Creating a supportive classroom environment is essential for fostering both academic and emotional growth. As educators, understanding how trauma impacts behavior and integrating trauma-informed strategies with behavioral interventions can profoundly impact students’ success. Here’s how these approaches align and practical ways to implement them. Why Trauma-Informed Practices Matter Trauma affects…

  Although every classroom is different, all teachers share a common goal: to prepare students for life after school by equipping them with as many independent skills as possible. Over the past few years, student behavior has become increasingly challenging, and many teachers are struggling to get things “back to…

  Creating a supportive classroom environment is essential for fostering both academic and emotional growth. As educators, understanding how trauma impacts behavior and integrating trauma-informed strategies with behavioral interventions can profoundly impact students’ success. Here’s how these approaches align and practical ways to implement them. Why Trauma-Informed Practices Matter Trauma…

November is here, and as a teacher, you might find yourself in a bit of a classroom conundrum. The initial enthusiasm and excitement that usually accompany the start of the school year have waned, and you might be wondering how to navigate the turbulent waters of classroom management. But guess…

Teaching classroom procedures at the beginning of the year is one of the most important things you can do to guarantee a successful school year. The good news is: it doesn’t have to be dry and boring! It can actually be activities that students ask to do over and over…

The first week of school sets the tone for the entire year. It’s a crucial time for teachers to establish routines, teach procedures, and build strong relationships with their students. To help you make the most of this important week, I’ve put together 13 fun and easy essential ideas for…

As a teacher, it can be difficult to leave your classroom in the hands of a substitute teacher, especially if your class has behavioral challenges. However, there are steps you can take to help your substitute be successful, even in the face of challenging behaviors. In this blog post, we…

As the school year progresses, it’s easy to forget the classroom procedures we set up in September, or for them to become routine and mundane. However, it’s important to continue practicing these management techniques to ensure that students are following them correctly and consistently. Here are some fun and engaging…

In all my years of teaching and mentoring teachers, one of the most damaging things I have been told (or heard others being told) is \"all you have to do is... \" Not only is this an extremely dismissive comment, but it is also often followed by information that is…

Positive Relationships with Challenging Behaviors Building relationships with challenging students is one of the most difficult and least discussed parts of our jobs in education. I have found that there is a real lacking of advice out there that focuses on building positive relationships with challenging behaviors. It is almost…

  Although every classroom is different, all teachers share a common goal: to prepare students for life after school by equipping them with as many independent skills as possible. Over the past few years, student behavior has become increasingly challenging, and many teachers are struggling to get things “back to…

  Creating a supportive classroom environment is essential for fostering both academic and emotional growth. As educators, understanding how trauma impacts behavior and integrating trauma-informed strategies with behavioral interventions can profoundly impact students’ success. Here’s how these approaches align and practical ways to implement them. Why Trauma-Informed Practices Matter Trauma…

November is here, and as a teacher, you might find yourself in a bit of a classroom conundrum. The initial enthusiasm and excitement that usually accompany the start of the school year have waned, and you might be wondering how to navigate the turbulent waters of classroom management. But guess…

Teaching classroom procedures at the beginning of the year is one of the most important things you can do to guarantee a successful school year. The good news is: it doesn’t have to be dry and boring! It can actually be activities that students ask to do over and over…

The first week of school sets the tone for the entire year. It’s a crucial time for teachers to establish routines, teach procedures, and build strong relationships with their students. To help you make the most of this important week, I’ve put together 13 fun and easy essential ideas for…

As a teacher, it can be difficult to leave your classroom in the hands of a substitute teacher, especially if your class has behavioral challenges. However, there are steps you can take to help your substitute be successful, even in the face of challenging behaviors. In this blog post, we…

As the school year progresses, it’s easy to forget the classroom procedures we set up in September, or for them to become routine and mundane. However, it’s important to continue practicing these management techniques to ensure that students are following them correctly and consistently. Here are some fun and engaging…

Do you struggle with having effective classroom management? We all have been there. This year, use these 6 Classroom Management Tips to help with Behaviors. Without effective management, overwhelm and burnout in this field are inevitable. But how do you create a system that works with everything else we need…

These last few years have been more than a challenge and student behavior has moved to a whole new level. I’m letting you in on the ONE behavior skill that is more important than ever. Teachers are struggling to “get things back to the way they were,” but the truth is,…

One thing I have noticed since students have returned to school is that after so much time at home, likely with direct help from an adult, their problem solving skills seem to be a real challenge. In every classroom I go into, students are constantly asking the teacher (or any…

Teaching classroom procedures at the beginning of the year is one of the most important things you can do to guarantee a successful school year. The good news is: it doesn’t have to be dry and boring! It can actually be activities that students ask to do over and over…

The first week of school sets the tone for the entire year. It’s a crucial time for teachers to establish routines, teach procedures, and build strong relationships with their students. To help you make the most of this important week, I’ve put together 13 fun and easy essential ideas for…

As a teacher, it can be difficult to leave your classroom in the hands of a substitute teacher, especially if your class has behavioral challenges. However, there are steps you can take to help your substitute be successful, even in the face of challenging behaviors. In this blog post, we…

As the school year progresses, it’s easy to forget the classroom procedures we set up in September, or for them to become routine and mundane. However, it’s important to continue practicing these management techniques to ensure that students are following them correctly and consistently. Here are some fun and engaging…

In all my years of teaching and mentoring teachers, one of the most damaging things I have been told (or heard others being told) is \"all you have to do is... \" Not only is this an extremely dismissive comment, but it is also often followed by information that is…

Do you struggle with having effective classroom management? We all have been there. This year, use these 6 Classroom Management Tips to help with Behaviors. Without effective management, overwhelm and burnout in this field are inevitable. But how do you create a system that works with everything else we need…

One thing I have noticed since students have returned to school is that after so much time at home, likely with direct help from an adult, their problem solving skills seem to be a real challenge. In every classroom I go into, students are constantly asking the teacher (or any…

Last week I spent time with an amazing first-grade teacher we will call Mrs. S. Mrs. S. is an experienced teacher that has her classroom set up following all of the “usual” rules for running a successful 1st-grade class.But guess what?…. None of that is working this year and she…

Four-Step Plan to head into each and every Monday, calm and ready to be the superhero you are!  Now that we enjoyed our winter breaks, recharged, and just did things that help us feel more relaxed, the big question is…. How do we keep some of that good feeling going…

Running small group instruction in the best situation can be challenging but what about when you don’t have the best situation?  There’s not enough staff to run each group You have students with varied skills and abilities There are student behaviors that pull you away on a regular basis Your…

As a teacher, it can be difficult to leave your classroom in the hands of a substitute teacher, especially if your class has behavioral challenges. However, there are steps you can take to help your substitute be successful, even in the face of challenging behaviors. In this blog post, we…

In all my years of teaching and mentoring teachers, one of the most damaging things I have been told (or heard others being told) is \"all you have to do is... \" Not only is this an extremely dismissive comment, but it is also often followed by information that is…

One thing I have noticed since students have returned to school is that after so much time at home, likely with direct help from an adult, their problem solving skills seem to be a real challenge. In every classroom I go into, students are constantly asking the teacher (or any…

New teachers (and not so new teachers) report that working with the other adults in their classroom can be one of the most stressful parts of their jobs. As a teacher, you are creating a “family” in your classroom and the way you work with that “family”  in your classroom…

Writing IEP goals can be challenging on their own, but writing objectives can bring even the most seasoned special educators to their knees. But have no fear… They don’t have to! Check out these 5-tips for making writing IEP goal objectives easier AND making them meaningful! (yes- they can be…

Reinforcement is one of our most powerful tools when trying to change any behavior. So what happens when we use the same reinforcement over and over? It stops working because it is no longer doing its job — reinforcing the student! Picture this: You decide that you want to start…

One of the biggest challenges that special education teachers face is writing IEP goals that really target the student’s needs, yet don’t take hours and hours of teachers’ precious time!  After years and years of writing IEP goals and mentoring teachers in creating IEPs and writing goals, I came up…

When it comes to understanding special education and the IEP process, there are many things that special education teachers wish that general education teachers knew. That’s why I’m putting together the following five things that every general education teacher should be aware of. #1: The Role of the Special Education…

I’ve heard from so many teachers these last few weeks how they are struggling with understanding, organizing, and implementing accommodations and modifications during virtual teaching. In the best of times this can be a herculean task, add in no face-to-face contact with students or other teachers, and 101 other things to…

Reinforcement is our power. It’s really what makes or breaks a classroom. That’s why it’s so that we know what is reinforcing to kids when we design our classroom management programs. Reinforcement surveys help teachers to determine what kids are willing to work for and what to use for reinforcement…