Renay was taking in the words of a multicultural conference this weekend when the news came across that Judith Heumann had passed. Immediately Renay, ParaEducate, and Inclusion From Square One, joined in the growing choir of people who wanted to digitally honor Judith Heumann.
It is March, we are normally thinking about what steps we could possibly be using to support students on campuses to see peers with disabilities as peers. So it is somehow highly appropriate to connect to Judith’s work from Section 504 and her entire career of advocacy.
To be clear, Renay never met Judith Heumann; only conferences, through Judith’s book Being Heumann: A Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist, online videos, and then her role in Section 504 during CripCamp. Without Heumann, the United States would be less progressive for people with disabilities. Without her, the rights for employment, access to the communities, and just self-advocacy would not have reached the complete range we have today. And without her work, ParaEducate and dozens of other advocates for education for children with disabilities would not have had the opportunity to reach more people.
But when we thought about the world moving forward without her, Renay had a moment, those of us who are able to should take the time to thank Judith for the energy she brought to each moment of history for disabilities rights. And that is the job of those of us who are here to carry on her legacy and continue to champion for the rights of those with disabilities, as an ally for those with disabilities.
May your memory be a blessing.
Do you have any comments about this month’s blog? Do you have a question for us? Would you like to have an opportunity to pilot some materials at your campus? Find ParaEducate online here, here, here, here, and on our website. ParaEducate is a company providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in special education inclusion settings for grades K-12. ParaEducate, the blog, is published once a month during the academic school year. ParaEducate shares their findings at conferences, through their books, and their academic adaptations.
Our anniversaries in the past have been a reminder of all that we have done. Whether it was encapsulated within a year or a promise to keep working through the steps necessary to reach other paraeducators. With a dozen of years under our belt, how else do we continue to reach out?
The Books
We have had for a few years a workbook to parallel with ParaEducate in progress. While it has been eleven years since the initial publication, this workbook has been the most requested item for us to finish and to be honest, it is almost ready.
There have been several requests to update ParaEducate itself. To be fair to those who have asked, outside of the Every Student Succeeds Act, we have been stalling hoping for a new authorization of IDEA last reached in 2004.
The Curriculum
We are currently testing and preparing over three dozen individual lessons. Striking the balance between complexity and interesting topics has been a hard balance to provide the wide range of educational experiences we want to continue to provide students. We continue to address the “the student will never get this” from both teachers (special education, general educators) and paraeducators alike. Our curricular pieces are both in books and online for download. We are in process of expanding our library for more history, science topics, ELA experiences, and will be introducing art topics very soon.
Other Professionals
We have a vast network of professionals—other educators, support providers, and professional connections– we have been honored to work within classrooms and in conferences. We have not leveraged the range of professional connections we have before. And it’s about time we start doing this. This means more blog posts, more interviews, and more sharing of materials between more locations across the United States, and the globe. We are not the only voice in the pursuit of inclusion for students with disabilities.
Advocates and their family
Like our professional connections: we know many advocates who are working on their voices. It has been a long time since we connected with advocates at all age levels to make sure that the world they are seeing becomes as inclusive as possible.
Our Story is still being written
We continue to connect educators with resources. For eleven years our reach has been this world that we have not just spoken about, not just advocated, and worked within. Inclusive education for students with disabilities is for everyone.
We thank all our supporters for the days, weeks, months, and in most cases, years of support. company providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in Special Education Inclusive settings for grades K-12, specifically Paraeducators, Instructional Assistants, or Paraprofessionals. We publish the blog during the academic school year. ParaEducate shares their work at conferences and online.
Do you have any comments about this anniversary blog? Do you have a question for us? Would you like to have an opportunity to pilot some materials at your campus? Find ParaEducate online here, here, here, here, and on our website. ParaEducate is a company providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in special education inclusion settings for grades K-12. ParaEducate, the blog, is published once a month during the academic school year. ParaEducate shares their findings at conferences, through their books, and their academic adaptations.
One of the unique qualities of some of the best paraeducators is knowing when to step in and run at full capacity anticipating the needs of all the individuals in a classroom in any given situation. However, that skill, for most paraeducators takes time to understand the results of hitting the ground running and getting all the parts together.
Being present in a class, with a student, with a group of students, can be taxing hour after hour. But for those who are not there just yet, making sure that one reaches out to connect to students or staff is just as important. Reminders to show gratitude for connection and how students connect to you.
The world continues to astound us all with the way our students ask to connect in the world and their community. The world that students inherit is changing and the students are much more aware than when we may have been that youthful. How we respond and how we take care of ourselves after responding and helping students navigate their emotions and inputting knowledge are as important as helping students navigate those challenges.
Gathering support and knowing how to support other staff is just as important. Learning when a birthday, a significant anniversary, or other momentous occasion is part of reaching out and helping to build that adult community.
We are sincere that the little tries and the little movements continue to build the roads for students, teachers, and for administrators. Professional trust is built as familiar patterns become understandable by everyone working for a student or group of students.
The little things really just begin with making the professional promise: I will be here. Renay was recently laughed at for saying this to someone else professionally, but that promise carries so much weight when one is dedicating the school year to a group of students. That promise does not mean that sick days will not be taken, family events do not come first. That promise is the minimum we make daily no matter the task at hand.
The little things really just begin with making the professional promise: I will be here.
ParaEducate
Professionalism for some comes easily. For others, it requires time to learn and grow. Students grow, and so should their paraeducator. Partnering with other more senior staff helps make sense of the roles in school as an adult. Balancing between finding your strengths and finding how to navigate the campus where you are assigned.
The Parts of Inclusion
We are reminded that some things need to be advocated for. Sitting at a table in the middle of a sea of students does not always work for all students with disabilities. However, to be a member of the class, it is important to have a student have a spot to work that is consistent and puts the student within arm’s reach of their peers and not in full view as a curiosity or to be treated as a guest.
February is our anniversary month. Stay tuned for our anniversary blog post.
Do you have any comments about this month’s blog? Do you have a question for us? Would you like to have an opportunity to pilot some materials at your campus? Find ParaEducate online here, here, here, here, and on our website. ParaEducate is a company providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in special education inclusion settings for grades K-12. ParaEducate, the blog, is published once a month during the academic school year. ParaEducate shares their findings at conferences, through their books, and their academic adaptations.
Renay called in a favor because she had some ideas that were going unchecked. Renay met up with a familiar face—the person who taught Renay how to be a paraeducator over eighteen years ago. Today, that individual is now a special education teacher who works with adults—students who are 18 to 22 years of age.
Working with adults is a slightly different skill set than working in a traditional inclusive classroom. At this point, there are not likely to be many non-disabled peers nearby in general (this is a wholly different conversation). Adults who are in programs like these are also still following their IEPs and are taking significant parts of their IEPs and managing the skills that they want to enrich. Adults are given direct help with things like work skills, understanding the things necessary to apply for a job, and more skills budgeting. Some are working on self-care like making food, connecting in their communities, and navigating public transit.
Professionalism is of utmost importance. Being present with the students might be more of a challenge, but it is critical because you could easily lose a group of students on a topic, in a community outing, or even in a 1:1 situation because you were not emotionally, physically, and mentally present with the adults. The model of professionalism becomes more important: this is what some of the students will use when they go forth in any job they have during and after leaving adult program.
Being present with the students might be more of a challenge, but it is critical because you could easily lose a group of students on a topic, in a community outing, or even in a 1:1 situation because you were not emotionally, physically, and mentally present with the adults.
ParaEducate
We want to mention we keep saying ‘adults’ and not ‘students’. There is a certain level of autonomy that needs to be provided at the programs that do not exist prior to this age group. Certainly, the groundwork for autonomy in previous years of their lives should be evident, but there is a need for more independence.
There is a certain level of autonomy that needs to be provided at the programs that do not exist prior to this age group. Certainly, the groundwork for autonomy in previous years of their lives should be evident, but there is a need for more independence.
ParaEducate
So when the group goes into the community, the motivation should be based on the individual needs of the adult students. Things to look for:
How do they handle large crowds?
How do they navigate public transportation?
How do they communicate with unfamiliar individuals?
What things are they able to do independently?
Can they step away from an activity when they are truly stressed?
What tasks within a job do they like? Which tasks within a job they do not like?
Can they cross a street? This breaks down further, looking both ways, pushing a crosswalk button, and waiting for friends/peers to join up at the corners.
What tools do they use when they are lost or in an unfamiliar situation? This will include technology.
What goals do they have for their lives after they finish their program?
What do they care about? What leadership opportunities have they taken/can take within the adult education program?
What activities do they like to do?
What is truly important to the adult? How do they go about doing those things? (is this religious, cultural, or entertainment? And how do you support that individual doing those activities?)
What skills do they need to continue to hold a job?
How do they handle money? Can they budget?
This is only a partial list, however, unlike in the prior fifteen years of education (Preschool through high school), paraeducators should be helping the case manager constantly evaluate these parts for every student. Keep in mind how many times one might have had to redirect an individual and what circumstances were they under. Have a focus on understanding the adult that is there learning and finishing their last attempts at getting skills they might not have had time to focus on previously. Finding ways for the adults to be more independent in small groups and alone.
The takeaway here, the relationship between a paraeducator and adult students is very different than the paraeducator-student relationship in the Preschool to twelfth-grade age group. If nothing else: you have to be more together and focused to help the adults connect to the pieces of their future they might need the most help with.
Do you have any comments about this month’s blog? Do you have a question for us? Would you like to have an opportunity to pilot some materials at your campus? Find ParaEducate online here, here, here, here, and on our website. ParaEducate is a company providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in special education inclusion settings for grades K-12. ParaEducate, the blog, is published once a month during the academic school year. ParaEducate shares their findings at conferences, through their books, and their academic adaptations.
We had a moment a week ago, where we were discussing what inclusion could be with someone who was in an entirely different district. We know that inclusion feels like it is stalled. That for every child, inclusion looks different, and for some students this is appropriate. For most students, this is not what they are experiencing in their entire education process.
We know that inclusion is viewed as a challenge in many districts. And for all our friends who keep pointing it out: we are now forty years away from the original research that has pointed out that for both students with disabilities and students without disabilities, there are long-term and short-term benefits for their education. And that those benefits show up again in the lives of people with disabilities.
What makes inclusion possible thought? Professors and parents who have firsthand experience might tell you that inclusion is a mindset. Students who can tell you inclusion is ‘belonging’. Teachers who work in inclusive environments may tell you its about having all the players together working together (special education, special education services, administration, students). And certainly, every single workshop on inclusion starts with a definition, whether brought by the presenter or created by the workshop. Inclusion is advocacy by both self-advocates and allies. And it is not the cacophony of voices but one single voice going in one direction.
And it is not the cacophony of voices but one single voice going in one direction.
ParaEducate
What we know is that not every experience is inclusive. Whether or not it is certain classes, certain educators, or certain schools.
Does it need to stay ‘small’ to be successful?
There are pockets of inclusive schools all around the country. And the predominant age group tends to be elementary. This is why secondary is where Renay focuses much of her time. And these schools historically are under five hundred students. Sometimes as much as seven hundred. But is it possible to keep scaling the image? We know of entire districts of more than two thousand students are inclusive. We know it just takes a ‘yes’ if we borrow from Beth Foraker. It does not take much to have success.
What can we do?
If you are not working in an inclusive environment, ask why.
If you are not working in an inclusive environment and the answer is ‘we tried it and it didn’t work.’ Ask about what was not working.
Look at the average age of the staff. Newer teachers are often being educated in inclusive practices and want support to be that change. However, the nuances of newer teachers: they do not always have enough emotional space to take on change, especially in their first two years. It is not that they do not care. The demands on a new teacher are many.
Is the whole campus inclusive or just the little ways that are involved with certain subjects or certain teachers?
We need to have a brief but pointed fact that inclusion is not some new-age philosophy. It is what we want in our communities. It is what we want for our future. Not just people with disabilities, but this is the main purpose of ParaEducate to bring that awareness of who is not at the table. Who is not being educated? When we do not see what is going on, we do not understand what might truly be experienced or expected. Our collective change can bring attention to someone else who takes those questions of inclusion of people with disabilities to work environments, to college environments, to our religious institutions and many others.
We need to have a brief but pointed fact that inclusion is not some new-age philosophy.
ParaEducate
All The Hands?
So often we speak in this blog about an idealized world and we know that paraeducators are doing a lot of different things for a variety of students who all have different needs. And some of those needs are not the result of a disability.
To be all the things, an ally, an educator, a confidant, an authority figure, a compassionate being, a contract of wisdom, and a fellow human, it just might be too much for some. So how do you balance all the things that are expected? Sometimes we focus on one or two of these skills. Some folks only demonstrate a handful of these skills ever. And it is entirely all right. Asking for those individuals when they are ready to step forward makes all the difference.
What We Bring
Renay was recently asked what might make a paraeducator flexible enough to work in the different demanding environments of inclusion across an entire campus. And one of the points Renay thought about was a small percentage of Renay’s experience: general education teachers who have disabilities or have a family member with a disability. It does not matter the type of disability or the experiences of that disability. But that distinction makes for an interesting population helping students with disabilities. Knowing that exclusion within disability is a step into the side of students with disabilities as an ally. Just like the importance of being ethnically diverse. These silent traits we bring with us affect how we interact with each other and our knowledge of what a student might see within the world.
The world will need us to keep waiting. And the world will change. We can still be that advocate for our students. For our families we serve. We can see those moments and celebrate those moments in our school communities.
Do you have any comments about this month’s blog? Do you have a question for us? Would you like to have an opportunity to pilot some materials at your campus? Find ParaEducate online here, here, here, here, and on our website. ParaEducate is a company providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in special education inclusion settings for grades K-12. ParaEducate, the blog, is published once a month during the academic school year. ParaEducate shares their findings at conferences, through their books, and their academic adaptations.
It is now officially the point in the academic year where there is no turning back. Hopefully your campus is constantly addressing the rules and holding those students accountable to get them back on track for the entire campus.
Struggling
There is something simply beautiful about ‘struggle’. And it would sound painful otherwise. Struggle for students, and especially with students with disabilities, is just the whole school experience. There are limits to that school experience, and how much barrier honestly is too much struggle for students before they are not learning anything. But that middle ground, it is a beautiful place. The confidence students gain, the belief that the student is a contributing member, the reassurances that the students get from their peers as a contributing member of the class. All those moments matter.
Certainly, there are students who are unable to have those moments because of other personal barriers. But all the struggles, all the little steps every single day are little things that are won.
Just a reminder…
Student teachers. We have spoken about them before, but the nuances of what a student teacher needs to learn and what they are putting together is usually very trying. Some student teachers never know anything than what they are taught and shown by the program they are pursuing.
Intern teachers are a separate matter and another time we will discuss their progress and their knowledge. Student Teachers, however, and especially student teachers within the realm of special education bring a different world together.
There are things to know about student teachers though
Student teachers are under enormous pressure. They are there on site with you for a specific number of hours. They are weeding through nuances of students, adults, and supporting the students in their progress. And they probably are holding down three or four other jobs to cover their tuition and other life needs.
Student teacher’s assignments also require several steps and asking a paraeducator to help is part of the assignment.
Student teachers are often viewed little more than a guest at a site. Realize that Student Teachers, regardless of chronological age and place in the program, probably are not making money at all. Including the weekly donuts for the staff with the student teacher, even if they are unable to eat a donut, means the world to that student teacher—that inclusion we want for our students with disabilities matters.
Student teachers are a necessary lifeline to the process of education. Supporting our student teachers helps keep the process of education going forward. Giving student teachers the opportunity to train in an inclusive setting and meeting a variety of students and their families helps to make those bridge in the education much easier. While their direction will is dictated by their program, their supervisors, and their mentor teachers. Your collaboration with a student teacher can make or break their understanding of the little steps necessary to become the successful educators we need for all our students.
Your collaboration with a student teacher can make or break their understanding of the little steps necessary to become the successful educators we need for all our students.
ParaEducate
Stepping Into the World
We were reminded this last week of Hurricane Katrina (2005). And while Hurricane Katrina’s aftermath is traumatizing to some, Renay recalled the school she was working at and the students who gathered new and slightly used items to send over to a school of like aged students. Every item came with a handwritten note from students sending well wishes for a student who had experienced unimaginable loss. CDs, CD players, handheld video games, a new jacket, in general it was a variety of things for folks who have woken up one morning having to relocate on a moment’s notice and it was not always about the things they just needed. And returning up to this last week—Hurricane Ian that crossed over Puerto Rico, Florida, and now heading into the Carolinas, reminds us of the importance of connectivity, even simple ones for a world that seems like it has been torn to shreds. It will take a while for the world to be ‘righted’. And for some students, doing this little bit of connecting to the world, be it nationally, locally, or even on the world stage, this makes all the difference.
Supporting folks at every stage of their life and their needs is a part of what a school can do. And there are limits to how to support, however, remembering that everyone has access to their human needs that helps make everyone more connected.
Do you have any comments about this month’s blog? Do you have a question for us? Would you like to have an opportunity to pilot some materials at your campus? Find ParaEducate online here, here, here, here, and on our website. ParaEducate is a company providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in special education inclusion settings for grades K-12. ParaEducate, the blog, is published once a month during the academic school year. ParaEducate shares their findings at conferences, through their books, and their academic adaptations.
The world keeps moving and school is making demands. But before we really get started with students, we need to know what they know and do not know of how to be in school. For the youngest students, that is pretty easy to continue to review and build that pattern of skills to know where they will go and how they will act for each place they are at. For the older students, it is a reminder that school has boundaries.
For paraeducators in the classroom, the world shifts just a little bit. It is about responding to both the teacher’s frame of expectations and where students, especially students with disabilities, need to have patterns.
However, that is not to say that the students do not need a hook, especially the youngest students—they are looking for “fun”. Work does not connect to students, particularly young students, without play. If you happen to be from secondary, this is quite a challenge. But there is an element of fun
While students testing the boundaries are common throughout the year, work with the teachers you support to identify how best to help students get back in line. Many teachers do want the attention to be on them and how they treat behaviors, big and small, will be very different for every student and their situation. There will be times you might not know that there is a student to be handled with care.
Where is the Inclusion?
We have not spoken a lot about inclusive practices for a while. And inclusion in its most idealized form is not always available in every district, though it should be.
Inclusion is about really accepting the students as they are. And then providing those supports so the student can grow. Growth takes more than just hope and goodwill. And certainly, more than just teaching the other students about growth mindset and that everyone has a unique brain. Inclusion is the reminder we all belong. It is the calm an individual feels knowing that even if nothing is certain, they will feel supported.
Growth takes more than just hope and goodwill.
ParaEducate
Inclusion needs to be in the way staff treat each other. The way folks are welcomed into the room is a great indicator. And it needs to be with students. Students need to be assisted to stay in class, and students need to believe they are welcome in the rooms where they are assigned.
What we missed from Distance Learning
Wait…there was something to be missed?
We know there was a large majority of students, especially students who fell into the achievement gap, even without disabilities, that Distance Learning was more than a challenge, it was simply just a barrier to education. But there were some beneficial things that happened during distance learning.
Renay was in the middle of coteaching last week in a school and it was evident that the class had not formed a personal connection to a specific vocabulary concept that is pretty important. In Distance Learning, it was a quick switch for Renay to interject and provide that information. However, in person, in a decorated classroom, getting to just provide that information was itself a barrier for something that would have been a thirty-second detour of information for students. There was a partial argument after the fact that the information provided was truly designed for the top ten percent of the class that the actual need of the lesson was to identify key facts. But if the idea was how to teach to identify key facts, understanding what was written as a concept was actually as important. While there was a rabbit hole conversation–Distance Learning allowed those multiple transitions to provide the students access to more information and provide the students who were not ready a few moments to come down and then be ready to tackle the next ‘ask’ in class.
How Are We School Ready?
One of the brilliant things about education is that in the United States education is viewed as the equalizer. Though there can be quibbles about enrichment in different schools, even within blocks of each other, one could argue that if one selected three fifth graders from several different schools, they could come to general consensus that they know five facts about every topic taught in school and know that well. But when you go down to Kindergarten or to first grade, that general consensus might be much further apart. Watching students attempt early screenings for reading readiness just to have an idea where the classes are is always an act in true patience. Not because the students struggle—many certainly will—but to deny yourself the laughter and smiles for the most unique answers from students. And just a question: how many of your students successfully identified letter ‘O’ as “circle”?
And just a question: how many of your students successfully identified letter ‘O’ as “circle”?
ParaEducate
One more thing before we go…
Enjoy celebrating the little wins with your staff this month. You made it to Friday. You saw a student climb the stairs on the bus independently. You finally figured out the names of all the students in a class. The student returned a paper from the first day of school. Find that reason to celebrate.
Do you have any comments about this month’s blog? Do you have a question for us? Would you like to have an opportunity to pilot some materials at your campus? Find ParaEducate online here, here, here, here, and on our website. ParaEducate is a company providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in special education inclusion settings for grades K-12. ParaEducate, the blog, is published once a month during the academic school year. ParaEducate shares their findings at conferences, through their books, and their academic adaptations.
The school year is about to start. The school items have been on sale for the time being. We have been all too aware that families are struggling financially, and we know that many more students will likely walk through the door on the first day of school with even less than they normally might have.
And most definitely: this is going to impact the paraeducators as well. Many are making those choices as well for their own families. While the larger discussion should be to Unions and Districts about making equitable pay for all staff and teachers that at least reflects the general cost of living in each area, what are we really going to do when students need a pencil or even a scratch piece of paper.
For those who are able: grab an extra notebook or pack of pencils and donate it to the school for the student who might need that small extra to start the year. For those who have usable supplies, we know they are going to keep going for as long as they can. For items like glue, glue sticks, and markers, that are always needed and dry out or otherwise are consumed and cannot be recycled, have that talk with students about being aware of how much they are using.
Helping students out by providing systems to make sure they have the supplies they need through the school year. Especially ones that are respectful of students’ personal pride.
Remind Me Once Again
Paraeducators are usually at the mercy of whatever ice breaker that a teacher provides for a class on the first day of school. But it is just as important that everyone in the classroom learn each other’s names. No matter the class. The beginning of the year is the easiest. But if the general education teacher wouldn’t mind printing out their role sheet or seating chart so the paraeducator can learn names too while trying to learn things about the student(s) they are working with, it would be really very nice.
Some years, students are just mixed together and they make wonderful friends from classmates. In other years, some students with disabilities just are not that interested in socializing. Finding out a schedule of the student’s day is important to give an idea when it might be time to push a student to cooperate with peers and when it might not be worthwhile. Not every student needs to be friends with every other student in their class, but it will help make things much more enjoyable when there is someone they can trust their own age in any given space.
Not every student needs to be friends with every other student in their class, but it will help make things much more enjoyable when there is someone they can trust their own age in any given space.
ParaEducate
A review of how to make friends with students is never a bad thing.
A review of where the bathrooms are located also is not a bad thing.
Keeping a running of list of things that appear to bother a student. This might be useful later if there are behaviors to avoid or ask questions about.
And for new staff, do not forget to ask them if they know where the staff bathrooms are or if they have had a break. Let them know they can trust you while everyone is running in opposite directions.
And for new staff, do not forget to ask them if they know where the staff bathrooms are or if they have had a break.
ParaEducate
And if nothing else: it is all right to forget some things because there are a lot of things going on and a lot of running in opposite directions. Good luck to those who start in their respective campuses. If your year starts later, get ready. Here we go.
Do you have any comments about this month’s blog? Do you have a question for us? Would you like to have an opportunity to pilot some materials at your campus? Find ParaEducate online here, here, here, here, and on our website. ParaEducate is a company providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in special education inclusion settings for grades K-12. ParaEducate, the blog, is published once a month during the academic school year. ParaEducate shares their findings at conferences, through their books, and their academic adaptations.
Summer has been flying by. Renay has been preparing a rough draft of the newest book and while we all agree it has been long past time that this book is prepared at least in draft form, we are nowhere near ready to publish this book this summer. However, that is not to say that we are not thinking about the upcoming year or how things just always change and the dynamics of how things work in education. And everything is about dynamics.
Dynamics with the students. Dynamics with the teachers. Dynamics with administration. Navigating these ins and outs with all these people can be quite daunting especially when one has been in a particular school for many years. There are the established relationships, then there are the relationships that are in flux, and then there are new relationships.
Navigating these ins and outs [of relationships] with all these people can be quite daunting especially when one has been in a particular school for many years.
ParaEducate
The example we most often refer to is the relationships with students because it is not uncommon to know a student and learn more about that student as time goes on. Especially over the ten to twelve weeks that end in a school year, the student has grown up and changed. And that can be stunning. Last year a student was called a nickname, this year the student wants to be called their given name. The student focuses on three icons on their communication system but now goes into a menu for an additional word. However, the same student enjoys bouncing a ball on the playground or twirling a piece of string. That does not mean to say the student is not growing up. For staff that comes in and out or are reassigned to older students, it is hard to remember that the student is growing up. It is tempting to fall back on a familiar relationship dynamic. But pausing and realizing that the student has changed in the time since you last were together, can help bridge a gap, and allow the student to continue to grow.
For staff that comes in and out or are reassigned to older students, it is hard to remember that the student is growing up. It is tempting to fall back on a familiar relationship dynamic. But pausing and realizing that the student has changed in the time since you last were together, can help bridge a gap, and allow the student to continue to grow.
ParaEducate
Between adults—life changes perspectives. And while working with a student with a disability has the advantage of time, adults may not necessarily have that built-in perspective.
As we head into August, we are looking at scheduling and what retention of staff really means and if there is something we can keep doing to avoid revisiting the first-year paraeducator training for all the staff every year.
The new year is about to reach us ready or not. Hopefully, this year will be much better than the last two years.
ParaEducate blog will return monthly this academic year from August to June.
Do you have any comments about this month’s blog? Do you have a question for us? Would you like to have an opportunity to pilot some materials at your campus? Find ParaEducate online here, here, here, here, and on our website. ParaEducate is a company providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in special education inclusion settings for grades K-12. ParaEducate, the blog, is published once a month during the academic school year. ParaEducate shares their findings at conferences, through their books, and their academic adaptations.
Renay is sitting writing thank you notes. It is not exactly a challenge to her, but to be thoughtful and considerate of every person, does take some time. But it is not just about the ‘thank you’. This academic year has been an amazing change. Every thank you between staff is genuine. Every smile and thank you from parents is true. Some come with a gift card, but the words are always there. And this year was hard-fought.
We thank you for staying with our shortened blog post year. We are assessing right now if this was a better format for us and will consider this format for the next academic year.
Should Crumble And Fall
The school year should not end with a funeral. And yet for one school—Robb Elementary in Texas: this is how their year ends. There cannot be enough moments of silence, prayers of support, political movement, or tissues needed.
ParaEducate has very few political stands—gun regulation ones that are in the realm of responsible gun ownership and background checks for all. We are even willing to entertain raising the minimum gun age to twenty-one. While this opinion will undoubtedly be unpopular with many individuals, here is what we do know– there is more to this debate that needs to occur—addressing mental health for all, not just suspected or those currently identified. Our children and our neighborhoods demand this of us. Safety in our places of worship, our grocery stores, and our schools are at stake. We need to ensure our students and our communities are ready to respond to this ever-growing threat.
We know that teachers and paraeducators are far too often being asked to make decisions about how to keep all the students in their classrooms safe. We know that teachers and paraeducators will mostly protect their students. We know that students with physical disabilities and teachers with physical disabilities will be the last helped in emergencies. And even students with emotional disturbances or autism may not reliably respond to unfamiliar adults, especially in traumatic situations.
We know that students with physical disabilities and teachers with physical disabilities will be the last helped in emergencies. And even students with emotional disturbances or autism may not reliably respond to unfamiliar adults, especially in traumatic situations.
ParaEducate
Any evacuation is a cause of stress for everyone on campus. The priority shifts from focusing on trying to make an understanding for most of the campus to staying safe. And that interruption can compound if one is unfamiliar with procedures and information that may or may not come in a timely manner. Making decisions and connecting with all the students is critical for everyone involved.
Things we know that can be improved:
All the teachers and staff need to know what evacuation protocol looks like and where they will go. When things change because some situations can be fluid, staff and teachers come out much more professional when they know what is going on and how they can best support.
Communication in the event of an emergency should be clear. Who gets information how is it ‘telephoned’ down the line? Is there a service? Be clear if the information is coming out of a distribution service like texting, that those who skipped taking their phones for the emergency are shown the information and it is not relayed verbally between staff. This limits the interpretation of information.
Be clear to keep protocol of how to release students to their adults. Be clear about what happens if students just walk off.
Have a procedure for siblings/family members on campus.
Have a process for students of other district staff. Not that district staff children get special treatment, but that they know they are not the last thought or that they are the first picked up in case of emergency.
Debrief with all staff. Not just staff who can come to special sessions. Know when staff return, even briefly that someone should be there for the teacher.
And what does protocol look like for students over the age of eighteen?
If students are sheltering in place, what does that look like, and how does information get shared out?
What is the plan for sheltering in place for students with disabilities? On the second floor? Who lets students who have temporary limited mobility about the plans?
What is the plan for sheltering in place for students with disabilities? On the second floor? Who lets students who have temporary limited mobility about the plans?
ParaEducate
But despite all of this: it is the end of a year of school. And like the last two years, if this is how a year of school unfolds for students with equal amounts of uncertainty for both educators and their students, then this is where we will begin next year. It is often lamented that the only constant is change. And without a doubt, there has been change, some for the better, some for the worse. Now is no longer about ‘what was missed’ as much as, this is simply the time to continue to carry on.
We know that everyone has a lot of feelings about guns, school shootings, and safety. Please do not let the conversations table in your district, have a plan. Our students are counting on us.
If you or some one you know is struggling, please do not hesitate to use the National Suicide Hotline: 1-800-273-8255.
This is not quite the last word…
This is the last blog post for the 2021-2022 academic year. We thank you for allowing us to connect with you all in what has been an absolutely unique academic year. May you all stay safe.
Our annual summer post will come up and we shall return in August 2022. Thank you for the academic year. We will see you all soon.
Do you have any comments about this month’s blog? Do you have a question for us? Would you like to have an opportunity to pilot some materials at your campus? Find ParaEducate online here, here, here, here, and on our website. ParaEducate is a company providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in special education inclusion settings for grades K-12. ParaEducate, the blog, is published once a month during the academic school year. ParaEducate shares their findings at conferences, through their books, and their academic adaptations.
