I have an interview for an elementary self-contained SpEd class. I am really excited for this interview and want to be prepared. I'm moving from general education to special education, so I'm hoping that some of you who teach special education might have some ideas for me. For those of you who teach self contained SpEd classes, I was wondering what types of communication systems you have in place for communicating with parents. Do you have a book that goes back and forth from school to home each day, or do you use email? Do you communicate daily, or weekly? If you know of any websites/blogs that are helpful for setting up a self contained SpEd classroom and would be willing to post them, I'd love to look at those to. Thank you very much for any ideas.
www.theautismtank.com and www.theautismhelper.com are life savers for me. They are really wonderful and will tell you much of what you need to know. In my class we communicate with daily notebooks between me and parents but we also use email. I send home a newsletter at the end of every week and the kids track their own goal progress and fill out a quick sheet of what they did during the day. Communication is really crucial with these kids since their home life can influence their behaviors so much. If you need anything let me know. Good luck!
Thank you elleveeaych for your ideas and for the blog links. I've been looking through the two blogs you posed, and they are full of great ideas. Thank you!
Do you know what type of self-contained class this will be? A few of my favorite blogs for self-contained are: SPED-Ventures: http://spedventures.blogspot.com/ Autism Adventures of Room 83: http://theadventuresofroom83.blogspot.com/ And my website (which I haven't updated in a long time, but may still be useful): http://www.workofheart.bravehost.com/ For communication with parents, I use the student's daily agenda/calendar notebooks. I write in the agenda daily and parents know to check it each night. They can also write notes back in the agenda with comments/questions, etc. I also use text messaging quite a bit. It's an easy way to communicate with parents quickly and keep a record. Good luck on your interview!
When I was doing a long term sub in a self-contained classroom, I asked the parents what they preferred, in addition to daily point sheets going home. (the kids were given points for turning the signed ones in, but I also kept a file of copies in case the didn't come back). One parent wanted to be called the moment a problem arouse, no problem did that. The other asked to not be called during certain times as her boss promised to fire her if it happened again, so she gave me alternative numbers to use in an emergency, also ideas on things we could do in the classroom. Others mentioned things that worked well to calm their children at home, to avoid calling. One spoke no English so asked for not notes unless they were translated. Don't assume that one method will work with every parent, but have a general system in place, like the point sheets I used (it was for an Emotionally Impaired room), then stress that you are willing to establish communication with the parents to see what works best for them, that it is a partnership between parents and the SPED teacher. Good luck
