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About this exemplar
This section highlights the work of a special education teacher in the Chicago Area. They serve students in kindergarten - second grade and is the case manager for 8 students with disabilities. This candidate teaches all core subjects and also serves as Case Manager for the school. Their school's student population is 89.1% Hispanic/Latino and 7% Black; 43.3% of students have limited English.
SPED_ Access rubric markup and commentary.pdfIntroduction
Introduction
As the proud teacher of a special education classroom comprised completely of students of color from diverse, cultural, and linguistic backgrounds, I want nothing more than to give my students access to opportunities that they never even knew were possible. Because providing students to access opportunities is a critical responsibility in my role as an educator, I need to find as many ways to expose my students, and their families, to programs and resources that they would not otherwise have had. To bring access to my students, I chose two opportunities that will expose my students to resources that will open doors for them now, and in their futures. In my first access opportunity, my students will attend a field trip to our local Chicago Public Library branch, where they will learn how to access not only a plethora of books and other media, but they, along with their families, can benefit from the countless resources that local libraries provide to families in Chicago, free of cost. My second access opportunity hones in on the access of students in special education to opportunities that their non-disabled peers have through a book buddies program with a general education classroom. This second opportunity is going to teach my students how to make connections with their peers, which is a skill that will transfer to countless opportunities in their education and beyond. Beyond the access opportunities I have provided for my students, I also strongly believe that parents also need access to the necessary resources that make them partners in their children's learning. I believe that a child's education is a global effort between classroom teachers, additional school staff, families, and the greater community the school is within. Because of this, it's crucial that families are not simply made aware of these opportunities, but brought in as partners in these access opportunities. It is also critical that families have their own opportunity to gain access to resources that go beyond traditional parent-teacher communication. In order to achieve this, I have implemented a monthly Virtual Family Support Network based on the needs and interests my student's parents identified at the beginning of the year. Each of these access opportunities opens doors not only for my students but also for the families that love and support them.
Access Opportunity #1 Introduction: Chicago Public Library Field Trip
Access Opportunity #1 Introduction: Chicago Public Library Field Trip
At the very beginning of each school year, I introduce my students to our small classroom as well as the school library, which has become disorganized, outdated, and gets little use throughout the school year. We have a brief discussion about different ways we can read books, how to pick out books that interest us, and where to find them. We review how to treat books and practice executive functioning skills by working together to keep our library organized and clean. Yet this year, with a new class of students who have spent the majority, if not all of, their years in school thus far learning in a remote or hybrid model. I realized, my students don't know what a library is, especially not one with physical books.
This led me to a greater realization. My students, who have no access to a library at school, do not know how a real library looks or works. When initially asking my students if they've ever been to the library, one student even said that she has been in a library and then continued to explain that it's one of the rooms in the Roblox video game. As teachers, we strive to foster a passion for reading and inquiry that can only be found in the pages of a book, yet tight budgets and computer-based learning have taken away their access to a resource that would bring access to books, and much more, to all families at no cost. By taking my students on a field trip to our local library branch, I'm opening a door for my students, and their families, to take advantage of a wide array of free resources.
The School Library at our Elementary School
Identifying the Need
Identifying the Need
At the beginning of September 2022, Roberto Clemente High School in Chicago, the high school for servicing students who live in my own neighborhood, won a contest for an impressive $150,000 library renovation grant. Upon reading articles about this amazing opportunity for the students at Clemente, I also read some harsh truths. The greatest of which is that in the 500+ schools (non-charter) that make up Chicago Public Schools, there are roughly 90 full-time librarians. In my own experience, in the district, I've never worked in a school that has a functional library where students can check out books, let alone a librarian. After seeing how my own students struggled to interact with books within our classroom library, it was clear that I needed to find a way to expose my students and their families to a library so they could learn about the endless resources available for free at a public library, just minutes away from our school campus. In order to make this a reality, I had to follow three main steps. First, I needed to research the logistics of taking a walking field trip to our library as well as connect with the local branch to find out what kinds of resources were available to me and my students to explore the library on our field trip. Next, I needed to begin prepping my students for our trip by teaching them the basics about public libraries and how they work so that when we finally were able to go to the library, my students had some background knowledge to bring with them. Finally, I needed to follow our trip up with student feedback and find ways to incorporate this new opportunity into our classroom moving forward.
Conducting Research
Conducting Research
I relied heavily on the information from the Chicago Public Library's website to research this opportunity. Since we'd be going to our local Logan Square branch, I needed to find out the hours of that particular branch as they vary between locations. I also needed to reach out to a librarian to find out if and how they accommodate students who are visiting with their schools and not their families. Given the age of my students, I also needed to figure out how they could check out books as children under 14. I found that in order for my students to get juvenile library cards, I'd need to support their parents in completing applications for them as children under 14 can get a juvenile card as long as their parents sign the application for them. Parents were able to complete an online form for their child's library card which could be completed in English or Spanish.
Another area I had to research was the logistics of taking a walking field trip, something I've never done in the past. I had to collaborate with my administration to get approval for the trip (below). Also, because of the IEP accommodations and modifications, some of my students have for field trips, I also had to be sure that I had approval for of my paraprofessionals and support staff to accompany the class on the trip. Once the trip was approved by my principal, I was able to begin planning the trip with students and families.
Event Planning
Event Planning
First, I wanted to inform parents of this access opportunity and provide them with the permission slips and library card Applications. I sent parents a letter informing them of our field trip along with the school's field trip permission slip and included information about applying for library cards and included the links to complete the application online as well as an attached physical application for parents who do not have easy access to a computer. I made sure to make this information accessible to all families and utilized Google Translate to send all documents in English and Spanish.
I also needed to consider a unique need for my class, and that included reviewing IEPs for field trip-specific accommodations and modifications. Many of my students require specific adult-to-student ratios on field trips or even paraprofessional support. In order to make sure the individual needs of each student were met, I'd have to create specific criteria for the number of adults who would need to accompany our group on this trip. The image above shows student-specific accommodations and modifications for field trips that were taken into consideration during the planning process. I am fortunate to have the support of three other adults in my class so with a total of four adults and seven students who went on the trip, there was one student who had his one-on-one paraprofessional with him and the remaining students were assigned to the remaining three adults in pairs.
To prepare my students for this trip, I chose the book Library Lion for our read-aloud book and activities the week of the field trip. In using this book, I was able to work on grade-level standards and IEP goals for comprehension while also focusing on a text that discusses library terminology and expectations. This lesson took two days to complete and had students focus on character traits as well as apply what they learned about library rules from the story.
Lesson Plan_Library Lion.pdfLibrary Lion Lesson Plan
IEP Field Trip Accommodations and Modifications (see below)
Pre-Trip Planning & Activating Prior Knowledge
Pre-Trip Planning & Activating Prior Knowledge
Prior to our trip, I wanted to be sure to spend time finding out what my students knew about libraries and what they hoped to gain from our trip. On the first day of the Library Lion lesson, I had students begin by working independently to identify one thing they knew about libraries followed by one thing they wanted to know about the library before our trip. Next, students shared their individual work with the group and we compiled our information in a class KWL chart. Doing this allowed students to activate their prior knowledge about libraries before the trip. Next, I read Library Lion aloud in English, and my Spanish-speaking paraprofessional re-read the book in Spanish. As we read, we discussed the character traits of each main character and how they connected to being helpful in the library. To reinforce this skill, I had students complete a character sort. Working with students with disabilities, I had two levels of this activity. Level one focused on Lion's traits that made him helpful in the library which I gave to my younger students and students with moderate disabilities. Level two focused on the character traits of three characters and what was learned by each. I gave this to my older students and students with mild disabilities.
The second activity the students completed after we read Library Lion, was a worksheet called "When I go the library..." where they had to write about how they were going to use what they learned from the Library Lion during our field trip, activating their prior knowledge from our Library Lion lesson. Students worked in small groups on this and my students with greater academic or language needs worked with the paraprofessionals who helped scribe their responses per the accommodations and modifications in their IEPs.
Students completed a KWL chart before reading the book to activate prior knowledge.
A 1st-grade student completing her "When I go to the library..." worksheet with additional writing supports.
Sample of a worksheet completed by a 1st-grade student who has accommodations for a scribe in all subject areas.
Sample of a worksheet completed by a 2nd-grade student.
Sample of a worksheet completed by a student in Kindergarten who receives native language support from a paraprofessional.
Building Excitement with Families
Building Excitement with Families
The week before our field trip, I sent a follow-up letter to families to remind them of the trip, let them know what we'd be doing in class in preparation for our trip, and provide an information sheet to parents with an agenda and contact information for all of the staff members chaperoning the trip in case of emergencies. I also used this as an opportunity to reshare information about applying for library cards and attach hard copies of the application as well.
I also shared my email and school phone number with parents to reach out with any questions before we took the trip.
Event & Lesson Artifacts
Event & Lesson Artifacts
On the day of the field trip, we had a morning meeting and talked about expectations of the library, thinking about how Lion acted in Library Lion. We did a 20-minute mini-lesson where students completed a Venn diagram where they compared and contrasted how they would act at the library in comparison to Lion in the book. Then, we got into our groups, left the school, and walked 15 minutes to the Logan Square Chicago Public Library Branch.
Upon arrival, we met with our librarian, Ms. Romero. Ms. Romero gave students a tour of the library, explaining all of the resources it had to offer. She took the students to the children's section where she did a read-aloud of the book Dragons Love Tacos. Next, she explained to students how check-out worked. Although only two parents completed the applications for the library cards prior to the trip, many students were excited to go home and encourage their parents to get them a library card. Students then had 45 minutes to look at books with one another before it was time to walk back to school.
Students working on their Venn diagrams before we left for the trip.
Venn diagrams completed by Kindergarten (top), 1st-grade (middle), and 2nd-grade (bottom) students before the field trip.
The entrance to the Logan Square Branch of the Chicago Public Library.
Pictures of my students and paraprofessionals exploring, reading, and learning about the Chicago Public Library on the day of our field trip
Follow-up & Enrichment
Follow-up & Enrichment
When students returned to the classroom from lunch in the afternoon, we then had a brief class meeting round-robin style to give all students equal opportunities to talk about the trip. We referenced the Venn-Diagrams we did in the morning and discussed how we acted like Lion at the library and drew similarities. Students also shared what they learned from our field trip which we added to the final column of our KWL chart. I took this as an opportunity to discuss if we learned about the things we wanted to and if there were any new understanding about libraries or even new questions now that we had been to the library together.
Students discussed what they learned on the field trip and we completed our KWL chart.
Student Reflections & Extension Activities
Student Reflections & Extension Activities
Reflection by a 1st-grade student (with support of a scribe) who shared that she learned the important rules of the library.
To give students an opportunity to reflect individually on what they had learned, I had them complete a worksheet where they wrote where we took our field trip and used writing and illustrations to share the most important thing that they learned on their trip to make the reflection accessible for students with disabilities working at different levels. From this, I want to reinforce what students learned on the field trip to the library so that they now have the knowledge necessary to access the phenomenal resources at our local library. Once students completed their individual worksheets, they shared them out loud with their peers.
The excitement my students had about exploring new books got me thinking about how I could expand this access opportunity into another, our book buddies program. At our next book buddies meeting, I had my students share their library experience with their book buddies and talk about how they could use what they know about going to the library in our classroom library during book buddies.
Reflection by a Kindergarten student talking about how she learned how to check out books.
Reflection by a 2nd-grade student showing our walk to the library sharing the importance of reading books.
Family Connections
Family Connections
After the trip, I shared a brief description of the trip in the monthly newsletter I send out. Since I want to encourage families to get library cards and utilize their local libraries, I've added a new section to my newsletters in hopes that this experience will continue to open doors for students and their families. Each month I am now designating a "Book of the Month" for families to seek out at our local library. When students show they've done this by adding it to their reading log, they can earn a bonus sticker on their homework chart.
Conclusion & Reflection
Conclusion & Reflection
Through this experience, my students were able to learn about and experience their local library which will open doors for them as a lifelong resource for books and so much more. Through the activities we completed before, during, and after our field trip, I can see evidence of my student's excitement as they experienced something new. In their reflections, many students said that their favorite part of our field trip was getting to read books. This showed me how the library gave them access to more reading materials than most of them have ever seen before. As a transformational teacher, I know the importance of having access to a variety of books to build literacy competence and a passion for reading, and this access opportunity will be something I repeat with future classes so they are able to access all of the amazing resources at the public library. In planning for future trips, I would like to increase parent involvement by getting approval for parents to come along on the trip in hopes that the number of families who get library cards, or sign their children up for juvenile library cards, will increase, further enhancing the impact of this access opportunity.
Access Opportunity #2: Book Buddies
Access Opportunity #2: Book Buddies
Introduction
Introduction
As a special education resource teacher, I strive for my students to have access to all of the same experiences as their non-disabled peers at school. This access opportunity gives my students a chance to engage with other classrooms like their non-disabled peers through a bi-weekly book buddies program. By exposing my students to a new class, they will have the opportunity to forge new relationships and learn the necessary skills that come from making connections with others.
To extend this access opportunity to families, I introduced this access opportunity and asked parents to help their children to complete reading interest surveys which would allow them to see their child's interests in reading which could then be used at home. I then chose to include the student book reports in my monthly newsletter so that families can not only see what their children are doing during book buddies but also share ideas of books that they could enjoy with their children at home. Doing this helps open doors to families by sharing diverse texts that families may not know about.
Students preparing for our first book buddies meeting in Spanish with a paraprofessional.
Identifying the Need
Identifying the Need
I frequently see general education classrooms combining to work together to offer their students opportunities to either receive support from older students or act as leaders for those in earlier grades. Because my students are often receiving their special education services in a separate classroom with me during those times, they miss out on the same opportunities their general education peers have. By establishing a book buddies program with a 4th-grade general education classroom, my students will have access to grade-level texts with the support of other students, not adults. This is incredibly important not only to allow my students the same opportunities at school as their non-disabled peers, but this opportunity will also teach my students how to build positive relationships with others both in and out of school. To do this, I first needed to research the best way to implement a book buddies program that is mutually beneficial to all students participating. Next, I needed to collaborate with the general education teacher to find out when to do this and to structure it in a way that helped all of our students benefit. Finally, I needed to find ways to connect our time without book buddies to the learning in our own classroom as well as find ways to involve families along the way.
Conducting Research
Conducting Research
My inspiration for this access opportunity actually came from within my own school. For years I've seen one of the Kindergarten classes do a book buddies program with a 3rd-grade class and anytime I have seen that program in action, the students are engaged in reading and building relationships with students in another class. These teachers would incorporate this into their literacy blocks which made me wonder, what about students with disabilities that are not with the general education class at this time?
From here, I decided to look into ways that my students with disabilities could participate in their own book buddies program. I found countless resources that highlighted key components of successful book-buddy programs including a primary grade lesson plan from Read, Think, Write, and a list of effective book buddies strategies from The Reading Roundup. In my research, I found several commonalities between successfully run programs. First, was teacher consistency and collaboration. To be successful, teachers needed to first establish a set time to meet as well as agree on expectations for students. The second was intentionality in pairing/grouping students with one another. Especially given the needs of my students, it was important that students were working in groups where they were working with peers who could act as role models. There was also an emphasis on implementing icebreakers to allow students the chance to build relationships outside of reading time. Finally, successful book buddies took the time to discuss their books. Given the needs of my students with disabilities, I decided that I would provide a discussion activity to each group as an accommodation for my students to help them engage in meaningful discussions about their books.
The email exchange between my colleague and I establishing the book buddies program.
Roll and Chat game my colleague and I used to support student led discussions during book buddies time.
Event Planning
Event Planning
To begin planning this access opportunity, I needed to first collaborate with a colleague who wanted to engage in this experience with my class. I emailed a 4th-grade colleague of mine who I work with regularly and who has a great group of students who I knew would be perfect for this project. I emailed her to see if she was interested in beginning a book buddies program and she was more than enthusiastic.
Since she and I have a share planning period each day, we decided via email that we would use our planning period to meet and plan out our book buddies program. Fortunately, we shared a literacy block in the morning which meant that we would both be able to incorporate book buddies into language arts. We chose to meet every other week on Friday for 30 minutes to give our students consistent opportunities to meet. We put together a lesson plan for our book buddies time which laid out the activities for each meeting including introduction icebreakers. We discussed the expectations for the time and also grouped the students based on academic and behavioral needs. Since her class is much larger than mine, we put students in small groups of 3-4 students.
I shared my concerns about my students with disabilities struggling to discuss the texts without support so we found a reading comprehension game called "Roll and Chat" to use as a support for my students with disabilities, as well as her students who need additional scaffolding to ask and answer questions. In this game, students roll a die and have to answer the question that corresponds with the number rolled. We found that this tool was a fun way to support students reading comprehension needs. We also decided to extend this opportunity for our students by having them complete a book review of what they read, but decided to make this an individual activity for students to complete once book buddies were over as the depth of the book reviews would vary greatly because of the differences in age and academic need. Finally, we put together a lesson plan for book buddies which laid out an introductory icebreaker, student groups, a daily agenda, and the accommodations we planned.
Because of the gap in age and abilities between my students and their book buddies I wanted to prepare them for the icebreakers that we would be doing with our book buddies. Since we chose to meet every other Friday, Monday through Thursday leading up to our first meeting with our book buddies, I spent a few minutes of our morning meeting practicing icebreaker activities similar to those we had planned with our book buddies. I wanted my students to feel confident in sharing their own ideas and opinions during the lessons.
I also wanted to prepare my students for the discussions they would be having with their peers. In order to do this, and to help provide extra guidance for my students with disabilities during our time with our book buddies, we practiced the "Roll and Chat" game with the books we read during Leveled Literacy Intervention. Doing this prepared my students to discuss books with their book buddies, and gave them a familiar tool to use as an accommodation in the general education setting.
Finally, we had a class meeting to talk about how we could be respectful guests in the 4th grader's classroom. I had students activate their prior knowledge and we made of list of ways we would be respectful in the 4th-grade room. Students were able to utilize the skills for learning they had been learning through Second Step and apply this information to how they would be good learners during book buddies and we added them to an anchor chart that we brought to our book buddies' classroom during our first trip and continue to review each time we meet.
Book Buddies reading expectations anchor chart.
Students in my class practicing the Roll and Chat game . They had adult support reading the texts that were above their instructional levels.
Building Excitement with Families
Building Excitement with Families
Prior to starting with our book buddies, my colleague and I sent home a parent letter, in English and Spanish, introducing our new book buddies program to families.
To help parents engage their children in this activity at home, I sent home a Reading Interest Survey along with the parent letter for parents to complete with their child and send back to school. In completing this activity with their child, parents get to sit down and learn about what their child's reading interests are and how their child feels about reading which they can then apply to when they read at home. I also gain useful insight with this survey into knowing more about how my students feel about reading, what book topics I can make available to them, and who they share interests with so I can pair them with students who share similar interests.
Student A Reading Interest Survey
Survey B Reading Interest Survey
Survey C Reading Interest Survey
My students playing an icebreaker game with our book buddies.
Event & Lesson Artifacts
Event & Lesson Artifacts
During the first time we met, students were placed in their assigned groups of three. As an icebreaker, students played a game called draw it. We chose this game because it was most accessible to students who were at different levels. To play, I would call out a category (i.e. T.V. shows, movies, songs, etc.), then each student in the group had 60 seconds to draw their favorite item from that category while their teammates guessed.
Once the icebreaker was complete, we reviewed the expectations for book buddy times. Students then had 20 minutes to read their chosen book together and discuss what they read. Each group received a "Roll and Chat" game to use if needed. This helped keep discussions between my students with disabilities and their non-disabled peers meaningful while still providing accommodations to meet students' needs. Students were also given their book review worksheets at this time so they could write down the title and author of the book they chose before completing the remainder of the activity independently.
Student A (top) reading with her 4th-grade buddies.
Student B (bottom) reading with her 4th-grade buddies.
Follow-up & Enrichment
Follow-up & Enrichment
Level Two Book Review completed by a 2nd grade student with support of a writing resource notebook.
Level one book review completed by a 2nd grade student independently.
Once book buddy time was complete, we returned back to our classroom where students completed an individual book review for the book they read. I chose to make this an independent assignment to reinforce reading comprehension. By reading with book buddies in an upper grade, my students had access to more challenging, grade-level texts because they had support from their book buddies. Our book buddies helped read the books to my students with disabilities, many of whom struggle with reading accuracy and fluency. Many of my students are able to utilize their reading comprehension skills when a grade-level text is read aloud, and this is an area where they can be very confident. By doing this in the general education classroom, they have academic access as well as access to instruction with their non-disabled peers.
To differentiate the follow-up activity, I had two levels of book review worksheets and Spanish-speaking paraprofessionals who provided native language support to ELLs. Level one was simpler and students filled in blanks and used pictures to re-tell the story. Level two required students to summarize the text and share their opinion with lengthier written responses. Since students completed the book review that was appropriate for their grade and academic level, students shared their own reviews at their tables with their classmates. Through completing book reviews, my students with disabilities are also working on their IEP goals for reading comprehension.
It is evident from the writing samples below that students were able to make connections between the informational texts we read and our field trip in order to complete the lesson's prompt. Students successfully created a sentence and drawing that displayed weather they learned about. Students used evidence from our field trip to support their thinking.
Picture of a 1st grade student, who is an ELL, completing his level one book review (above). His paraprofessional provided native language support as he completed his review (right).
Book buddies extension graphic organizer completed by a 2nd-grade students independently.
Student Reflections & Extension Activities
Student Reflections & Extension Activities
Since the book buddies program has been such a successful access opportunity for my students with disabilities, I thought that its power could be extended if my students applied their experiences and wrote instructions for my future classes on how to be a good book buddy. I created a graphic organizer that asks the question, "What makes a good book buddy?" Students then had to activate their prior knowledge and experience to complete the sentence stems, "A good book buddy is...", "A good book buddy says...", "A good book buddy does...", and "A good book buddy isn't...". Students are reflecting on their own experiences and identifying how to collaborate effectively with peers through making recommendations to my future students. These are skills that will transcend beyond the classroom and into various aspects of their academic and personal futures.
Book buddies extension graphic organizer completed by a Kindergarten student (ELL).
Book buddies extension graphic organizer completed by a 1st-grade student with adult support.
Book buddies extension graphic organizer completed by a 2nd-grade student with adult support.
Family Connections
Family Connections
After our first meeting with our book buddies, I wrote about the experience in the next monthly newsletter. I also decided to include a different student book review in each monthly newsletter I send to parents. This allows parents to see the work their children are completing as a part of this access opportunity, and it also acts as a great suggestion for books that families could read at home, potentially with the help of a library card which they obtained through my other access opportunity, the library field trip. Now, my monthly newsletters connect parents to both access opportunities which I hope will only continue to build the connection between the classroom and home as well as provide continuous strategies on how to build literacy skills at home as well as where to find the resources to do so.
I also included a list of books for Kindergarten- 2nd graders that are recommended by Second Step to support social-emotional learning at home. The list was only in English so I used Google Translate to translate the document into Spanish. Doing this not only provides parents recommendations of books they can read with their children at home but also connects this access opportunity to our social-emotional learning curriculum, Second Step, which is part of my culturally responsive teaching methods.
SS Book List K-2.pdfSS Book List K-2_Spanish.pdfList of Second Step books for Kindergarten- 2nd-grade in English (left) and Spanish (right)
Conclusion & Reflection
Conclusion & Reflection
As a transformative teacher who works with students with disabilities, I find a unique significance in providing my students with the same opportunities as their non-disabled peers and promoting learning in an inclusive setting. My students love this program and look forward to doing it every other week. Their 4th-grade buddies are supportive and encouraging and the relationships between all of the students are evidence of exactly how important it is for students with disabilities to have access to learning opportunities with their non-disabled peers. The connections that have formed between my students and their 4th-grade book buddies open doors for them academically through reading and discussing books with their peers as well as socially. These academic and social skills will continue to pave the way for students with disabilities to have the confidence to engage and connect with others both in and out of the classroom. Because this access opportunity was such a success, I'd like to find additional ways to collaborate with general education teachers and bring our students together to build more connections and open more doors. Not only will I continue doing the book buddies program to provide access opportunities to my students with disabilities, but I'd like to make it a weekly program in the future because of how significantly it's built confidence which my student's express both in and out of the classroom.
Access Opportunity #3 Introduction: Family Engagement Beyond Traditional Interactions
Access Opportunity #3 Introduction: Family Engagement Beyond Traditional Interactions
Transformational educators know that family involvement yields positive outcomes, not only in regard to academic achievement but also reduces disciplinary issues and leads to stronger parent-teacher relationships, which leads to an overall stronger school community. Educators play a pivotal role in building and maintaining these relationships. In special education specifically, parents are part of their child's learning team, but family engagement helps turn this into a true partnership between families and schools to meet the needs of all students, not just those with disabilities. In doing go so, the whole school community benefits, and student achievement is optimized.
Transformational educators also realize the challenges many families face on a daily basis and find ways to support families by providing resources and opportunities that are equitable. To combat these challenges educators must understand the challenges families face in getting involved with the school community such as time restraints because of work and other responsibilities, the need for childcare, or even previously strained relationships with school and staff members.
In order to overcome these challenges, one must begin by laying the groundwork for family engagement. The best way to do this is to regularly communicate with families and build relationships that give parents a voice in their child's learning and in the actions of the school. I began this process with my student's families by sending letters, a monthly newsletter, and getting to know parents through surveys at the beginning of the year. These steps build the relationship needed to bring families into the school community and equal contributors to their children's education. Doing this with fidelity ensures that families truly become an integral part of the school community.
In the wake of remote and hybrid learning models utilized during the pandemic, I found that there was a huge shift in the needs of my students with disabilities. The discussions I had with the school counselors and related service providers made me realize there were additional social-emotional needs because of this transition and that the families of students with disabilities would benefit from additional support as we returned to full-time in-person learning this school year. Therefore, I chose to implement a monthly support network as my family engagement project for my third access opportunity to meet this need.
Research & Planning
Research & Planning
On the first day of school, I sent parents a Family Welcome Questionnaire along with my Welcome Letter. I sent this questionnaire in English and Spanish and provided parents with a hard copy as well as a link to complete the questionnaire in Google Forms to make it accessible to all families. The responses to this questionnaire gave me a much deeper understanding of who my students are and what they and their families value and need. A common trait across these surveys was that parents simply want their children to feel safe and supported at school and that they valued communication between home and school. Sending this questionnaire not only laid the foundation of mutual trust and respect between families and me, but it also allowed parents to become a welcomed part of their child's learning experience from day one. Parents want their children to be in a nurturing environment, have concerns about bullying, and want educators to communicate with them regularly.
These responses inspired my third access opportunity, a Virtual Family Support Network that meets every month to discuss a different area of need that parents identified in their beginning-of-the-year Family Welcome Questionnaires. To meet the needs of my student's families based on their questionnaire responses, I identified five topics to focus on at each one of our meetings. The topics were:
August/September: Tips for a Smooth Transition Back to School
October: Social and Emotional Support
November: Personal Physical Safety
December: Mental Health
January: Learning Support At-Home
After determining the topics of my Virtual Family Support Network meetings, I created a flyer for the event which I share with parents via email as well as sent home with students in both English and Spanish. I chose to vary the days of the week and after-school start times for the meetings in hopes of increasing accessibility for busy families. Meetings were also held via Google Meet and parents were provided with the video call link as well as a phone number so they could participate in whichever medium worked best for them.
Implementation of Event
Implementation of Event
So far, I've held three of the five Virtual Family Support Network meetings. For Spanish-speaking parents, one of my paraprofessionals joined the calls to translate the presentation into Spanish. For the first two meetings, I had two parents in attendance by video call or phone. To the left, you'll see the presentations for the first three meetings of the Virtual Support Network along with images of myself and the participants. Since I have a small class, I knew I was not likely to have more than a few parents join each event, however, I was very excited to see new faces at each event.
I started each meeting with a brief introduction of the topic and an introduction of myself with a fun fact or two to continue to build that personal connection with families. I then shared a few slides of content including one slide that addressed how I addressed the topic in the classroom, one slide that shared tips parents could implement at home, and one slide that included additional resources. Next, I opened the meeting up for any questions so that we could all connect and engage in a discussion to incorporate additional strategies or to go more in-depth about any topics shared in the presentation. At the end of the presentation, I shared my contact information so parents knew I was there to support them in our ongoing effort to support their children as a team.
Presentations for the first Virtual Family Support Network meeting.
Image of the Google Meet for the first Virtual Family Support Network meeting.
Presentation for the second Virtual Family Support Network meeting.
Image of the Google Meet for the second Virtual Family Support Network meeting.
Planning for Long-Term Family Engagement
Planning for Long-Term Family Engagement
Long-Term Family Engagement Plan
Long-Term Family Engagement Plan
Families are an irreplaceable component in student success. Because of this, families need to be a part of their child's education from the first day of school through the end of the year. In creating a long-term family engagement plan, I am mapping out consistent opportunities to connect with families throughout the school year outside of the common situations in which teachers and parents communicate such as parent-teacher conferences. It is important that parents have opportunities to be a part of their child's learning, not just watch it happen from the sidelines. In my long-term family engagement plan, I wanted to find ways that families and teachers could come together as partners throughout the year using a variety of activities so that all parents have opportunities to be a part of their child's learning. By planning out these opportunities for families, I am taking the step to intentionally bring families and educators together on a regular basis which will build a stronger home-school connection for students that will increase student achievement and success both in school and outside of school.
Long Term Family Engagement.pdfReflection
Reflection
My long-term engagement plan acts as the blueprint for continuous family involvement. Each activity and/or action listed in the plan has been included with the specific needs of my students and their families in mind. Implementing this plan is critical in building the partnership between the school community and parents. Families who have many opportunities to engage in their child's education are more likely to get involved and truly feel like equal members of their child's educational team, which they are. This plan intends to take parent-teacher communication beyond traditional interactions by providing access to countless resources and opportunities for collaboration.
Through the creation of the Virtual Family Support Network, I have expanded the way I engage with my families beyond what is traditionally considered family engagement. Through the deep understanding of my students and their families that I uncovered in the questionnaire I provided at the beginning of the year, I was able to pinpoint the hopes and expectations my student's families have in their education as well as in their involvement in that education. Continuously building on these relationships has improved student outcomes, provided families with access to their child's learning and resources to support that learning, and improved my actions and planning as a transformational teacher who values families as partners in their children's educational experience.
Conclusion and Reflection: Access
Conclusion and Reflection: Access
As a transformational teacher of students with disabilities, I understand that my role as an educator goes beyond traditional teaching methods that are hyperfocused on academic gains. In taking a step back and looking at the needs of my students and their families, I can see the ways in which factors such as mental and physical ability, race, and socio-economic status impact their ability to have equal access to opportunities. That perspective is why access, or providing my students and their families with the opportunities that will give them access to resources, programs, and connections that will open doors for them both in the classroom and in the real world, is a critical component of my teaching. As I've developed my understanding of access, I have come to realize that my responsibility to provide access opportunities to my students and their families is an ongoing commitment as an educator. Especially working with students with disabilities, my classroom is a place where learning expands beyond traditional lessons to provide my students with knowledge of opportunities that will help them long after they have left my classroom and the skills they need to navigate those opportunities on their own. Providing access opportunities helps my students in the classroom, at home, and within their communities. I also have come to realize how maximizing these access opportunities cannot be done without family involvement. Access opportunities whether intended for student learning or family engagement, are mutually beneficial to both the child and the parent. Since families are an essential component of student achievement and success, engaging families in the classroom, particularly in access opportunities, creates a true partnership between educators and families by giving parents a voice in their child's education.
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