CLIENT TESTIMONIALS
Advocacy services are highly individualized and personal. Families who seek support from an advocate have experienced challenges that have had an adverse impact on their children. Bridge Educational Advocacy brings the knowledge of school administration, the skill of an effective educator and the empathy of a parent that has sat in more conference rooms than can be counted.
"Upon hearing the results of the IEP meeting, I was left feeling amazed and almost in tears. To be a bit philosophical - in a goofy world, I have been saying that the “stars have not been aligning”- but in this individual case for a very special girl - with your help it, looks like the 'Stars Are Aligning'.
I also want to tell you how impressed I have been with how your services pulled things together- you never missed a beat- if we mentioned something that was needed, you addressed it and pursued it on behalf of our special girl.
As a Type A person, when I go after something I like to address the whole picture, but you did it 'ALL' - between in- school, after-school, summer school, reading intervention services through the application of the Wilson Program, even counseling. Everything that was needed to help our girl to be successful as a learner is now in place for her. I just can not tell you how impressed I am with what you’ve done - I never thought the school would provide the tools that have been needed for so long - but somehow you worked with the team to get it done.
So, as we close out one year and enter another, I can only say, 'May the stars align for you and your family in the coming year. And may you have a healthy and happy new year'. Thank you for EVERYTHING"
- Family member of the student
I have had the great honor of working alongside Pepi in the high school that I am the principal of in suburban Chicago. I know, and have seen, the passionate love she has for the process of advocating for children with exceptional educational needs. I know her incredible knowledge of special education law. I know her ability to manage the IEP process. And I also know how well she works finding great solutions for incredibly challenging situations. Finally... she is simply a wonderful person who is a joy to work with each and every day. You would be exceptionally well-served by employing Pepi when faced with challenging educational situations requiring expert guidance and advocacy.
- High School Principal
After trying unsuccessfully to get services for a needy student, I hired Pepi to step in and work on behalf of the student and her family. I have known Pepi for many years and when I found out that she was doing advocacy work, I inquired immediately. Pepi is THE ADVOCATE for your child. She navigates the difficult pathway for your child so that he or she receives an appropriate education and the best possible outcome in an extremely professional manner. She finds resources in the community that you can access to enhance the educational experience as well. I am so glad to have employed Pepi for a very special young girl who needs a strong advocate who knows how to make a difference and interface with the school. Finally there are positive benchmarks moving forward for this student. I am so grateful for Pepi who is making a difference for so many students who have been struggling in the school system.
- Friend of the family
I have recently had the privilege of working with Pepi Silverman. After 4 years of working to get help for my friend's little girl in the Chicago School system, I thought I was a strong advocate, but they kept only offering minimal special ed to my friend. Chicago Public Schools insisted they didn't have one-on- one help, they were giving my friend's child A's and B's on her report card to push her along. They said they had no after-school tutoring and they knew nothing of Wilson Reading instruction. Pepi blew us away- she knew how to demand that reports and evaluations were needed, she worked with the school and now my friend has above and beyond what I mentioned above. It is sad that in public schools, an advocate is so necessary to put a whole program together, but the results Pepi achieved were amazing.
- Friend of the family
A friend referred us to contact Pepi Silverman of Bridge Educational Advocacy. We had been disagreeing with our child's school team for months and didn't know how to get our child the services that he needed. His teachers were not seeing the difficulties we knew he was experiencing. We met with Pepi and she explained the process of working with the school team. She helped us review the data and use the information to get our son the services that he needed. We can't say enough about how helpful Pepi's services have been and it was so beneficial to have Pepi there to support us as we worked with the school.
- Parent
We've known Pepi for years. She worked with our son as a special education teacher and we've stayed in touch with her to share our son's progress. Upon hearing that she started Bridge Educational Advocacy, we sought out her services to help plan for our son's transition into high school. Her knowledge of how to plan for our son's future was invaluable. She helped connect us to outside service agencies, learn about post secondary programming options, and begin to plan for our son's future. She made thinking about the future a positive experience.
- Parents
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Pepi M. Silverman, Founder and Director of Bridge Educational Advocacy