Team Meetings: We need to start being accountable

This summer I have been binging Special Education Podcasts. They are perfect while I garden, go for a walk or clean the house. The two podcasts I have been loving for Special Education are The Autism Helper Podcast and The Adaptation Station Podcast!

In The Autism Helper's First Podcast (Episode 1: Staff Training) Sasha makes a point that really hit home for me. How can we expect our Special Education Classroom team to improve, or even run smoothly if we aren't putting in the time to make it happen?

Now, don't get me wrong. Staff training and communication is something that I have seriously struggled with. I have always been the youngest and least experienced by far in my classroom and find it difficult to address my concerns.

This is why this school year I am determined to have a team meeting once a week. I encourage you to listen to Sasha's podcast if your immediate reaction is "but I don't have the time!" At our school, our Educational Assistants (Paraprofessionals) are required to do supervision before AND after school. That means that we are going to have to find time during the school day (if they do not want to stay after school) to have a meeting.

To keep the meeting as productive and on-topic as possible, I have made up a simple Special Education Team Meeting Template.

Here are some things to keep in mind while using the template!

Attendees: Make sure to track who is at the meeting. This template is the ultimate way to track discussion for anyone who cannot attend the meeting. This form is in a Google Document so that you can take notes online and share with staff members, or print - whatever is easier for you and your team!

General Updates: This is where, as a team, we will go through our list of students and discuss any updates that we should all know - any successes, new concerns or personal updates. This makes sure that no student is left behind. It's understandable to focus on our friends that need the most support, but that's not until the next section. Here give each student a moment of focus and attention.

Key Discussion: This is where the majority of the meetings time will be spent. I think it's important to decide on the key discussion topic before the meeting begins. This might be something that happened during the week that needs a more in-depth conversation (e.g., a particularly challenging behaviour) or additional training that can best support all staff in the classroom (e.g., prompt fading).

Action Items: Every meeting should end with a discussion of what the take away is, and how it can be implemented in the coming weeks. Add staff names beside any specific action items (e.g., updating a behaviour plan or resetting independent task boxes) to add accountability! If there are no action items that are individual-specific, add a goal that has come out of the meeting like, "using the prompting hierarchy, we will begin fading prompts during Student B's math centre"

Date of the Next Meeting: Book your next meeting during the current one! Don't wait and then run into conflicts. While you have the whole team together, plan your next meeting. Discuss any conflicts and work to make it accessible to as many staff as possible!

Click Here to get your copy of my Staff Meeting Template!