Thriving: New Special Education Teachers and the First 6 Weeks of School

Whether they have completed formal coursework or followed alternative pathways to prepare them for the “real” life of teaching exceptional children, new SETs are often filled with trepidation and struggle to envision how the upcoming school year will unfold (Mathews et al., 2017). They may feel unsure about how they will fit into the school culture and how to build relationships with peers, families, and students. Before the first day of school, they need to (a) become quickly familiar with school expectations; (b) structure learning spaces to match the needs of their students; (c) access students’ individualized education programs (IEPs) for scheduling, grouping, and instructional planning; and (d) connect with their colleagues who will be their collaborators, especially their co-teachers. Unfortunately, new SETs have reported they do not feel prepared to independently manage instructional programs for each child on their caseload (Zionts et al., 2006). We submit that additional support is needed to further the sensemaking of new SETs and to connect them to high-priority tasks and HLPs. We devised a practical guide for new teachers and their mentors so that SETs may enter their new roles better prepared to thrive. The guide is a comprehensive (albeit, not exhaustive) set of action steps and task reminders.