Getting your first job teaching special education is really exciting! I remember when I started I was excited to decorate my classroom and hang up bulletin boards. I’m going to tell you now that I was way behind when it came to actually working with students during that first year because I didn’t focus on the things that really mattered. I really wish I had someone to give me tips for first year special education teachers! It would have been so helpful!
I want you to learn from my mistakes, so I’m sharing some tips for first year special education teachers to get you started on the right foot for the school year!
Outline your Caseload
This is a tip that I could have definitely used during my first year teaching special education. It’s not just about teaching academic skills when you’re a special educator. You have to be ready to manage a caseload of students. That means holding IEP meetings that fit within your timeline, organizing paperwork, and so much more!
The best thing you can do before you even get started in your classroom is to prepare a form that you can keep on your desk or in a teacher binder with ALL of your IEP due dates for the year. This way nothing can slip through the cracks. I’ll admit I’ve had more than one missed deadline before I started tracking my due dates at a glance. I keep my form taped to the corner of a whiteboard near my desk so I can reference it often.
I like to use this form from my IEP binder to divide up my IEPs for the year. On this form, each month has a box where I can jot down the students who have IEPs due. I also make sure I jot down the due date so I can schedule my meeting before that date. This really helps me stay on top of all of my case manager obligations throughout the year.
Plan Classroom Setup
Setting up your classroom is important, but decorating your classroom is less important. If you get all set up and you have time to decorate, go for it! Otherwise, I’d stick with setting up some functional spaces in your classroom and leave the decorating for later.
It’s important to think about your students as you’re setting up your classroom. Of course if you’re a first year teacher you may not know a lot about your students, but you should know a little bit about your teaching position. Teaching resource vs a self contained classroom might change how you want to set up your classroom.
I teach in the self contained setting and find that having clearly defined spaces in my classroom is beneficial for my students. I’ve shared a little about my classroom setup in this blog post. My classroom setup always ends up being tweaked to best meet the need of the students in my classroom. This is a classroom layout I put together my first year:
Some things have changed and some have stayed the same. I’m even planning to make a few more changes in the next school year.
I taught in a shared resource room during my first year, so I didn’t have a lot of control over the set up, but Sarah from The Designer Teacher shared about her Resource Room setup on her blog. It has great tips for getting set up in your resource room!
Not exactly sure where to get started? I love Melissa’s Special Education Program Starter Kit. It’s packed full of checklists and ideas to at least get you started as you’re setting up your classroom.
Plan Activities for your First Week
Once you’ve got your classroom set up, you’re ready to start planning activities to do in your classroom during your first week of school! I often spend my first week conducting reinforcement surveys so I know what my students will want to work for throughout the school year.
I also make sure I plan some fun activities for my students during the first week. Between the reinforcement surveys and the activities we are completing in the classroom, I want my students to have a positive experience at school so they’re happy to come back.
