Good Habits of Character are Necessary for Teachers and Their Administators

There are many ways for parents to actively participate in their student’s education. Scholastic.com recommends including tips for helping parents get involved. In this 6th grade classroom, each EC parent will receive a copy of their child’s IEP goals, along with the date of their annual review and re-evaluation date, if applicable to this school year. Parents are asked if there is a preferred day of the week and time to best schedule future IEP meetings. Attached to this information will be contact information for both co-teachers including email address, school phone number, planning time and a calendar denoting the designated monthly parent-teacher conference days and times. Additional components of the parental involvement piece to Curriculum Night includes an invitation to join our PTO, sports schedules, and information about proctoring. Parents are also encouraged to occasionally eat lunch with their child in the school

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) greatly emphasizes the participation of the child’s family during the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process. Parents and/or caregivers are considered one of the most essential members of their child’s IEP team. Their involvement benefits their child’s overall academic success. Unfortunately, full parental involvement does not always occur and there can be many different reasons for their nonparticipation. The IEP process can be a very overwhelming experience for families with children with special needs, especially for those who are culturally diverse. It is the job of the professionals and special education teachers to understand the importance of collaborating with family’s

Family involvement plays a major role when helping students prosper in the school setting. In order for children to be successful, as a teacher, we have to provide support to the parent’s to make an effort in wanting to play apart in that success. Communication plays a major part in the effective relationship between families and school. Giving the parents a sense of idea as to how their child is doing in school is built through the student’s academic needs.

"Character, in the long run, is the decisive factor in the life of an individual and of nations alike." Theodore Roosevelt. Students should demonstrate scholarship, leadership, service, citizenship, and character because of three reasons. One, if students demonstrate these qualities they are more likely to get better grades and get reprimanded less. Another, without these traits, a student would have far less opportunities in the future. Finally, as students grow they will gain much more wisdom if they allow themselves to work on demonstrating these characteristics. Overall, these qualities are very important in the present, and in the future.

Being a parent to special needs student can be the most difficult challenge a parent can face. Being able to find the necessary support comes with frustration and struggles when

During the placement I was able to spend time observing interactions between parents, children and staff. I witnessed many positive aspects in the schools approach to engaging parents and was particularly impressed by their open door policy for parents and the support provided to families in times of need by the learning mentors. As part of the admission process to the school, staff visit the parents and child at home and discuss the implementation of the home-school agreement (appendix 1.b). This agreement sets out the expectations of each of the parent, school and child in regard to their actions and attitude towards their time in school. This is often one of the first interactions teacher and parents have and Grayson (2011) suggests most teachers report these home visits to have a lasting positive effect on the child and parent-teacher relationship. During the school’s inspection in 2014 Ofsted identified relationships across the school and with parents as a key strength.

“One of the essential roles of special education teachers is coteaching and working with other professionals, as well as communicating with family members and between special education teachers and other school-related professionals(Vaughn & Bos, 2015, p. 114)”. With the importance of a least restrictive environment special education and general education teachers are working together in a classroom with varying levels and abilities of learners. It is vitally important to have an effective relationship between the two teachers while developing and implementing lesson plans for learners with special needs. The physical space and dynamics of the classroom should fit the needs of the students and the established procedures should ensure a highly functional environment. Importantly, educators need to communicate to families “encouragement about what they can do at home and about an effective plan for providing instructional supports for their child(Vaughn & Bos, 2015, p. 114)”.

Communication between teachers and the parents of students is essential for the growth and success of the student both inside and outside of the classroom. This communication is best achieved through parent conference opportunities. One way that this is achieved is through regular open house nights. This is where parents, and other members of the community, are invited to come to the school and talk to the teachers and other faculty at the school. Another conference opportunity presents itself in a scheduled appointment between the teacher and the parent. This will enable the parent to meet face-to-face with their child’s teacher during a time that is more convenient to them, as these appointments can occur before, during, and after school. Additionally, conferences can take place over the phone. This is a convenient way for both parties to communicate effectively in a way that works best for them.

“Key to success in collaborating with families of young children with special needs is a commitment to coordinated planning and communication between teachers and early intervention staff that establishing ongoing communication and linking families to community resources”. (Kasczmarek, 2006)

Hernandez, Beth Harry, Lynn Newman and Rene Cameto in an effort to learn more of parental awareness of special education rights and programs, perceptions of parental involvement and satisfaction with the District’s special education process as well as comparing the results to those nation wide. This study was conducted in two waves the first wave was conducted in the spring of 2005 and the second wave in the winter through spring of 2006. The interviews were conducted in eight languages among those Spanish, English, Chinese and Korean. The questions were formed in an aim to find out about parental awareness of special education rights and programs, parents participation in IEP meetings, reasons why parents did not attend meeting. Data was also collected in regards to the type of notification of meetings and for those parents who do not speak English they were also asked about translators. On wave 2 one more question was included to find out about income. A random sample of 2000 was selected for each wave. To promote higher response two letters were sent to parents notifying them about he interview before phone calls were made. Their response rate was about 70% for first wave and 72% for second wave. The survey showed the following results 85% of the parents reported to attend IEP meetings and 75% reported

Integrity means being honest or accurate. It is one of the fundamental values as educators, we should have. Caring means always willing to help those who are in need. Educators show their care in school by doing more than required. Excellence can be described as striving to be the best. An educator should be committed to reach the highest standards in order to improve his/her students (lifelessonnetwork.org ,2006).. Attitude means being respectful, humble and loyal. A teacher’s positive attitude will bring the better teamwork and higher productivity to the school. Wiseman (2009) stated, “a leader has the courage to stand up for unpopular but just causes and act as an effective champion of social justice” (p.41). Courage is one of the ethics that motives teachers and school leaders to stand up and seek for better ideas without the fear of

To best suit a child with special needs a variety of different elements need to be considered to develop the best plan for the child. This is why it is important to understand that not every child with special needs has a mom or dad. They may have a foster parent and it is the responsibility of the special education teacher to include the foster parent and work with all members of the family. Next, it is important to understand the a disability not only impacts the child but siblings as well. Some siblings may be very helpful while others may act out, it is important to consider siblings when creating a plan as well. Lastly, as a special education teacher, it is important to consider if any extended family help with any responsibility with raising the child. A child has a greater rate of success when all members of the family are working together and are on the same

Parents have special knowledge about their child that school personnel might be unaware of. This aspect of parental involvement is especially important when applying special education services for a child with disabilities (Smith et al., 2005). That being said, parents need to understand that while they know a lot about their child overall, the school knows a lot about their child in an academic setting. It is very important to have open lines of communication and mutual respect for each other; to be able to bring together these different aspects of the child to create a successful intervention allowing complete access to education.

The symbiotic relationship between teachers and parents is crucial to the educational success of a student. Parents must be involved with their child’s education through consistent attendance of IEP meetings and advocate for their child and their needs at school. Teachers can encourage parent involvement through, traveling notebooks home and note home programs which establish an open line of communication between teacher and parent. Parent-teacher conferences are a great way for teachers and parents to be involved in the success of the student's educational experience.

Parental involvement in education is a vital essential for creating a cooperative environment for the student to thrive and succeed in. When a student knows that he or she is receiving support both inside and outside the school, the chances of that child becoming responsible for and active in their education are more likely. I know that there can be difficulties including parents for many reasons. Such parents may be too busy, uninterested or just feel helpless. However, as an educator, I will still have an obligation to reach out to these parents and assist them.