Is it that time again? If you’re anything like me, you’re SO eager to get into your classroom and get it ready for your students to learn, thrive, and have a great year! How are you going to prepare your High School Special Education classroom for the new year?
Organize Information
Familiarize yourself with your student’s goals. Start by setting up your IEP binder, including key information such as goals, accommodations, behavior plans, testing modifications, and service times.
If you’re going digital this year, set up your digital resources: data collection sheets and calendar reminders for annual ARD meeting dates that you already know.
Prep Your Classroom Environment
In my opinion, the most fun is setting up your room! Set up your space with the necessities. Post your classroom visuals and rules, or add a calm-down corner or sensory space with fidgets, noise-canceling headphones, etc.
Look at your entire layout to ensure a functional space for students’ needs. Check out some layout tips on the blog!
Plan for Behavior Support
Prepare the necessities for behavior supports. Have behavior tracking forms ready to go! Ready any preference assessments for student preferred tasks, and prep materials like social stories for the beginning of the year.
The First 10 Days resource includes many social stories to begin the year!
Prepare for Instructional Differentiation
Create your Zoning Plan to identify where students will have extra supports, where you will have your paras supporting students, and map out student academic centers.
Organize leveled materials (like modified worksheets). Prep task boxes for life skills or functional academics. Prepare visual books and book companions to read throughout the year, and build a visual aid toolkit to go with any other subjects: sentence starters, graphic organizers, and checklists!
Create Communication Systems and Build Relationships Early
Our students’ families are very important! Set up a daily or weekly home-school communication log or plan to use apps like ClassDojo, Remind, or Google Voice for easy contact with families. Prepare a communication binder or log for documentation that you can keep throughout the school year.
If you know your student list, you can send a welcome letter or email to students and families introducing yourself and preparing them for the start of the year. I like to schedule our “Back to School” night a little differently for my students in Special Education (especially incoming freshmen)!
Professional Development Focus
You can prepare yourself just by what you’re doing now! Take time to reach out to others for advice, work with online tools, engage in professional development, and review training in important areas. Some examples include: de-escalation, differentiated instruction, and Special Education best practices.
Don’t Forget: Self-Care
Set clear work/life boundaries from Day ONE. Decide how you’re going to balance school time and personal time to make sure that you do not overdo it… which is easier said than done! Create yourself a teacher toolkit with stress-relief items and uplifting notes to read later! Join or create a support group with other special ed staff.
Preparing for the year is important and a great way to take the load off yourself later. Just remember to take some time for YOU!
