Getting Gen Ed teachers involved in IEPs can be really hard…but it doesn’t
(and shouldn’t) have to be!
When you have a cohesive team that just “gets” a student, writing an IEP and meeting with parents is a breeze isn’t it? Everyone sits down ready for a meeting knowing what they need to present, and what issues need to be addressed in the meeting. The student is the focus, and everyone is on board to get an amazing IEP written! Getting gen ed teachers involved in IEPs is crucial to that cohesive team.
Think it is a fantasy? It’s not! You CAN create this awesome experience, but it takes consistent work throughout the year to achieve it.
Special education teachers know getting gen ed teacher involvement in IEPs is crucial to the process. They are a member of the team, and they can and often do provide quality insight into how the student performs in the general education class. But we have all been there…. There’s a general ed teacher who just doesn’t GET it. They are hard to reach, hard to get information and data from, and because of this, the IEP is harder to write and doesn’t fit the student as well as it could and should.
So…what’s a special ed teacher to do?
There is no simple answer to getting gen ed teachers involved in IEPs. But I have created a 6 step process which you can take to create a cohesive IEP team with general ed members who contribute consistently and accurately.
- Build a Relationship
- Establish Value
- Ask for Specifics
- Appreciation
- Cooperation
- Consistency
Build a Relationship
Some people call this “playing politics” but I prefer to think of it as building relationships which help my students….ok, it MAY be partly playing politics…..just a little.
The reality of our jobs as special education teachers is, we NEED the general education teachers on our side. We need their input, their cooperation, and their support. But who would anyone spend extra time out of their busy schedules to help a stranger? Yeah yeah “For the Kids”…but let’s call a spade a shovel here and remember that we are all super busy, and we work harder to help people we know, people we relate to….people we LIKE. So, the first step in building that cohesive team WITH general ed teachers is to build a relationship with each individual gen ed teacher. Don’t have time? I argue you don’t have time NOT to.
Spend some time at the beginning of the year getting to know your teachers. Talk to them, ask them questions (not just sped-related) and let them know some tid-bits about you (again NOT sped related). I’ve seen many times where sped teachers are left out of meetings and parties because they don’t “belong”. Part of this is because no one KNOWS the special ed teachers! You don’t think to invite someone to a party if you don’t know them! So get to know your general ed teachers.
This is NOT a one and done issue. This step is part of every single other step I have outlined below, but I put it first because it is SO much easier to ask teachers for help when you know their first and last names, and a little bit about them. If all you know about a teacher is that they teach Bobby math at 1pm, it’s going to be very difficult to help Bobby be successful in their class. So get out there and introduce yourself!
Establish Value
Are you willing to work for free when you know no one knows or cares what or how much you contribute?
Yeah, I wouldn’t either. But we expect general ed teachers to do this all the time. Don’t we?
We ask gen ed teachers to send data and information to put in an IEP, and sometimes we let them know what we put in, sometimes they get credit, but most of the time, they don’t. The information is there, but did the general ed teacher get to know the value of their contribution?
The reality is, right now, most general education teachers know that an IEP is a very important document which must be followed. But what they don’t know is how valuable their insight can and should be in the writing and implementing of that document.
I have found, after many years of bashing my head against brick walls, that when I let gen ed teachers KNOW how valuable they were to the writing of an IEP and a successful IEP meeting, they gave me exponentially more information the next time I asked.
You see, but letting my teachers know the value of the work they were doing (for free) for me, I validated their knowledge, their expertise, and their unique perspective of the student. Once they understood their value in the process, they were so much more willing to give accurate and valuable input.
How do you establish value?
I used notes, like the one pictured here.
This is part of relationship building, but it is my next step. I get to know my teachers, then I send them a little note letting them know the value I place on their input.
Short by sweet is my motto. I let my busy teachers know I appreciated them, then I gave them the questions I needed answered. Easy as that.
Ask for Specifics
Don’t you hate it when a parent or admin asks you “How is Bobby doing?” In my head, I start running through ALL the things going on with Bobby, from academics, to behavior, to homelife, to emotional turmoil, to what he ate or refused to eat last Tuesday. The question is too broad. It’s ANNOYING!
So, don’t do that to your gen ed teachers!
Ask your gen ed teachers for specific information. I like to send surveys out periodically depending on the student and the services. For example, a survey could be sent out monthly for a student receiving monthly consultation. It could be sent out quarterly to inform your progress reports. But the most important aspect is, I don’t ever ask a general ed teacher to “tell me what’s going on with Bobby”. I pose specific questions which will help me figure out how to help the student.
I have found that asking specific questions helps guide discussions with my general ed coworkers, and helps me to get much more useful information.
Appreciation
So, you’ve started building relationships, you’ve let them know you value them, and asked for their input. Now what? How to I keep my general ed teachers involved in the IEP process?
Time for some of that appreciation all of us are wishing for!
How great does it feel, after a particularly difficult meeting, when a fellow teacher comes over and lets you know that you handled that situation like a pro! Man, I am beaming all the way home!
It doesn’t take much to let a teacher know you appreciate them.
When I get surveys and input returned as requested, I send a quick note, through the school mailbox, a student, or through email, letting my teachers know that I appreciate the time they took to give me what I requested.
Again, I cannot tell you the number of times I have gotten mediocre (at best) input from a teacher, but when I sent a thank you note, I would get more information sent to me which they “forgot to add”. And next time I sent that teacher a survey, I was almost always guaranteed to get helpful information in response.
Why? Because my teachers knew that I valued their input enough to thank them, letting them know that I WAS using their input to guide my actions as a special ed teacher. They want to feel appreciated, just like I do….maybe we aren’t all that different after all.
Starting to see a pattern here? YUP! All of these steps lead right back into creating that relationship with your general ed teachers.
Cooperation
It is so much easier when we don’t have to go it alone isn’t it? Feeling like your girls have got your back is so empowering! But that only comes with strong relationships and cooperation.
One way that I encourage cooperation with my gen ed teachers is to make sure that I read and respond quickly to the comments they make on my surveys.
Above, I explained the need for appreciation, but part of what I do when I send those notes is address concerns or comments they made.
For example, if a teacher raises a concern about an emotional issue the student is experiencing, I comment on my thank you note that I will check into what is going on and get back to the teacher. This lets the teacher know that she has someone on her side who will help support her student…OUR student.
By making small comments about the teacher’s input, I show them (again) that I value their input and will act upon it. I’m cooperating with them to make their jobs easier in working with the student. Because they cooperated with me, I can return the favor….and we have built a stronger relationship in the process.
Consistency
Last, but not least, I develop consistency with my gen ed teachers throughout the year. I am constantly working to build relationships with them through the process outlined above. I am consistent in sending out information as I learn it, and in thanking them for their assistance any chance I get. My teachers know that I will take their input seriously and act upon it throughout the year.
I am never done building relationships with my gen ed teachers, just like I will never be done building relationships with my students.
Building relationships is a lot of work. But it is not time wasted.
My work is never done, but it IS a whole lot easier now that I have learned how to get my gen ed teachers involved in my IEPs.
Need help getting started?
I’ve spent many years perfecting the questions I ask and how I ask them, and now you can benefit from my work!
If you are looking for a survey to send out to get gen ed teachers involved in IEPs, click the picture to check out the seasonal surveys I send out. The questions are the same on each survey, allowing me to compare and contrast answers throughout the year, but the seasonal themes make teachers want to complete the survey. Nobody wants to complete the same survey 10 times….this way they feel like they haven’t!
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