Special Education

I wrote this and posted it to Facebook, but forgot to post it here. These are some of my thoughts on special education.

Let's talk about special education and what changes need to be made. As a former inclusion teacher (I was the regular education teacher and co-taught with a special education teacher) I have a great deal of knowledge about special education and the laws that govern special education. I think I can help bring unique ideas to the classroom from that perspective.

I think we need more special education teachers in order to help reduce the number of students on their caseloads. Special education teachers are expected to be in the classroom with students, in IEP and other student meetings, writing IEPs and communicate effectively with parents. Our special education teachers are outstanding but overworked!

In addition to more special education teachers, I would also look at hiring an IEP coordinator for the high school, the 2 middle schools, and 3-4 to share at the elementary level. These special education teachers would help coordinate IEP meetings and be the experts in our buildings to assist with IEPs. This could also help our teachers better communicate with parents and spend valuable time in the classroom.

Stay tuned...more ideas are coming!