As mid-July arrives, we look at the fact that the school year is upon us. Technically, the academic year started on July 1st. But with the limited time we might have off, this is usually when things kick into high gear for the final preparation for the upcoming year. We want to look at some of the areas where we need to remember to have items ready but may have those areas in the backs of our minds as we focus on the incoming students.
We spend much of our time in two areas as we prep. First, we look at the classroom environment. We decorate as is appropriate for our students and look to have an organizational structure which works. My caveat here is to remember not to overload your classrooms with walls or ceilings that contain a lot of potential distractions or areas that might be visually overwhelming for some students. The second area in which we spend time is focusing on our students and having the supplies that we will be using for them in the upcoming year. I love the idea of individualized bins for certain materials to train the behaviors of taking care of what is yours and cleaning up after yourself. Coupling that with general bins which support the behavior of sharing and working together is a brilliant way of staying on top of supplies and other classroom items. It also gives a level of accountability to our students, which is such an important life skill.
So, what are the areas we sometimes push to the background? The first has to do with how we support the handwashing and toileting of the students. First, have we received enough hand soap and towels to make the handwashing easier for our students? Do you have something like a Time Timer Wash or Time Timer Twist where we can do visual countdowns for our students while they are washing their hands? We want to make sure that our students are learning behaviors that are transferable to the outside world which they might not always learn at home. The idea of having some visual timer at the sink supports healthy hand washing and not just sticking hands quickly under the water and saying “Done!”
As we look at the toileting side of things, do we have enough wipes? How about spare briefs in case of accidents? Do we have menstrual products for our older students? Is our Hi-Lo changing table up-to-date and ready to function. I am always concerned with the idea of changing tables. I have seen districts who have chosen to go with athletic tables that are “ADA compliant” instead of changing tables. Just because something is ADA compliant does not mean it is the correct device for the classroom. One district explained to me that they were just fine and didn’t need the rails as they just pushed it against a wall. In my mind, I hoped that they would never have a situation where a student might roll the wrong way and get stuck in the area between the bed and wall. Hi-Lo changing tables have rails to protect our students as well as legally protecting ourselves.
Along with the tables, does your school have Hoyer lifts? If so, are they working well? Do you have the slings that will best meet the needs of your students? Remember that different slings are designed to support the different sizes and needs of the students. I recently had a colleague share a story where a school nurse needed to get a sling for a new student arriving this upcoming year. When my colleague asked questions about the size and weight of the student as well as any physical issues, the nurse simply replied that she didn’t know but a medium sized sling should work. Fortunately, my colleague kept asking questions and the nurse engaged the parent in the conversation. After determining the size of the student as well as those physical conditions, the correct sling was purchased. As for that “medium sling,” that would have been a disaster waiting to happen. Although the height of the child was on the border of a medium size, her weight and condition would have had her easily slipping out of the sling. You may want to review the slings that you already have too and look for areas that may be worn down, creating a need to be replaced if there are students who will be needing it this year.
As teachers, we do a great job of making sure the general school supplies like paper, pencils, crayons, and materials are set. Anything we can’t find; we look to grab at Staples when they have their teacher appreciation day! The one area we are not always thinking about reviewing is our assistive technology devices. Many of us have our cabinets with devices in them. Many of you also have them so well organized, which is so impressive. Then there are a few of us who have the cabinets that, when opened, look like a jungle of wires and switches. My first recommendation is to get either plastic containers or dollar store baskets for each type of device. The last thing you want to have happen is on day 2 of the students being present, you must spend significant time looking for a specific device to assist a student. Have everything arranged in an orderly way before they come in to make it easy on yourself. Then, look at what size batteries some of the devices might need. Buy yourself some packs of those batteries and have them on hand. You do not want to replace them all now as you may not need some devices and that would waste the batteries. If some of the devices have a screw which holds the battery compartment in place, be sure to have a screwdriver (or two) in that size in the cabinet as well. I always suggest having a Ziploc bag duct-taped to the inside of the cabinet door where you keep these and can easily access them.
Finally, review the IEPs of the students with your AT Specialists to see if there is anything else you might need. If so, try to order it now so that it is ready when school begins. Your district might already have what you need, just in a different building. Sometimes, the devices do need to be updated or refreshed. For any devices that use rechargeable batteries, be sure to plug them in and test the battery. Over the course of time, those batteries can run down and hold less of a charge. Another thing to be aware of is that if a rechargeable device, like a Reader Pen for example, is not charged and used for a long period of time, the battery can stop holding a charge. Be sure to have your devices tested so that there are no bad surprises later.
If you need any support with this, please let me know! As always, I thank you for what you do and wish you happy preparation time!