretches a little longer and baseball season begins, spring training offers athletes a rare reset. The scoreboard is empty, the record is clean, and the season ahead is full of possibility. This time is less about performance and more about preparation, refining skills, building confidence, and setting the foundation for what’s to come.

For many families, spring brings a similar rhythm. It is the season of IEP meetings, course placement conversations, transition planning, and renewed advocacy for their child’s learning needs. Like baseball, effective advocacy is not about a single home run. It is about “small ball” - getting the bases loaded with a single, a fly ball, a double, advancing the runner - and preparing for that grand slam.
That spirit framed the February Sip ’n’ Speak hosted by the Parent, Family, and Community Network. Families and educators gathered for an informal but deeply thoughtful conversation focused on how to advocate for children while keeping strengths, rather than deficits, at the center.

Strategy 1: Leading with Your Best Swing: Centering Strengths in Advocacy

One of the earliest guiding questions of our Sip ‘n’ Speak conversation was: What activities, subjects, or environments bring out your child’s best self?
Families reflected that while they could answer this question easily, those strengths are not always highlighted, or even noticed, during school conversations. Too often, meetings focus on what is missing, what is challenging, or what is not working.
Participants shared strategies for reframing conversations so that strengths are not perceived as “bragging,” but rather as useful data:

• Asking reflective questions instead of making declarative statements: “Have you noticed how many questions they ask during discussions?”
• Connecting strengths to classroom outcomes: Leadership skills, depth of thinking, creativity, persistence, or curiosity
• Inviting educator insight: “Do you see this as a strength in your classroom? How might we build on it?”
  This approach positions strengths as assets that can inform instruction—not as demands for special treatment.

Strategy 2: Calling the Right Pitch: Communication that Strengthens Collaboration

A recurring theme was how language can either open doors or immediately create defensiveness. Parents shared that when an educator begins a conversation, or response to a question, with “no,” advocacy can feel exhausting or intimidating. Educators, on the other hand, noted that being told what to do in their classroom, or hearing subjective judgments like “my child is bored”, can also shut down collaboration.
What works better?

• Talking about student needs, not adult preferences
• Grounding requests in observations, data, and student experience
• Approaching conversations with the assumption that everyone wants the student to succeed

As one educator shared, advocacy is most effective when both families and schools come to the table willing to contribute to solutions, not to win an argument.

Strategy 3: Utility Player - Built for More than One Position: Supporting Twice-Exceptional Learners

Families of twice-exceptional (2e) learners raised the critical question: How do we help schools see both the giftedness and the disability, without one overshadowing the other?
Participants emphasized several key strategies:

• Looking intentionally at overlapping areas of strength and need
• Securing and actively using 504 plans or IEPs, especially for accommodations that extend into college and the workplace
• Teaching children to participate in advocacy conversations early

The group referenced Emily Kircher-Morris’ work, which illustrates how gifted characteristics and disability traits often intersect. This framework helps educators and families move away from “either/or” thinking toward a more accurate whole child understanding of learners.

Strategy 4: A Long Season Ahead: Advocacy is a Marathon, Not a Sprint

Families discussed the importance of initiating conversations earlier than many schools typically do. While schools often hold the information, time constraints can limit proactive outreach. Parents were encouraged to request meetings, ask questions, and see themselves as partners in long-term planning.
Importantly, advocacy was framed as developmental. What children need in elementary school differs from middle and high school. Over time, the goal shifts from adult-led advocacy to student-led self-advocacy, with families gradually stepping back while students step forward.

Strategy 5: Settling in for Nine Innings: Staying Grounded in Difficult Conversations

Advocacy can be emotional. Participants acknowledged the challenge of staying regulated and confident, especially when past experiences have been frustrating.
Strategies shared included:

• Preparing talking points in advance
• Anchoring conversations in shared goals
• Taking breaks when emotions run high
• Asking clarifying questions rather than reacting immediately

Above all, families emphasized the value of feeling supported by other parents, educators, and community networks who understand the journey.

Strategy 6: Back to Spring Training: A Fresh Start for the Conversations Ahead

As the session closed, families reflected on what they needed moving forward. Confidence came not from having all the answers, but from having clear language, a strength-based lens, and permission to ask questions. 

Like spring training, advocacy for your child is about preparation, practice, and trust. When families and educators keep strengths at the center and approach conversations as teammates rather than opponents, students are far more likely to thrive, not just this season, but for many seasons to come.