You know it as well as I do, keeping organized in a Special Education classroom can be a disaster. Case managing involves keeping IEPs, student work samples, student data, parent communication, and so much more! There is so much paperwork that finding a functional way to keep paperwork is not only a life saver, but a time saver in your classroom.
First disclaimer, I have been described as a Type A organizational nerd. Yes, my color coded file cabinet makes me happy. Yes, it is functional in my classroom. Is it for everyone, probably not.
So over a year ago I shared the amazing makeover I gave to my IEP cabinet on instagram. This post still gets likes today so I thought I’d share with you how I set up my functional (and gorgeous) IEP cabinet.
Second disclaimer, I got around 2,000 hanging files donated to my classroom over a year ago. Being that my personality is somewhere on the fine line between collector and hoarder, I couldn’t let them go because “someday” I was going to need file folders and I’d be upset that I had thrown these away. When these were donated they came in a variety of colors and styles and I immediate thought of my color coding system in my classroom and knew I could use the file folders to easily color code student files.
A little quick information on my classroom color coding system: when a student enters my classroom they are assigned a color and EVERYTHING for that student is coded in that color. Their schedule, yup. Their flash cards, yup. Their student files, now they are!
So getting a donation of beautifully colored file folders was my inspiration to make my student file cabinet color coded just like the rest of my classroom. I quickly sat down and thought about the files I hold onto for students and realized I was going to need 5 file folders per student. I quickly searched through my piles of file folders and found 5 in each assigned color.
Then I made labels to put in the folders to collect items throughout the year. The 5 tabs I filed information under were:
- Current IEP
- Past IEP
- Student Data
- Parent Communication
- Open House
At the time, I also made student name tabs, but in the past year, I haven’t replaced the tabs with new students names because I realized I do not need them. The color coding of the file cabinet helps me quickly go to a specific student’s files and pull exactly what I need when it is needed.
Do you have a system for keeping all that paperwork organized? I’d love to hear about it in the comments!
I am like u and love to organize by color. But i went to.student notebooks that have pocket tab sheets with all of this including overall student info, RR paperwork and paper to keep notes from meetings on that student. I also keep a checkist for overall prepping for meetings and a checklist on info for legally defensible IEPs that we got from our boss to check off. Now I just grab the notebook when I need to prep or for a meeting and everything is organized and ready to.go
I also keep the majority of our working data in tabbed binders for my students. It's a lot easier to locate what I need, but when those binders start getting a little full I move documents into my file cabinet.
I am like u and love to organize by color. But i went to.student notebooks that have pocket tab sheets with all of this including overall student info, RR paperwork and paper to keep notes from meetings on that student. I also keep a checkist for overall prepping for meetings and a checklist on info for legally defensible IEPs that we got from our boss to check off. Now I just grab the notebook when I need to prep or for a meeting and everything is organized and ready to.go
New teacher here. Before I ask my question, I have a disclaimer: I am currently going through TONS of "stuff" the previous teacher left behind and I am overwhelmed. The previous teacher loved files (I have THREE filing cabinets full of so much paper, I am not sure what to do it with it all) and binders. Each student had multiple binders of the same information for some unknown reason. I am working with my SPED Director and Principal on the best way to organize but wonder a couple things. How many students on your case load? (I have 25). How do you color-code (one of my LOVE languages) for that many? Thanks.
Hi Jeanell,
I have 9 students on my caseload. If I had a caseload of 25 I would either color code by grade level (K is red, 1st is blue, 2nd is green) or color code within the grade level. For example I would house all Kinder files together and each student on my Kinder load would be a different color (Johnny is red, Kevin is blue, Sarah is green). If I went that route I would either make sure I clearly divide my file cabinet or give each grade level a different drawer.
Paperwork is one of the hardest pieces to manage in your first year. Once you have a system that works of you it will really be such a benefit. I love having one less thing I need to worry about.