Hey Special Ed Teacher, *Special Announcement at the end of the episode!* Do you know what to prep your educational aides before the beginning of the school year? What do they need to know before your students step into your classroom? How do you create an inclusive classroom so your staff feels part of the team? Today I’ll be sharing steps to ensure your Paraprofessionals feel like team members of the classroom community. We need to acknowledge their contributions, involve them in...

Hey Special Ed Teacher, In today’s episode, we have special guest Melanie Brethour. Melanie Brethour is a resource teacher from Montreal, Quebec, dedicated to dyslexia awareness and the science of reading. Her commitment was sparked by her son Benjamin's dyslexia diagnosis at age 9. To better support him and her students, she earned Orton-Gillingham associate-level certification and became a CERI structured literacy teacher. Melanie founded Decoding Dyslexia Quebec and Soar With Dyslexia on...

Hey Special Ed Teacher, Already stressed with the new school year coming up? Don’t want to feel overwhelmed with all the things that come with being a special education teacher? In today’s episode, we have special guest Brittany Blackwell, M.Ed. Brittany is an award-winning special educator and teacher burnout & sustainability strategist from South Carolina. With over thirteen years of experience in elementary and middle school classrooms, Brittany has become an expert in addressing...

Hey Sped Teacher, Are you wondering if the way you are teaching your students math is effective? Are you curious what the best way to teach math to your students with special needs is? In this episode, we are diving into how to utilize the Concrete-Representational-Abstract, or CRA, method with your students. I am sharing my top 6 tips for implementing the CRA method effectively. You’ll learn the importance of assessing students, setting your classroom up for success with the CRA method,...

Hey Special ed Teacher, Happy 2nd birthday to the Stepping into Special Education Podcast! I can’t believe it’s been 2 years since the first episode was released. Thank you so much for being part of the show for the past 2 years! Today we are looking back through the second year of the Stepping into Special Education Podcast. I am sharing the top episodes from the past year and giving you an overview of each of the episodes so you can find the ones you want to go back and listen to. Whether...

Hey Special education Teacher, Are you a new special education teacher excited to jump into your very own classroom next year? Have you found yourself hoping you know everything you need to know to be prepared for whatever the year brings? The truth is, whether you are a new teacher or have been teaching for 15 years like me, you will never know everything and you will always be learning something new. I thought it would be so valuable if some of the veteran teachers in our private Facebook...

Hey Sped Teacher, Have you wondered how to ask your administrators for support? Are you looking for tips on how to build a strong relationship with your admin as a special education teacher? I am so excited to have a very special guest on today’s episode! We are joined by my principal, Dr. Patricia Corral, who is sharing some incredible insight on building a great special education teacher - admin relationship and how special ed teachers can work collaboratively with their administration. If...

Hey Special Ed Teacher, We made it to 100 episodes of the Stepping Into Special Education podcast. I cannot believe it! I am beyond excited and so grateful for each and every one of you for tuning in each week! When I started this podcast, I knew I wanted to provide a resource for special educators who were looking for support, tips, and community. I have truly been blown away by the incredible support I have received and the amazing community that has been built around this podcast. I am so...

Hey Special Education Teacher, Are your students finding it difficult to comprehend certain math concepts, despite repeated teaching strategies? Want to learn about evidence-based practices that are proven to help students with learning disabilities excel in math? To be completely honest, teaching math is not one of my strengths. But I know how crucial it is to be able to provide effective direct instruction in math to our students in order to help them learn the math concepts they need to....

Hey Sped Teacher, Are you struggling with behavior strategies for your students with special needs? Have you tried everything you can think of and aren’t sure what to try next? When we are struggling with behavior issues, it can feel like we have to find a solution on our own. But that is absolutely not the truth! We do not need to figure it out alone but we do need to know who to reach out to and where to go for support. In today’s episode, I am sharing my top go-to resources to help with...

Hey Special Education Teacher, We made it to the end of another school year! But before we head into summer and start enjoying our time off, I’m taking some time to look back and reflect on this school year. I have found that taking this time to reflect has really helped me to grow in my career. One thing I love to do at the end of the school year is to think back over the year and appreciate some of the amazing accomplishments my students and I achieved while also acknowledging some areas I...

Hey Special Ed Teacher, You know that having students in the least restrictive environment is the law but have you found yourself wondering what it really means?  If you’re like me, you probably learned about LRE in college but by the time you were in the classroom, you found it hard to remember all the details of the continuum of services. In today’s episode, I am sharing an overview of the ten different levels of supports a student with an eligibility can be placed on so you can be prepared...

Hey Sped Teacher, Have you found yourself scrambling at the end of summer to get everything ready for the new school year? Are you ready to get a head start on the next school year so you don’t end up stressed again? We are all looking forward to resting and relaxing this summer! We definitely deserve it! But I’ve learned my lesson about waiting until the last minute to prepare for next school year. After a few years of waiting until the last minute to get things ready for the new school...

Hey Special Education Teacher, Are you looking to find a better work and home life balance? Are you convinced that staying late and taking work home is just the way it is for teachers? I spent several years staying after school for hours. I had no idea how to turn off work mode and felt like I had to do all the things! A few years down the road, I realized that I was not giving my family the attention they deserved and I needed to figure out how to get my work done at school and prioritize my...

Hey Sped Teacher, Curious about what a veteran special education teacher wishes she knew before beginning her special education teaching journey? Do you wish you had insider knowledge before beginning your own journey as a special ed teacher? I’m sure I am not alone when I say that after getting some experience as a new special education teacher, I found myself thinking about all the things I wished I had known before because I guarantee I am not the only one who felt thrown right into it all...

Hey Special Education Teacher, Feeling the pressure of the last month of the school year? Wondering how to keep students engaged during the last month of the school year? We are entering the final stretch of the school year! But this last month of school always seems challenging. Between all the end of year tasks, maintaining student engagement, meetings, and feeling burnt out, the end of the year can be incredibly overwhelming! The good news is that it doesn’t need to be! In this episode, I...

Hey Sped Teacher, Are you struggling to connect with your gen ed colleagues as a special education teacher? Do you want to collaborate with general ed teachers to better serve your students but aren’t sure where to start? As our students’ case manager, we are to provide our students with the least restrictive environment. This means that we should be working closely with our general ed teachers to ensure our students with an IEP are getting the opportunity to be in their least restrictive...

Hey Special education Teacher, Are you considering making a transition from SDC to RSP, or RSP to SDC? Have you wondered what the differences are between these positions? In my 15 years of experience, I’ve spent 10 years as an SDC teacher before transitioning into my current role as an RSP teacher. I know that knowing and understanding the differences between these roles can be helpful when deciding which position is the best fit for you! So today, I am sharing the 7 biggest differences...

Hey Sped Teacher, Do you have elementary or middle school students transitioning on to their next school? Are you unsure how to prepare for a transitional IEP meeting? When students are moving from an elementary school to a middle school or a middle school to high school, it is crucial to have transitional IEPs to help with facilitating a smooth transition for your students with special needs. These transitional IEPs don’t need to be overwhelming, though! Whether you will be preparing your...

Hey Special Ed Teacher, Are you looking for ways to help your students with special needs manage test anxiety? Do you want your students to be as relaxed and prepared as possible for state testing? We all have students who overthink and stress out before tests. This can come out in a variety of ways including crying, attitudes, dropping to the floor, etc. This can be gut wrenching to see and seeing them look to you with overwhelm in their eyes when the tests begins is even worse! The good...

Hey Special Education Teacher, April is Autism Acceptance Month! Do you have a favorite way to celebrate Autism Acceptance Month?  Working in the education field, there is an extremely high chance that you have already worked with or will work with a student with Autism. That is one reason I feel it is so important to celebrate Autism Acceptance Month. We are striving to be more inclusive and promote education, understanding, and respect for the differences of people with autism. In this...

Hey Sped Teacher, Are you nervous about an upcoming observation? Do you tend to stress yourself out by overdoing it on your observation lesson plans? For many teachers (me included!), pressure and nerves come along with knowing you have an observation coming up. I would try to come up with some new and exciting lesson that covered every aspect of a standard. I was a nervous wreck! After a few years, I realized that I didn’t need to be doing this elaborate prep or creating brand new activities...

Hey Special Ed Teacher, Do you struggle with managing behavior in your special ed classroom? Are you ready to create a better learning environment for your students with disabilities? When I was in my first couple years of teaching, I was so excited about decorating my classroom, getting my students into the classroom, and teaching them all the exciting lessons I had planned. And then the first days of school came and I had students crying, running out the classroom, flipping desks, etc. I...

In this episode, I am breaking down the 6 steps I take to preparing myself and my students for state testing.