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Special Education for Beginners | Managing Paraprofessionals, Special Education Strategies, First Year Sped Teachers, Special Ed Overwhelm, Paperwork for Special Education Teachers
The Go-To Podcast for Special Educators who want to reduce their stress and begin to feel success.
Hey special educator…
Overwhelmed by the absurd amount of paperwork on your to-do list?
Wish you had the skills to build a rock-solid team with your paraprofessionals?
Do you find yourself scouring the internet for how to meet the diverse needs of each student on your caseload?
Hey there friend…I’m Jennifer Hofferber from Sped Prep Academy, an award winning veteran special education teacher and current instructional coach who has walked in your shoes through each of these challenges.
And yes, I've got the metaphorical blisters to prove it! I’ve cried your tears and felt your pain and now I’m here to support you the way I wish someone would have been there to support me.
Listen in each week as my guests and I dish out practical wisdom to help you handle all the classroom curveballs thrown your way, and learn how to laugh in spite of the chaos to celebrate those small, yet significant victories that only a special educator can understand.
So…Are you ready? Wipe your tears and put on your superhero cape because together we are going to learn how to survive and thrive in the ever crazy, completely overwhelming, laugh so you don’t cry profession of being a special education teacher.
Next Steps:
Visit the Website: https://www.spedprepacademy.com
Join the Free Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/SpedPrepAcademy
Email Me: jennifer@spedprepacademy.com
Special Education for Beginners | Managing Paraprofessionals, Special Education Strategies, First Year Sped Teachers, Special Ed Overwhelm, Paperwork for Special Education Teachers
Episode 38: How to Build Relationships with Parents: 3 Tips to Get Them to Know, Like and Trust You
#38 How to Build Relationships with Parents: 3 Tips to Get Them to Know, Like and Trust You
The topic of today’s show is building relationships with your student’s parents and this topic is one that is truly one of the areas that is often overlooked in its importance when it comes to being a great special education teacher.
Knowing how to work with parents of students with special needs is just as important as knowing how to help the students themselves and having been a special educator for 26 years, I have worked with a LOT of different parents.
And through those interactions, I’ve found that parents (for the most part) fall in 3 different categories...
- Very Involved
- Somewhat Involved and
- Uninvolved
One type isn’t any better or worse than the other. You can build relationships with all of them and bring the parents into your world so that they can learn to trust that you have their child’s best interest at heart.
But there is one thing all of these parents have in common...they are giving you the best they have. They are sharing their child with you. They want you to love their child as much as they do and they want you to protect them from all the evils in the world the same way they do.
So no matter where they fall on my little continuum of parent involvement, you need to be building and nurturing that relationship with them so that they get to know, like and trust you and in this episode I go over the 3 best ways I've found to do just that.
>> Make a good first impression
>>Open the lines of communication before a situation arises
>>Educate the parent using everyday language
When you can achieve these 3 things you will be well on your way to developing the kind of relationship that is best for you, the parent and the child.
Mentioned in the Show...
What's Your Special Educator Superpower Quiz
Parent Handbook for Special Education
A Visual to Understanding Percentiles [Freebie]