Renay has been dealing with some personal issues since the school year began. While personal issues like a funeral, medical needs, or even jury duty happen to us all professionally, helping students to navigate the challenges of staff potentially being out due to death, pregnancy, or other reasons is taxing on the remaining staff and the students.
Nobody wants to be out when they work with students. Having made subnotes, there are a few ways notes can go. Renay, by habit, is overtly wordy. Details about student/teacher/adult relationships, expectations in a classroom with a given teacher, and when breaks are typically. Also important: including the expected schedules and a separate section just about emergency responses within the campus.
Nobody wants to be out when they work with students.
To be honest, Renay has basically assumed none of her substitutes have ever read anything she has provided. It was not about not having time, in many cases, as a substitute paraeducator, there was not a lot of time to read and understand how a student might perceive information or participate in class. But it was also about having a system in place where a substitute could understand where boundaries existed and why the boundaries existed. It was about giving the student the opportunity for autonomy in a classroom where they feel comfortable.
Things to consider in your subnotes:
- Student likes/dislikes
- Student behavior plans
- Student health plans
- Your schedule, including official breaks
- A campus emergency response protocol
- Teacher likes/dislikes
- Ways to connect with students (especially important for longer substitute positions)
Renay relies on more information than less. Part of that means that someone else can come in and try the task without her there. However, some students are very complex, and knowing the information can help the paraeducator establish a pathway to make informed decisions before calling over a teacher or the special education teacher.
Sub notes can make or break a temporary relationship for everyone involved. School is about cultivating relationships, and it is challenging to form short-term relationships when students rely heavily on consistency.
On the other hand, it is just as important for students with disabilities to understand that other people are in their life for the same purpose. They might not have the best communication understanding or even the most grace for someone new or novel. But working with new people and new patterns is as important as having consistency.
Whispers In the Wind
While Renay is not presenting, Renay is returning to the road for some upcoming conferences. We will share when Renay returns from the conference. But most importantly, at the conference, Renay will be rejoining some of the most familiar names to ParaEducate.
Returning to More Posts
Renay had wanted to return to the weekly connection during the academic school year, and while her family needs her, the posts will be temporarily less than she had originally anticipated.
A different moment in time
Renay was outside her classroom on a Friday, pulling in some materials used outside, when she spotted a western fence lizard climbing her classroom walls. She paused, admiring its acrobatics for a moment. One of her staff has put in a request for a class pet. While Renay would never consider a wild animal, there is also the consideration of how often this class pet would also be considered a class snack. Fortunately for the lizard in question, it is too small to be a class pet.
Upcoming fieldtrips are a much more reliable way for the class to interact with animals.
The footnote
If you missed the interesting fact from Renay, she is the godparent to eighteen boys and two girls, aged from 27 to 8. Most of the children are friends she went to high school with. Renay has been there for the kids for years: sports, scouting, assorted fieldtrips as a fill-in adult, religious activities, and major life events. Unfortunately for three of those godchildren, Renay is helping them through a major life event now. It goes without saying, Renay’s priorities are in the right place.
Do you have any comments about this month’s blog? Do you have a question for us? Would you like to have an opportunity to pilot some materials at your campus? Find ParaEducate online here, here, here, and on our website. ParaEducate is a company providing materials, information, and strategies for people working in special education inclusion settings for grades K-12. ParaEducate, the blog, is published once a month during the academic school year. ParaEducate shares their findings at conferences, through their books, and through their academic adaptations.
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