Collaboration

Luckily, I have a very good working and personal relationship with all of the regular ed teachers. I feel I am in a good position at times, because for the last 12 years I was on the other side of the SpEd teacher/regular ed teacher table. If I had to name one, a challenge we've had this year is concerning the modification of the SpEd students' assignments. It's sometimes hard to draw the line between what the regular ed teachers are supposed to do, versus what I do, and what the special ed teacher has done in the past. If I have time between pull-outs and teaching my remedial math and grammar class, I usually work on creating modified classwork (for the other classes) for my SpEd students. For example, the students are participating in a "Mapping the World by Heart" program this year. If I know in advance what continent the students will be working on next, I can either simplify or retype the checklist or enlarge a blank map and darken the lines for those who need it. Technically, this is something the general teachers are responsible for because it is their class, but if I have the time, I am of course happy to help. The challenging part for me is that the teachers have grown used to me helping in this area, so I'd feel guilty if I ever backed off. I haven't found yet that I don't have enough time to help modify the work, but next year I will have more SpEd kids at the Middle School than any year in the past.