paperwork

I had a nightmare last night that they told me I was getting three new kids on Monday and that all their IEPs were due.

For someone not familiar with special education, an IEP is an individualized educational plan. These plans are due once (and occasionally twice) a year for every child in special education. You have to write about the child's exceptionality, disability, age, history, medical conditions, behavior, parental concerns, etc. After this you take every area the child is struggling with, communication, behavior, math, reading, ela etc. and you write about the child's strengths and weaknesses in that area, the current performance, make a goal and then write at least 3 objectives for that goal. Next, you write what regular classes they are in, what assistive technology they get, what accommodations and modifications they should receive (preferential seating, list of tasks, read aloud, shortened assignments) what state assessment they are taking, and how many minutes they are in each setting (regular, special, counseling, speech). It's like a 12 page paper on each kid I teach. I also have to test them to see what grade level they are on, write behavior plans, complete a progress report on each child and each objective every 9 weeks and do everything a regular education teacher does too. I love my job, but the paperwork is killer.

Things have been going really well lately. One of my children who threw a tantrum at least twice a day had zero, that's right, zero tantrums all week. I'm so proud of him. He is in the middle of nine children and a rough and tumble, streetwise 11-year old. He climbs trees an fences on the playground, wrestles other children, is covered is scratches and scars and can wear out a pair of shoes in a month. He has such a sensitive heart and he is so little, but any little thing used to send him to punches, tears and throwing desks. Earlier this year I had to hold him down and rock him for 20 minutes before he would calm down. Something as simple as asking him to sit down used to make him explode into these physical tirades. He's one of my smallest and youngest kids but he can hold his own. It has been such an achievement for him.

I have this little reflection corner with earphones and relaxing music and stress balls with pictures the kids drew of things they love. It's where they go when they need to calm down. I also give a nonverbal signal to my kids to warn them that they are getting too upset or misbehaving too much and they need to stop. This prevents embarrassment and allows the child to make a choice to continue the behavior or face the consequences. I think it's really working. On that note, I have 3 lesson plans to write. See you soon.