One of the most effective ways of making people living with different forms of disabilities live a comfortable life is by taking them to special education schools. The government is the primary stakeholder in ensuring that individuals with exceptionalities within the nation are well educated on how to survive. Educational practices majorly aim to enhance the individual’s personal growth and development (Yoro et al., 2020). Proper guidance is required to enable them to live like normal people.
The government has worked together with the relevant stakeholders to ensure that they formulate policies and laws that make special education a success. One of the most significant approaches towards special education is the Individualized Education Programme (IEP). The most critical role of a special education teacher in an Individualized Education Programme includes gathering feedback from other teachers and presenting them to the IEP team, considering current performance levels, and incorporating new goals in areas of weaknesses (Yoro et al., 2020). Another important role is to address all the issues that have been raised in the IEP meetings.
Making an IEP for an individual with special needs is one of the most critical processes to enhance success in the special education sector. Before formulating an Individualized Educational Programme, the team should conduct an appropriate student evaluation for greater understanding (Yoro et al., 2020). Some of the main areas for evaluation include academic performance, health concerns, social and emotional behaviors, and any speech or communicational needs. The team should also ensure that they collaborate with other staff, such as the school psychologist because they have a great relationship with the special needs students.
Parental Involvement
As a member of the Individualized Education Programme team, it is appropriate to have the right legal protocols that will facilitate parent and teacher involvement when working on children with special needs. Working with students with social-emotional needs can be easy when their parents are included in the learning process (Yoro et al., 2020). Another productive way of involving parents is maintaining constant communication with them regarding their children’s grades and attendance. Involving their family members in making critical decisions regarding their child is also another meaningful way of ensuring parental involvement in this approach.
Confidentiality
Confidentiality is one of the essential aspects to ensure success in the special needs education sector. To maintain confidentiality, as a member of the Individualized Education Programme (IEP), I will ensure that all the relevant information regarding a student with special needs within our institution is only shared with the IEP team members (Yoro et al., 2020). Any other individual who does not work directly with the student will not receive any information regarding the student’s condition and personal information. Some of the information hidden from those who do not directly connect with the student includes student names and student identification numbers.
Support to parents/guardians
Some parents of children living with disabilities do not understand various factors regarding their children’s condition. As a member of the Individualized Educational Programme, it is our responsibility to ensure that such parents are supported for the well-being of their children. One way of offering support to such students is by providing them with relevant resources that will enable them to understand their children’s condition properly (Yoro et al., 2020). They can also attend workshops and seminars organized by the IEP team to educate them on various aspects concerning their children’s conditions.
Collaboration with School Psychologist and the Administration
Special needs learning institutions have different school personnel working to ensure that everything runs smoothly. The Individualized Education Programme team members have the mandate to ensure that they work together for the benefit of the students. One of the major ways to undertake to ensure that the IEP team collaborates with the school psychologist and the administration is during the re-evaluation process (Yoro et al., 2020). The school psychologist can also be included during the testing processes to ensure that the team acquires reliable results and engages necessary individuals. The school administrators are majorly involved when there is a need for making complex decisions to decide who to go for a specific need.
Special education resources provided by the District
The relevant staff is provided with productive training with the Individualized Education Programme within the district domain. The District has selected the program, and all the goals and objectives have been outlined together with the implementation processes (Yoro et al., 2020). Other resources and training include STAR Assessment data collection, social and emotional support groups, and reading and math resources. The resources are majorly used to enhance student’s growth and effective monitoring of their progress.
Data collection for IEP Progress Monitoring
Preparing a progress report requires an individual to put appropriate measures to collect the required information from the correct sources. The District has implemented three systematic approaches to enable them to acquire the appropriate data for IEP progress monitoring (Yoro et al., 2020). These resources include Renaissance Star Reading and Math assessment, the Aleks program, and the Reading Plus Programme. The data collected enable special education teachers to develop growth goals for every special need student.
Collaboration between special education and general education teachers
Meeting the needs of special education students and ensuring success in their educational journey is the main objective of special education learning institutions. General education teachers also play a major role in ensuring that students with special needs are helped to achieve their goals while in school and maintaining a productive communication approach with them with help in easing up the process (Yoro et al., 2020). Proper communication includes sharing all the relevant information, such as each student’s accommodations, modifications, and goals.
Reference
Yoro, A. J., Fourie, J. V., & van der Merwe, M. (2020). Learning support strategies for learners with neurodevelopmental disorders: Perspectives of recently qualified teachers. African Journal of Disability, 9. Web.