Being a special education teacher instructing remotely is far from easy. There are limited aspects of our jobs to see the benefits of teaching virtually over teaching in-person. For my friends who are special educators, you likely are facing double the challenge of having to wear two hats - one as a classroom teacher and the other as a special education case manager.
If there’s a silver lining in all of this, my Case Manager hat would be screaming “TRANSITION SERVICE PLANNING!”. Formerly a process that was case-manager designed and facilitated around school-and community learning opportunities has been flipped upside down where students and their families are expected to take a more active role in-home and community-based activities. Thanks to the shift to remote and blended learning, the top-down transition planning model is now a three-way shared responsibility (teacher, student, and parent/guardian).
Here are some creative alternatives to your traditional transition planning and implementation steps. These alternatives allow you to get the data and information you need to meet policy and planning purposes while providing students with opportunities to strengthen their self-determination skills and social skills. All the while making the parent/guardian experience stress and hassle-free by placing more responsibility on their child. For best results, confer with your IEP team members to solicit feedback and recruit support before attempting these alternatives.
