Special Needs Assistants - Thought for the Day 08/26/10 Edit

I have a Special Needs Assistant in my room, so now what?

Before the cheese was moved, special needs assistants arrived at your classroom and had their orders on what to do from the Special Ed Coordinator. The aide would sit next to a student with special needs and direct the student. Maybe, the aide worked with a few special education students. Sound familiar?

New cheese, here are the terms:

Special Needs Coordinator DELETED – no more. Those professional are now Special Education Teachers

Aides, those folks are Instructional Assistants.

All students are under the general education curriculum and are the responsibility of the general education teacher. This is the new cheese and it is the law.

The special education teacher works with the general education teacher to provide Tier 3 or Tier 2 interventions for students in the special needs program. With old cheese, we sometimes said, “Well, that student is one of Mrs. Thomas’s students”. WRONG! With the new cheese, all students are students of the general education teacher.

So, here’s the original question: “what do I do with the Special Needs Instructional Assistant?’. That is not a decision for the special needs teacher; it is a question for the general education teacher. You, the classroom teacher, need to direct the work of the special needs assist. Be creative! You decide! (Remember: duplicating papers and changing bulletin boards are NOT instructional activities J.)

It is your job (general education teacher) to meet the requirements of the IEP since all IEP goals are written in general education standards and objectives. The special needs teacher is a peer collaborator and will help you and the students. The special needs instructional assistant can be a wonderful asset to you and all of the students in your classroom. Direct their work in your classroom so all students achieve. Go be Sniff and Scurry, don’t be Hem and Haw.