Understanding and complying with requirements is essential for the special education process, especially in the guidelines and procedures that are laid out. As a school community member, I plan to comply with requirements by always collecting data on my student’s weaknesses and strengths. Additionally, I intend to comply with the guidelines by understanding the IPE process and collaborating with special education teachers for better student outcomes. Team members need to understand their roles and ensure they partner with them to analyze students’ follow-ups in class and provide them with feedback regularly. Furthermore, collaboration with the teachers is critical as most of them have a chance to share the same students; hence, the input will be essential to help deal with each student. Working with the other team members before reviewing the IEP processes will be beneficial to guarantee that everyone understands their roles.
As a school community member, it is my role to represent honesty and trust. Ensuring the confidentiality of information about the students is essential to instill assurance in parents and guardians. I will promote confidentiality by using technologies such as a vault to keep the IPE files safe. I shall guarantee that all students’ personal information is secure and not distributed to others without the parents’ or guardians’ consent. The data will not be shared with other members who do not work with the child. Clear communication with the parents will be enhanced and make them understand that the information concerning their children is private and not discussed outside other contexts that do not pertain to educational needs. I will communicate with the parents and let them know they can trust me with the confidentiality of all documents, records and reports obtained. Additionally, locking my desk at all times will help ensure other people cannot assess the hard copies. Keeping records and information on these children safe is a federal and state law. Consequently, I intend to educate the parents and guardians concerning their legal rights.
Guardians and parents of the students are significant members of the IEP team; hence, their involvement is substantial. Parents need to be reminded of how important it is to attend the IEP meetings. I intend to share all important information concerning the students’ social life, mental health, and academics with the parents. Cooperation with parents will be enhanced by sharing ideas through videos on the school website. The use of social media at our school will help connect with parents to make conversations based on the student’s improvement and development. Home visits and family nights will be offered to give the parents and students time to spend together and exchange more meaningful information. I will remind the parents that they are the best reference for their children in terms of development and behavioral aspects; hence, they should get involved in helping their children succeed. I plan to document the efforts needed to involve the students and parents in the process by noting them down. In addition, include the steps to be taken in the process and write down the expectations and the goals that need to be reached.
The general and special education tutors have differentiated professional roles. The special education teacher focuses on children with disabilities, while the general education teacher focuses on all students. There are particular subjects that the general education teacher teaches to meet the student’s needs in an entire class. The special education teacher has a role in fulfilling the learning objectives of students with disabilities instead of the whole class. Special education teachers work one-on-one with the students and collect IEP data. The IEP meetings are important for special education trainers because it foster the need to focus on individual learning requirements. General education tutors are limited to attending the meetings as they might not teach a certain child with a disability. My frame of reference on the roles of educators in the special education process has remained the same, as I have always known how hard it is to create an IEP.
Enhancing effective cooperation among the general and special education teachers supports learning objectives and can be enhanced by approaches that promote co-teaching. First, both teachers need to sit down and discuss strategies that are working in those that are not working for the various students. Then, the teachers can co-teach in the same classroom and plan lessons together. Next, the special education trainer should make the lesson plan available to the general education tutor to allow effective preparation to meet the needs of students with disabilities. Finally, both teachers should work together to make adjustments to the lessons. Co-teaching will be a good strategy as the special education teacher can teach one-on-one as the general teacher executes their lesson plan. By following this strategy, all students’ needs will be considered.
In the future, I intend to streamline the data collection process by understanding the weaknesses and strengths of all my students. I will be involved in observing and monitoring the progress of all learners in the class each day. The standardized test and the reading transcripts will be evaluated promptly. Working one-on-one with the learners and comparing their progress will assist in checking for improvements and their areas of constraints. I must remember the significance of data collection in assessing each student’s need to become a better teacher.