Make IEPs Stand Out with Personalized Intro Letters
Paperwork is a constant challenge in education. As a paraprofessional, general ed teacher, and special ed teacher, I’ve seen it firsthand. Every year, I created or received stacks of IEP summaries, 504 plans, behavior plans, and health plans. These documents are important, but the sheer volume at the start of the year—on top of meetings, planning, and new students—makes it hard to take everything in.
One strategy that I have found that works well is having students write an introduction letter each year. It gives them a chance to introduce themselves to their teachers in their own words. I print multiple copies, attach them to IEP summaries, and share them with general ed teachers. This simple step makes a big difference. Here’s why:
For Special Education Teachers: Creating the IEP summary provides a clear understanding of each student’s plan, highlights upcoming deadlines, and addresses urgent needs.
For Students: Writing the letter helps them understand their own supports and present them in a strengths-based way.
For General Education Teachers, Paras, and Service Providers: A personalized letter makes the IEP summary more engaging, connecting the technical details to the real student behind the paperwork.
While I typically use this process with students who have IEPs, it can work for any student. These letters can introduce a 504 plan, behavior support plan (BSP), behavior intervention plan (BIP), or health plan. They also make a great standalone writing activity to build self-advocacy—a key employability skill.
Self-advocacy skills create a strong foundation for developing other critical soft skills!
Strong self-advocacy boosts confidence, communication, self-awareness, problem-solving, and collaboration (Forbes, 2024). Everyone benefits from knowing their strengths, interests, needs, goals, and contributions!
Step-by-Step Guide to Creating IEP Summaries and Introduction Letters
Step 1: Crafting the IEP Summary
Most IEP software can generate an IEP summary or an IEP-at-a-Glance. If this feature isn’t available or if you prefer a custom version, here’s a simple format that works well. Creating a personalized summary helps you absorb the details of each student’s IEP while you add valuable context based on your own knowledge of the student.
Disability
List the specific disability category and describe its impact in practical terms. Instead of just stating "SLD," clarify that the student has a Specific Learning Disability in auditory processing, which affects reading comprehension. Instead of "DHH," specify that the student has profound hearing loss in the left ear, wears hearing aids in the right, and needs extra time to process both receptive and expressive language. The goal is to provide clear, useful details that help teachers support the student effectively.
Skill Levels
Describe the student’s current abilities in key areas like reading, writing, math, speaking, listening, and executive functioning. Focus on information that is practical for teachers. For example:
Johnny reads at a 4.5 grade level according to standardized assessments, but with the use of context clues and repeated reading, he is able to decode and comprehend grade-level materials. OR
Elizabeth can perform basic operations on whole numbers and solve simple one-step equations, but she often makes calculation errors and should use a calculator for multi-step or higher-order problems.
These practical details help teachers better support the student’s learning needs.
Accommodations
Summarizing accommodations can help identify gaps or unclear areas in the IEP. Make the accommodations actionable by providing clear details on duration, frequency, and context. For example:
Instead of just saying “extended time,” specify “extra 30 minutes for tests” or “double time for assignments.”
If the student requires an alternate setting, list acceptable locations, such as “quiet room” or “small group space.”
Rather than just stating “preferred seating,” clarify specifics, such as “seat near instruction, away from the door” to minimize distractions.
These clear, actionable details ensure that accommodations are implemented effectively.
Goals
Summarize the student’s goals in clear, simple language, focusing on academic, behavioral, and transition objectives. Teachers and support staff are primarily interested in the specific skills the student is working on. For example:
Improve reading comprehension by identifying key details in grade-level texts.
Use a calming strategy independently when feeling frustrated.
Practice self-advocacy by requesting help during group activities.
Focusing on these skills helps everyone stay on track and support the student’s progress.
If you are interested in a fun activity to help students develop their own goals, check out this ready-to-use resource.
Behavior
Be cautious when summarizing behavior to avoid planting seeds of bias or accidentally creating self-fulfilling prophecies. Focus on concerns and proven strategies that help the student succeed.
Instead of labeling a student as “defiant,” say: “May have difficulty following directions from unfamiliar adults. Responds best to clear expectations and positive reinforcement.”
If a student benefits from movement breaks, note: “When frustrated, benefits from a short walk or quiet break before returning to work.”
Framing behaviors in a supportive, solution-oriented way helps educators provide the right interventions without making assumptions.
Health
Note any important health concerns, such as asthma, diabetes, or allergies, and provide relevant contact information or refer to the full health plan.
Example: “Student has asthma and may need to use an inhaler during physical activity. Inhaler is kept in the nurse’s office.”
Example: “Student has Type 1 diabetes and checks blood sugar before lunch. See health plan for details or contact the school nurse for more information.”
Providing clear, concise health information ensures staff can respond appropriately while following the student’s care plan.
Notes
Use this section to share any additional helpful information, such as motivators, reinforcers, or communication preferences of parents.
Case Manager
Provide your contact information and that of any other service providers involved with the student.
Key sections to create your own IEP summary.
Step 2: Brainstorming for the Introduction Letter
Now, it’s time to have students brainstorm for their introduction letter. I recommend using a mind map with a center bubble for their name and offshoot bubbles for strengths, interests, needs, accommodations, contributions, and goals. You can guide them with prompts to generate ideas for each area:
Strengths
What is something you are proud of?
Have you ever won an award or special recognition?
What subjects do you enjoy the most?
Which classes or topics are easiest for you?
What would your friends or family say you are good at?
What are your positive qualities?
Have you ever been a leader? In what area(s)?
Interests
What activities do you enjoy?
Do you have any hobbies?
Do you collect anything?
Sports? Clubs? Teams?
Do you have any artistic skills?
What sort of music do you like?
How do you spend your free time?
Needs
Are there specific skills you need more help with?
How do you learn best?
What supplies or materials do you need to study?
What environment is best for you to concentrate?
How do you stay organized?
What support do you need from teachers to succeed?
What kind of feedback do you find most helpful?
Accommodations
Do you have an IEP or 504 plan?
If so, what accommodations does it include?
Is there any technology that would help you learn?
Do you need to take breaks? Work in a quiet space?
Do you need extra time to finish tests or assignments?
Do you prefer information visually, auditorily, or both?
What changes to the environment would help you learn better?
Do you need help with organization? With prioritizing your tasks?
Contributions
What are your strongest personal qualities?
How can your strengths help others?
Are there subjects you could teach to others?
How do you make other people feel included or welcome?
How do you contribute to team activities or projects?
What are your leadership skills?
What are your soft skills?
Do you have people skills?
Goals
What habits do you want to develop? Or break?
Is there a new hobby or skill you want to learn?
Are there any academic skills or subjects you’d like to develop?
What can you do to prepare for life after high school?
How could you become more independent or responsible?
Are there any extracurricular activities you’d like to join?
Are there any leadership or soft skills you’d like to improve?
How could you take better care of your health or well-being?
If this brainstorming goes well and you are looking for a more in-depth exploration and planning activity for students, check out the Personal Success Plan - a process that guides students through research and reflection to create a detailed plan for their next steps!
These reflective questions can help students brainstorm their letters of introduction.
Step 3: Organizing Ideas into an Outline
Once students have brainstormed, they should review their mind map, select the most relevant ideas, and organize them into a graphic organizer. The outline typically includes:
Paragraph 1: Strengths and interests
Paragraph 2: Needs and accommodations
Paragraph 3: Contributions and goals
Step 4: Writing the Rough Draft
Students can now expand on their outlined ideas to create 3-5 sentence paragraphs. Provide them with an essay skeleton, including the general structure of a business letter, sentence starters, and transition phrases. They can then plug in the ideas from their graphic organizer to construct an essay.
Step 5: Personalizing the Letter
Students can now remove the “scaffolding.” Encourage students to delete any remaining prompts and add their own stylistic touches, phrasing, or personal flair. The goal is to avoid a “cookie-cutter” result and ensure the letter genuinely reflects the student’s personality.
Step 6: Providing Feedback
You can choose between peer feedback or teacher feedback. Peer feedback offers a valuable learning experience, but it might make students feel vulnerable, especially early in the year before they've built strong relationships.
If you opt for peer feedback, consider making it optional, allowing students to choose their partners, anonymizing the feedback, or offering the choice of teacher feedback instead. Regardless of the option you choose, emphasize the importance of confidentiality, respect, and constructive criticism.
Step 7: Revising and Publishing the Letter
Students now polish the letters, integrating feedback and making corrections. Once it is ready to publish, they can add additional personalization. If you are printing the letters, they can be added to fun stationery. Students can also decorate their letters with stickers, stamps, stencils, clipart, etc.
Step 8: Sharing the Letters
These letters make a strong impact when printed and attached to the IEP summary. I typically share these letters with everyone who needs to see the IEP information, including general education teachers, paraeducators, support staff, and service providers. Depending on delivery methods, you can place a plain sheet of paper or a confidentiality form on top.
You can also share the letters electronically—it is more attention-grabbing to have students share from their own student emails, which also provides a learning opportunity around email etiquette. You can also have students hand-deliver their letters to their teachers, giving you an opportunity to talk about introductions, handshakes, and small talk!
Empowering Students Through Personalization
This is a lesson you can replicate using the ideas in this post. If you’d like ready-to-use materials, check out this lesson, which includes Google Slides with speaker notes, a mind map, a graphic organizer, a letter template, a feedback form, an IEP summary template, and samples of each.
This makes a great back-to-school lesson, or you can use it during the holiday season to distribute letters with schedule changes at the beginning of the second semester. It offers a comprehensive survey of the writing process, from brainstorming through publishing. It also provides an excellent opportunity for self-advocacy and generates numerous natural moments to discuss ability awareness and various real-world social and professional skills.
Ready-to-use lesson and materials to guide students through create a personalized introduction letter.
