Thanks, but my kids aren't ID, but SDC. In my district, ID kids get workability. RSP kids get to go to the fabulous career tech half day school -- which is modern and huge and gives certificates in things that allow them to move directly into good jobs.

But SDC kids get neither. The Career school won't let SDC kids in. Workability only serves ID kids except for assessments. So SDC kids, those in between ID and RSP, who really need access to training programs, get sent off to community college programs, which they have less chance of succeeding in.

Trying to understand. Not familiar with acronym SDC.

That's awful. I know that the community college programs are just not working for many sdc kids. The coffee shop is where some of the sdc students work while in high school or just out of.
If we only had the money to set things like this up. The money, time and energy...

It stands for Special Day Class. It is used for kids who spend more than fifty percent of the day in self-contained special education classes. RSP -- Resource kids -- spend less than fifty percent of their time in self-contained (all Special Ed) classes. Often they just have a support class or two.

SDC students sometimes have more or more serious learning disabilities, emotional disabilities, or lower IQ. Sometimes their not that serious learning disabilities have been neglected and they just ended up many grade levels behind. But they are not ID (Intellectually Disabled or Mentally Retarded). For whatever reason or reasons, it is hard for SDC students to succeed in school.

More districts are trying to include SDC students in General Ed classes for more of the day. It is good for them socially -- most of them -- but most districts do not have the resources to do it successfully and SDC kids start flunking out. Great idea, but so hard to do in schools with large class sizes and stressed to the max teachers.

Thank you. We don't use that terminology. We code by numbers. Same reporting requirements. In our district, we commit a significant amount of funds to inclusion support and co-teaching. Even at the high school level, I have inclusion teachers in every content area class. We use as little resource as possible. Our kids are more successful on state standards if they stay in the general education setting. All our resource teachers are also highly qualified in special ed and the content area they teach. We have dramatically increased the rigor and relevance of the instruction for all of our students but continue to put necessary supports in place. I also have a dedicated and competent behavioral support team who works diligently to build resilience for our kids with ed. When we have to go more restrictive, we have an award winning campus which includes a therapeutic milieu so that we can keep kids out of .hospitalization. Can you tell I love my job and my district?

Rest in Peace --

Victoria Soto -- Teacher
Mary Sherlach -- School Psychologist
Dawn Hochspring -- Principal
Rachel Davino -- Aide
Anne Marie Murphey -- Aide
Lauren Rousseau -- Teacher

And thanks and gratitude to all the staff who risked their lives to save children, the clerks, the custodians, the aides, the teachers.

They made me proud to be a public school teacher.

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We ca do this!

There was so much activity at our school today. The superintendent was there, as were maintenance crews, ensuring that the buildings security measures were in place. Teachers are being told to keep their door shut for large portions of the day and locked. More supervision is being placed outside at recess. The atmosphere was sad, and anxious, as I am sure so many of those in the building were thinking the same thing as I was. What if it had been our school, our coworkers, our children?

I haven't said much about this tragedy because it brings me to tears at the thought of the lost lives of my fellow educators and the innocent children under their guard. But as I have read and listened to the aftermath of this horrific event, I feel that if I do not talk about it... the sorrow may be overwhelming.

Yes...it is hard to wrap your head around this... I couldn't post anything at first...I posted the following earlier today on my fb page:

'Spent the morning, as I'm sure most educators in the USA - and elsewhere did, going over Intruder Alert and Procedures.....fielded many questions....so very sad.'

Wasn't ready to go there, but had no choice. The students had mixed responses....

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Enuff said....

So, while I am working as a para-educator I am also working towards my teaching certification in special education. My goal is to work with the severe needs population in either a life skills or behavior classroom at the middle or high school level. In my past experience working with special needs students as a para and as a volunteer, I have been exposed to many different types of teaching strategies and the one that really interests me for these specific children is a project based learning program.

One classroom I worked with grew and sold garlic, incorporating science and measurements for growing and fertilizing, mathematics for inventory and sales, and English for advertising and reports. A group my brother was involved with received a grant to distribute to a local non profit organization. The class had to write the grant parameters, create an application, interview applicants, and write a news release, they also held an event to present the moneys to the winning applicants.

In my experience these project based programs drew in kids who would have otherwise been unwilling to participate and helped them to achieve academic goals while also feeling like they were part of a group and that what they did mattered, not only to them but to the community as a whole.

I am curious how many of you have worked with similar programs and what types of projects you used. I am hoping to compile and research a number of project based learning ideas before I complete my degree.

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I am so very grateful for the holiday break. Time to rejuvenate and spend with family. I work with fabulous children and I know I am lucky in that respect.

In other threads I talk about working in crazyville. The school is headed by 2 very difficult to work with administrators (principal and vice principal). They often provide me with SMH moments. This week was no exception...

They announced big staffing changes with the paraprofessionals coming up when we come back but we don't know what they are yet and won't until we get back. Nothing like time to plan for them. What lead to the staffing changes is "student needs". Like they hired someone to work 1:1 with our most impaired student who has no sped experience and no desire to work with sped children (they told the person they hired she'd be doing something else). Now mind you someone in the building with experience wanted the position but they decided to not do that.

The list goes on and on. I've go to let it go!
So the winter break is well timed.