My goal is to provide a safe, structured, and encouraging classroom where every student has an opportunity to learn, grow, and become more independent. Classroom procedures will be taught, modeled, practiced, and reviewed throughout the school year.
Each student’s Individualized Education Program, Behavior Intervention Plan, health plan, and other individual needs will always be followed.
Students will be encouraged to follow four main expectations:
Be Safe
Be Respectful
Be Responsible
Be Ready to Learn
Try your best
Students will receive reminders, visual supports, modeling, and opportunities to practice these expectations.
Students should enter calmly, put away their belongings, check the visual schedule, gather their materials, complete their morning check-in, and begin the assigned bellwork.
When the schoolwide attention signal is given, students should pause, put down their materials, and focus on the teacher, staff member, or visual direction.
Students are expected to participate to the best of their ability, follow directions, use materials appropriately, and ask for help when needed. Students may respond by speaking, writing, pointing, using gestures, selecting picture choices, using an approved communication device, or another appropriate method.
Completed assignments should be placed in the correct turn-in tray, folder, or binder pocket.
Students should wait for directions, gather the correct materials, stay with the group, and move safely and quietly. Staff will provide additional support and reminders when needed.
Students are encouraged to use the restroom during designated times whenever possible. Individual health, toileting, and IEP accommodations will always be followed.
Our classroom includes a designated space where students can calm down, regulate their emotions, and prepare to return to learning. This area is a support—not a punishment.
Before leaving, students should clean their area, complete the dismissal checklist, gather their belongings, and wait until they are dismissed by a staff member.
Grades are based on each student’s instructional level and individual accommodations. Students will be graded on participation, effort, assignment completion, accuracy, independence, work samples, assessments, digital curriculum activities, and progress toward classroom skills.
Our general classroom grading system will be:
50% Participation and Classroom Engagement
50% Assignments and Assessments
Assignments and assessments may be adapted, shortened, retaught, or completed in a different format based on student needs. Students will be given the appropriate support and opportunities to demonstrate what they know.
Routine nightly homework will be limited. Most work will be completed during the school day with classroom support.
Our classroom focuses on positive reinforcement. Students will be recognized for making safe choices, following directions, participating, completing assignments, helping others, and working toward their individual goals.
Positive reinforcement may include:
Verbal praise and encouragement
Classroom money and paychecks
Preferred classroom activities
Leadership opportunities
Classroom privileges
Positive communication with families
Individual rewards based on student needs and interests
When a student needs additional support, staff may use reminders, visual prompts, redirection, reteaching, regulation breaks, and logical consequences. The goal is to help the student understand the expectation, regulate, and successfully return to learning.
Students will have opportunities to hold classroom jobs that build responsibility, independence, teamwork, and career-readiness skills.
Possible classroom jobs may include:
Materials Manager
Technology Helper
Folder Assistant
Classroom Setup Helper
Laundry or Life-Skills Helper
Recycling Helper
Sanitation and Cleanup Helper
Jobs may be rotated so students can practice different responsibilities and learn a variety of workplace skills.
Students may earn weekly classroom paychecks for completing their jobs, following expectations, demonstrating positive behavior, and working toward individual goals. These paychecks are classroom money only and have no real monetary value.
Students will keep track of their earnings in individual classroom bank books. Classroom money may be saved and used for approved rewards, privileges, preferred activities, or items from our future classroom store.
Every student will have an opportunity to earn rewards. Goals and expectations may be individualized so that each student can experience success based on their abilities and needs. Students will be rewarded for their own progress rather than compared with other students.
This system is designed to teach:
Responsibility
Goal-setting
Saving and spending
Decision-making
Appropriate workplace behavior
The connection between effort and earning
Pride in completing a job
The purpose of this system is to encourage positive choices, celebrate student growth, and help students develop skills that can support greater independence and future employment.