Mainstreaming Notebooks

I thought I would feature a few of the things I do in my classroom to stay organized and on top of all that paperwork in Special Education over the next couple of weeks.

Each year I make notebooks with information for each of the General Education teachers that my Deaf/Hard of Hearing students mainstream with. My Deaf/Hard of Hearing students are mainstreamed into the General Education classrooms with an educational sign language interpreter whenever possible. I like to give the Gen. Ed. teachers as much information as possible about their incoming student so they know what to expect before school starts.  Usually I do this during the first work day back since I spend way too much time focusing on my classroom set up rather than important paperwork and planning. So I decided to get way ahead of the game and get them completed now. Whew! What a relief to have these done.

What is included in the Confidential Mainstream Notebook?

• Welcome Back letter
• Student CST scores as soon as they are available
• My contact information
• Student Summary form that includes: name, birthdate, disability & secondary disability if applicable, student photo, IEP date (if already scheduled- if not, write the date it's due by), if the student wears hearing aids or uses an FM system, which subjects they will be mainstreamed for, and what additional support services the student receives.  In the boxes, you'll write about the student's strengths and limitations. List any other important information and what accommodations and supports the student requires (taken from their IEP).
• A copy of the IEP at a glance
• Guidelines for Gen. Ed. teachers working with DHH students
• Behavior Support Plan if applicable

When I meet with each of the General Education teachers during those staff work days before school starts I briefly go through the notebook with them. It's helpful for them to have as much information as possible.

 

If you'd like the Student Summary sheet and the guidelines for General Ed. Teachers working with DHH students you can download them here from Google Docs. I also edited the Student Summary sheet so any Special Ed. teacher could use the form. The general Student Summary sheet can be downloaded here from Google Docs.