About the K12 Advocates

Who we are and What we believe

Meet the Advocates:

Ailsa Wonnacott

 Beverly Jones

 

Dear Parents,

For more years than we collectively like to acknowledge, we have advocated for thousands of students who have struggled with learning. In the past, as we empowered parents like you with information so you could better advocate for your children, we were prisoners to the normal formats available: advertising in local newspapers, placing articles in school newsletters (of course, those were only the articles approved by school authorities), setting up our kiosks at education fairs, and of course, word-of-mouth. While we were successful at making a difference for many of your children, we always knew that there were many more parents who needed the assistance of an advocate to get the help they needed in the education arena.

As the Internet became a fixture in homes across the United States, we felt that the time had come for us to explore how to widen our ability to help you and your kids. Several months ago, as we experimented with the best formats to help parents, we set up an “Ask Campaign” on the internet, and asked you, “What is your burning question about your child with learning challenges?” You flooded us with your questions! We quickly realized that answering you individually was a disservice to the many other parents needing the same answers. As a result, this website was born!

We know you will find the answers for many of your questions here, and that with your new understanding, you will be better able to advocate for your child's much-deserved educational needs. You are invited to join us in our new endeavors to assist you with your child’s educational challenges.

Ailsa Wonnacott, DPS in Nursing and Social Work, has over 15 years experience working with children and adults with developmental and learning disabilities, and their parents, both in the US and the UK.

According to Keith Wisner, Boulder, Colorado:

My wife and I would like to express our thanks and appreciation for the work Ailsa Wonnacott has done on behalf of our 16 year old son. Our son is both bipolar and severely ADHD. Both conditions have created big social and academic challenges for him in high school. But, in consultation with Ailsa at our home and on the phone, and with her participation in our latest meeting at the school, we are very happy with the direction we are going.

Ailsa is knowledgeable in mental health issues, school district matters, and the rights and needs of people with disabilities. She is a great advocate for our son. She is professional and is empathetic to the challenges he faces. I wish we had met her a long time ago, but now that we have, we are happy to have her in our support network.

I couldn't recommend Ailsa more highly."

Beverly Jones, MSS in Communications and Certification in Alternative Dispute Resolution, has 20 years experience in education and advocacy and applying audio/video/satellite conferencing technology to long-distance educational meetings.

According to Brandi Creason (and son):

 When you finally do get the confirmation that your 3 year old son is having a difficult time communicating and being understood, it is heartbreaking. Then you have to deal with the school.

I was overwhelmed and searched locally for help, but had little success. I called a friend 1000 miles away, and she gave me an advocate’s phone number. The advocate, Bev Jones, shared a ton of information, plus gave me a step-by-step plan of things to do to get the school district to listen, provide evaluations, and then give my son help. I decided to go to the meeting by myself to get the testing results. But I felt lost and outnumbered, and walked out crying. I called Bev again, and she suggested that I request another meeting; she would join by phone.

The next meeting was better, mostly because Bev was so helpful. She knew all the terminology and explained everything in detail. Suddenly, the team decided they needed an administrator to approve or deny the services we requested.

At the third meeting, which Bev attended by videoconference, we requested Extended School Year (ESY) therapy services. The district administrator stated that ESY was not a service that was provided in California. Bev politely read from the federal rulings regarding ESY and mentioned that any public school district nationwide that receives federal funds is subject to these rules. The administrator grew quite upset and stopped the meeting, saying that I would be notified of their decision later on. Bev told me not to worry and a week later, I received a call ― all the services were granted for the school year and the extended school year!

Since that time, I have learned much about being a good advocate for my child. Nonetheless, I have always had Bev attend the annual IEP meetings, either via teleconference or video conference.

My son is now in second grade and is doing grade level work with lots of help and services…thanks to an advocate!"