So it's almost the start of the school year and as it inches closer and closer there are some pre-organizational tasks that I like to get done, that way when the craziness of the first few weeks flies by you'll at least have some small grip on keeping it all together.
1. My district requires, by law, that IEP notices are sent out 7 days prior to an IEP/ARC meeting. You are required to send 3 notices, therefore you really need to plan in advance: I mark on the calendar when the student's IEP is up--then backtrack one week and write "send notice #3, then backtrack a week and write "send notice #2, and so on--this way I always remember when to send the notices home....I also pre-enter the information online and usually print all the notices at once and place post-its on them saying what date I should send them
2. Review IEP's--I create a two types of cheat sheets--one for me at home that is "official" and one for school. The one I keep at home, or more usually in my lesson plan book is literally copy and pasted off of their IEP--I keep this with my lesson plan book so when I write my plans I can be sure all the student's goals are included. The unofficial one is more of a cheat sheet that I keep at school, usually a copy in my desk and a copy in each student's work folder/binder. This is a simple cheat sheet that says something like "cvc words, grade 1 sight words, safety words." This list is more useful than you think because you can always see the child's IEP goals in front of you while you are teaching, if you are having a brain dead moment you can simply open their folder to remind yourself what you should be working on.
3. Creating work binders/folders: most of my students do hands on work, but some can do simple worksheets, and while I'm not a huge fan of using worksheets sometimes they are helpful to give students independent work practice, I usually pull books/papers/worksheets at the beginning of the year and make copies of them, then sort them into student binders, throughout the week you can be teaching and if you need a break or need to work with another child you simple pull out a worksheet for them to work on.
4. IEP folders/cheat sheets--during my first year of teaching I created an IEP meeting cheat sheet--I still use it and it has been a life saver, I have listed each step of the IEP meeting process and keep it in a specific folder, behind it I have a list of what to bring to IEP meetings just in case I have a brain dead moment. I also keep specific paperwork in that folder that you need for all meetings (parent safeguards, Medicaid forms, dismissal of a committee member etc.)--I make sure I always have copies of these forms in the folder. When a student's IEP meeting comes up I put all their paperwork into the folder, then you have everything you need in one spot.
5. Keep everything!! I struggled with this but there are plenty of ways to keep track of student work, you can create work sample folders (which is what I do)--or use file folders or whatever your system, just remember to keep all their work, you'd be surprised when and why you'll need it.
6. Homework folders: I found out that my students LOOOOVE homework, and although they do not get traditional grades like other students I feel that the homework gives them good independent skills and teaches them responsibility. I only assign homework that they are able to complete (for the most part) on their own, I may literally assign a copy of a worksheet they completed earlier that day at school...the best part of this system is that it is easy to prepare. I simple get two folders for each student, one for reading work and one for math work, then I fill it with various worksheets/activities that I know they can complete--at the end of the day or when I get a free moment I simply pull out one reading and one math worksheet for each student.
7. Alternate assessment planning: alternate assessment can be very overwhelming, and each state seems to have their own thing going so it's hard to give specific advice but I do have a few easy ways to stay organized: I like to create a large display in my classroom during each testing cycle that lists all the objectives for that testing cycle (for each grade level being tested), this display helps me to stay organized and remember what skills I need to teach
Another way to stay organized is to create a spread sheet of all student's names and what areas they are being tested in, as I collect work samples of these various objectives I put x's on the spread sheet that way I know which students still need to submit work samples and which do not.
I keep a specific box of helpful alternate assessment materials I've used in the past, I have also started a hanging file folder box with each test cycle objective labeled on it and slipped in helpful worksheets/work samples I've used previously
The real key to surviving alternate assessment is to stay very organized, stay ahead of the game, and take it one task at a time
8. Create unit boxes: I have not done this but I plan on working on it next year, each time I teach a unit I usually create a lot of my own worksheets and documents/projects/reports as nothing in the "mainstream" really fits my students--I have been keeping these in folders simply marked "science" or "social studies" but an even better way to go about organizing your units is to put each individual unit material into a box and label it--you can place all your worksheets, projects, hands on materials into one neatly labeled box.
9. Lesson planning: I was never a big believer in doing lesson plans, especially the way they teach you to do it in college (you know, 5 pages long!!!) but my lesson plan book is my guide, I love it, and I would not have made it through the year without it, be sure to use it, even if it is just a rambling place to keep your thoughts, it's a good way to stay organized and to remember all the objectives you are working with
10. Keep your desk organized, there is no reason to have 358359 pens rolling out, nor is there a reason to have paperclips flung far and wide, it is much easier to keep things to a minimum, although I may have 498759485 pens in my desk, I keep them all in a Ziploc bag and a few out in a jar on my desk, when those come up lost I replace them, I keep all my stamps and stickers in one neat place, all the remotes and computer software together, all the paperwork in accordion folders neatly labeled, and of course keep a pair of sunglasses somewhere in there! Keeping your desk neat is actually easier than it sounds, if you are a good teacher you're not at your desk a lot anyway so there is no reason it should get cluttered
Well, I guess that is all for now, these are just some helpful ways to stay organized, which I truly think is 1/4 the battle for special education teachers, with each child having their own individualized goals and all the paperwork you have to go through it is important to stay on top of things!
