First-year teaching is always a daunting task, but when you are a special educator, your first year in the classroom can be especially intimidating. Special education involves balancing the unique needs of every student, which can be grueling work considering the diversity of disabilities that can be present in a single special education classroom. If you only have a bachelor’s degree in education on your resume, you might be apprehensive of the school year ahead of you — and in truth, you should be. Fortunately, many special educators before you have survived their first years, and using their advice, you can thrive in the months ahead. Here are five top tips from special education teachers for making the most of your first year in the special education classroom.
Develop Positive Connections With Parents
Unfortunately, special educators and parents are not often on the same page. As heartbreaking as it might be, many teachers in special education are dismissive of the concerns parents have for their kids, and in truth, many parents are less-than-invested in the comfort and success of their children with special needs. As a result, animosity can and does develop between parents and special educators — even when both have the best interests of the child at heart.
At the very beginning of the school year — and perhaps before, if you have access to your class list — you should reach out to parents to establish yourself as a positive point of contact. You can call or email each parent with questions to learn more about their child, to include their disabilities and needs as well as their likes and dislikes or their typical personality overall. You should affirm that you see parents as partners in the pursuit of education, and you should encourage them to reach out to you throughout the school year. Putting effort into a positive rapport with parents will make communicating with them easier, even when you have more difficult information to share.
Review and Organize IEPs and Due Dates
A key component of special education is Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), which teachers must review and follow to ensure that students are receiving the instruction, support and services they need to thrive. You should become familiar with your students’ IEPs before school begins, and you might develop some organizational system to keep track of each student through the school year. You should also pay attention to the timelines of different IEPs, which will require you to meet with parents and administrators over different intervals to ensure you are maintaining compliance.
Find a Mentor and Lean on Them
Any professional during their first year on the job can benefit from a relationship with a mentor. A mentor can provide advice and support to help you survive and thrive in this new and daunting position, and you shouldn’t be afraid to lean on your mentor when you are exhausted by the work of special education.
Some schools automatically assign mentors to new teaching staff, but if you are about to start the school year without a confirmed mentor, you should seek one out yourself. You might approach a more senior member of the special education staff at your school, or you can comb your network for connections to experienced special educators in other districts. You should be clear about your interest in creating a mentor-mentee relationship with whomever you contact, and you should outline what that means in terms of time commitment through the coming months. Then, your relationship is likely to provide lasting benefit to you both.
Make Plans to Pursue Your Master’s
Many special educators enter the field of special education without any particular training. Though technically schools must hire specially licensed educators to work in special education programs, the supply of experienced and qualified special educators is so low that many schools will put any teacher at the head of a special education classroom. If you don’t have any formal training in special education, you should work to rectify that by enrolling in a program to earn your Master’s in Special Education. Not only will this advanced credential qualify you for higher pay, but it will equip you with the knowledge and skill to serve your special needs students to even greater outcomes.
There are outstanding benefits to working in special education, not least that of the extreme sense of reward and satisfaction you receive when one of your students is thriving. If you can make it through your first year in special ed, you can make a career of delivering education to the students who most need your help.
