What is Extended School Year?
Special Education students that qualify are eligible to receive Extended School Year services, also known as ESY or summer school. Students that are eligible will typically have ESY on their Individualized Education Plan, or IEP. We just love acronyms in special education! The students that show regression after breaks in the school year, or have a hard time recouping the skills previously learned, are students that will be eligible and receive ESY. Depending on the population of your classroom, you may have many, if not all students receive ESY. Let’s get your ESY daily schedule set so you can enjoy the last few weeks of the school year!
ESY Schedule
When you brainstorm for your extended school year daily schedule, it’s important to remember that this is an extension of your school year. This is not the time to come up with new curriculum or new routines. Your students do well during the school year because your schedule and activities are normal to them. Typically, the school day is shorter and in some districts, only four days a week. Take this into consideration when planning your day. Our students need a smooth transition, especially since the location of extended school year is not at your own school site. This in itself is already a huge hurdle to overcome.
What To Keep In Mind
I like to plan small time increments and multiple activities throughout the day. How you plan your day will depend on your population of students. I currently teach students with Autism, and they need multiple breaks throughout the day! When planning, there are a few items to take into consideration.
1. Location
When coming up with your schedule, it’s important to think of where your ESY will be located. If it will be at your current school site, you don’t need to worry about what you will need to pack and move. Typically, ESY is not at your own site. This will affect what you plan, as you don’t want to be taking multiple car trips for approximately 20 days of ESY. In my schedule, I have activities listed that don’t require a lot of supplies to be moved.
2. Case Load
Planning your schedule will depend on your population of students. If you have your current students, it’s the best possible outcome as you know them best and will know what will work and what won’t. Some teachers will get new students (if your district does matriculation), so it would be best to keep your schedule as simple as possible.
3. Staff
ESY is not included in our para’s job description. This is an additional assignment that most paras have to actually apply for. In my district, they try to keep the staff in the same classroom as the school year. Sometimes our para’s apply, but most of them don’t. When creating your daily schedule it’s important to keep that in mind. You might have people that do not know your students.
More examples of ESY schedules here!
ESY Daily Schedule
Having a schedule will help to keep you on track throughout the day while reinforcing what you’ve taught throughout the school year. I like to start my mornings slow, we have arrival in which my students get to pick a morning tub or task box. While they do that, I have a few moments to do attendance and any administrative items. We then will take a short walk to get some movement in while we stop at the bathroom on the way back. I then like to go into a whole group calendar time. Having a whole group after a movement break seems to work best for my students.
We then have time for snack and recess. Following that, we will come back to the class and they will work on file folders that focus on all the skills that we have worked on and reviewed during the school year. After they have sat and completed the file folders, students will earn a quick break. I will bring a few toys and books for this time. We then will work on handwriting skills with an online program called TV Teacher. I will then get my iPads and toys out for a reinforcement break. We then will have a relaxing rest of the day with another bathroom break and reading books with the students. My students LOVE these books, which include a CD or you can find them on YouTube. The end of the day will conclude with Lunch and recess.
Complete ESY Curriculum
If you are looking for ways to make ESY easier- SSE offers a complete curriculum to make ESY easy on you. Just follow the plans, print, and go! Saves so much time out of your busy summer!
Get the Simple ESY Curriculum here.
Find What Works For You
Deciding on your ESY daily schedule will take some work, but don’t be stressed. ESY can be fun and a little more flexible than the regular school year. There are many factors that play into finding the right schedule, and coming up with a schedule will help with routines and keep everyone busy. It’s best to keep in mind that it might be trial and error for the first few days. So while you’re planning your schedule, don’t forget to have some fun!
More tips for teaching ESY here!
