Another school year [ and subsequently Back to School Night ] is upon us! Are you someone who likes to slowly work on back to school things over the summer months? Or are you someone who cringes at the sight of the back to school isle at Target that pops up in July? I think I’m somewhere in the middle… I love to get organized, but also try to soak up as much sunshine and relaxation as I can before we go back to school!
Either way, when the school year rolls around, Back to School Night is soon to follow! It can be really challenging as a related service provider, with a large caseload [likely at numerous buildings and/or districts] to participate in Back to School Night or Open Houses. However, I encourage you to take full advantage of the opportunity! Just as you work hard to build rapport with your students, families need to know and trust you as their child’s OT, PT, SLP, etc. Any chance that we, as related service providers, get to interact and build a relationship with our families, the better! Here are my top 5 tips for making the most of Back to School Night:
- Communicate & plan ahead
- Don’t reinvent the wheel
- Have your students help you prep
- Use BTSN to educate all families
- Remember that not all families will be in attendance
1) Communication & Planning
My first tip is the communicate early and often! This can be easier said than done, but if you plan ahead, and make communication part of your routine, you will be golden! There are tons of ways to communicate with families, so you just need to find what works for you! My district suggests that we send out welcome letters to all of our families each year. Since I often have many of the same students, my students and families typically know me already. Therefore, I try to send a little activity in my letters as well as QR codes to my personal website where I house all sorts of updated resources and information!
Get the dates for Back to School Night as soon as they are available! Use your established form of communication to get that information out to your parents early. This may improve attendance. Plan ahead for the event! If you are already prepping information for a welcome letter and/or online resources this summer, save that information in whatever format you hope to use for Back to School Night! Maybe use a “schedule send” feature on your email to schedule reminders for families weekly until the event!
2)Work Smarter not Harder
Just as I mentioned above, if you are already making a resource as part of your welcome letter, save it for Back to School Night! In the same way, if you have something for one of your schools, use it for all of them! I service four buildings, and simply “tweak” my slide deck, letter, handouts, etc. rather than recreating them! I also do this year to year. Being mindful that I am seeing a lot of the same families and students, I make simple updates/additions to the basic information that I provide each year! I think about how I can make one resource that hits all of my students’ goal areas rather than making individualized handouts based on specific students. If you are lucky enough to have this event in person, you can chat with families about their individual students in person!
Don’t reinvent the wheel! There may already be things out there to help you! Simply Special Ed has FREE back to school forms already created for you in print and digital formats! I linked the digital version in my Back to School Night presentation [see above] that will be shared with families! They will be prompted to “make a copy” before completing! Check out Whitney’s blog for how she uses these forms!
3) Have Students Help You!
This is probably my favorite way to prepare for Back to School Night! Families love to see what their students are working on at school, so rather than making all of your own resources, why not have your students make them? I typically hang up student work on one of my bulletin boards. Students are so proud of their accomplishments, and enjoy being able to “show off” to peers and parents! Check out these September Visual Crafts Resource for a great Back to School Night display! I have also had students make videos during their sessions that I can then play for families at Back to School Night. If you sent out back to school forms ahead of time, make sure to review them prior to the event so you can talk to families about their responses and ask follow up questions as needed!
4) Educate Families
I’m not sure if you can relate to this, but I have found I often have low attendance for Back to School Night and Open House. Most of the special education teachers agree. While it can be discouraging, don’t be fooled into thinking that Back to School Night isn’t important for you! Depending on how your school’s event is set up, you might get a lot of “foot traffic” to or near your room. Since my classroom is also the sensory room, and houses a lot of fun-looking equipment, I often get visitors that are not related to my actual caseload! That’s okay! What a great time to share about OT!
I usually have some information on the scope of school-based OT, when to refer a student, and information on RtI/MTSS and how OTs can support the entire school! You can likely make general recommendations on school supplies, fun ways for families to target skill development at home, answer questions about seating/positioning at home and school, etc. Take this opportunity to truly become part of the school community and shout the importance of OT in schools!
5) Support ALL Families
Just as you may be supporting families that are not on your direct caseload as discussed above, not all families will be able to attend Back to School Night. We need to make sure that ALL of our OT families and students feel support and “in the loop”. Establishing a way to communicate with your students’ adults is important! This communication system should be used all year long with all students, not just when you are lucky enough to meet with families face-to-face! Think about how you can follow up with all your families even if they weren’t able to make the event. Hearing input from families is an important aspect of an effective IEP team! Make sure you are doing your part! Make a plan early in the year to encourage parent engagement and carryover of strategies and skills all year long! You will be able to notice the results!
Hopefully this post leaves you excited and inspired for the upcoming school year! I know it got my wheels turning as far as some ways to make Back to School Night both efficient, effective and fun! Check out some more back to school advice from the SSE Blogger Team in another recent blog! Stay calm, be confident, and have the best school year yet!
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