September Checklist

In Applied Behavior Analysis terms, this is known as positive pairing. Make yourself a valuable resource for your students, so that when you are around, they feel safe and supported and know that reinforcement is coming. You want to be the “giver” and not the “taker.” In other words, you are supplying an abundance of positive attention and tangibles and you are not just associated with high demands and difficult transitions. You want to create a situation where your students enjoy you and are motivated to work for you! 

Learn to involve your student and partner with them in the learning. Take the time to explain tasks to students – “we are working on identifying coins so that you can use the school vending machines.” Many times teachers just expect students to comply with mundane tasks without explaining why the task is important. Research has shown that students with significant cognitive delays understand much more than they can express, so err on the side of competence when trying to evaluate their understanding. 

And by all means, make learning fun! 

You have probably already begun this work. It is critical to remember that building a schedule is only part of the job. You must teach the student how to follow their schedule and work towards independence. You will also need to schedule time with classroom staff (maybe just five minutes at the end of the day) to review and see how the schedule and student is doing. You may have to tweak the schedule and routine.

A team approach is the best approach! Often a communication folder that goes back and forth from school to home is helpful. Encourage open lines of communication. If parents know what is happening at school, they can extend upon it at home. If you know what is happening at home, (for example, the student didn’t sleep, is constipated, etc.) you can better anticipate how to plan your day. Remember, when you are communicating with parents – keep it positive. This is a tool to share success and build relationship. If you have something of concern to report, end with a positive statement. Also, remember to just state facts and leave judgment or feeling words out of it.

If you welcomed new students this year, you’re probably beginning to get to know their personality and needs this month. One of the most important parts of adapting instruction in a special needs classroom is learning how to scaffold your level of support. Learn more about cueing and prompting in the Prompting course.

You will need to begin to take data. Develop a way to take data on both IEP goals and other activities that may not be written in the IEP but which are a part of instruction in your classroom. Whenever possible, you will incorporate IEP goals in the lessons. To summarize, best practice dictates that you issue IEP progress reports and report card grades for classroom work on a regular basis.

• Establish a schedule and a method for taking data and train your paraprofessionals on how to take data.
• As various situations arise, you might also need to take data on behavior. This data helps determine what interventions you might choose and how successful those interventions are at changing the behavior. If strategies are ineffective, you may have to adjust or change interventions.
• There are many ways to assign grades for classroom work. Remember that the purpose of grades is to demonstrate progress, so make grades meaningful and objective. You may create a rubric and assign point for the number of steps and the level of prompting.

Now is the time to create a student portfolio to begin filing away work samples. You will thank yourself at the end of the year if you kept samples from the beginning of the year and you can see clear evidence of progress.

When you inevitably go to an Admission, Review and Dismissal (ARD or IEP) meeting, you will be much more prepared if you’ve been thinking about a student’s PLAAFP (Present Levels of Academic Achievement) the entire year. So now’s the time to begin. Use the Resources below to get started.

Find your statewide support person on our Statewide Contact information page, or view the Texas SPED Support Learning Library to find training opportunities designed for educators of students with significant cognitive disabilities and complex access needs.

It’s only September, and you may be feeling like it is a lot, but if you don’t get ahead of yourself and remember to prioritize tasks each month, the year will begin to find its rhythm. September has been about teaching expectations, procedures and schedules. You’re creating activities and collecting data, and you are gathering information for upcoming ARD meetings. Remember to take time to build relationships with your students. 

In an article by Evantheia Schibsted titled, How to Develop Positive Classroom Management, (May 13, 2009), the author discusses the importance of “positive approaches that emphasize social and emotional learning over punitive discipline”. The article lists several strategies you can use to support a peaceful classroom. Although the strategies may need to be accommodated for special needs students, the need for a peaceful learning environment is universal, and you may find the strategies listed to create this environment helpful.

Keep up the good work and let your regional ESC specialist know if you have any questions.