School Approach
Our, Not Me
Co-teaching is one of those things that you HAVE to buy into in order to be successful.
It's more than having 2 adults in the classroom. It's more than having 2 adults with degrees in the classroom. Co-teachers must work together to prep, execute, and assess. We play on each other's strengths and weaknesses. For example, if we're reading a story that can take a long time, with thoughts and questions and comments throughout, then Valerie reads it. If it needs to be quick and to-the-point to get on with the lesson, then it's Chinah's job.
Our, not Me
A great way to start thinking like a co-teacher is to change the language in your own brain. It's not my classroom, it's our classroom. They're not my kids, they're our kids. For someone like (me) Valerie who has rarely ever worked with another person, this was a little hard at the beginning; asking for someone else's opinion (and being obligated to listen to it!) was new for me. It only took about 5 seconds for me to drink the kool-aid, so to speak, and now I'll tell anyone who stops to listen how much easier it is to share the burdens with someone else.
A mini-schedule is helpful for students to see what the group plan is for
Social Club
Three days each week our students with autism, along with one teacher (we rotate teachers and cluster teacher so we all can hear and implement the language into the classroom), has a 30-minute block of social skills instruction that we call Social Club with our Speech Pathologist. She uses the books in the Social Thinking curriculum created by Michelle Garcia Winner (see the book series here). We begin by reviewing a mini-schedule (an example pictured here) and practicing our deep-breathing techniques. The book read addresses different social thinking skills the students need to work on and we reference in class regularly. Some skills/sayings include: follow the group plan (do what the teacher has assigned for the class), expected/unexpected behaviors (unexpected behaviors are behaviors that are not appropriate at the time), think with your eyes (the direction in which we are looking shows what we are thinking about), make a smart guess (use clues to get information you need), and keep your body in the group (instead of wandering away). Sometimes a question mark in the schedule could be a game relating to a social skill, or free play for the students to practice taking turns with blocks, etc. Our therapist also teaches a new breathing technique each week for students to use when they need to cool down, such as mimicking picking a flower and inhaling/exhaling slowly. The word "class" at the end of the schedule lets students know that at the end they will return back to their classroom.
Weekly Meeting
Our school has two Nest classrooms. This past year we had one in First grade (ours) and one in Fifth grade. The Nest team (the co-teachers of both classes, the cluster teacher who served both classes, our guidance counselor, our social skills therapist, and our principal) met once a week after school for a meeting to discuss strategies, brainstorm problem solving, celebrate successes, and discuss any other relevant items. This meeting would also include what is called a case conference on one of our ASD Nest students. During these conferences, we would discuss the supports in place for the student (using the Tier 1, 2, and 3 checklist from the Nest manual) and which may need to be added. After a student was discussed, the guidance counselor calls the parent to share what was discussed.
Cluster Teacher
The cluster teacher (last year ours was Heather Reger, pictured here second from left) is part of what makes the Nest program different than other inclusion classrooms. This teacher is an equal part of our team and goes with the students to all specials every day (PE, Guidance, Art, Music, Library) as extra support. She also supports students during lunch if they need it. We had two students this year who chose to eat lunch in her room due to volume or scent sensitivity from the cafeteria. She also is available whenever we need her if a student needs a break, she could take them to her room which doubles as a sensory room. She can also help inside the classroom as well if we need another set of hands.
Co-Plan
We had the wonderful opportunity to get to know each other on a trip to New York City for NestCon, the Nest Program Conference. The trip gave us a lot of time to get to know each other's personalities (what better way than sharing a small hotel room!) and to spend time outside of school. We talked about our work preferences, our education philosophies, and just general quirks about ourselves, which made it much easier when we began setting up our room and preparing to teach together in the following months. Valerie being the veteran teacher (who had completed 11 years solo) and me being the teacher with only 2 years teaching under my belt, I was concerned how I could make her feel comfortable with another person sharing responsibilities. We discovered a way that lets us both have input in our lessons and fully plan together. Since most days we only get 30 minutes planning, we didn't have enough time to sit down and spend on future lesson plans. We both LOVE mexican food, so we get together about once a month on a saturday and plan for the month's plans. This way, we are in a relaxed setting, our minds can be free to come up with creative ideas to address our SOLs.
Class Dojo
Valerie has used this app for years for teacher and parent communication. It is an app and website, and parents get a secure code for our specific class. Once they have that code, only parents and the class teachers can see the posts in the group. Photos and messages can be shared for eveyone in the group to see, or private messages can be sent. It is a great way to send notes to parents securely without giving your personal cell number.
Social Thinking
This website has many resources for social skills for any student who may need help in this area. The author, Michelle Garcia Winner, has authored many publications on social skills, emotional regulation, and other topics. See some of her books here.
NYU Nest Support Project
These two books are packed full of knowledge for anyone looking for ideas on how to provide better inclusion services for students with ASD.
This book has been a life-saver in our classroom and we highly recommend it! Each chapter gives tips that actually work and are completely do-able in most any regular education classroom.