'Pump It Up' playground in Chicago accommodates autistic kids

A network of indoor playgrounds across the country has added Sensory Jump Time sessions for children with autism. Pump It Up partnered with Autism Speaks to create the modified activities. "The Sensory Jump Time program can help families expand on other therapies that are being incorporated at home ..." said Liz Klug, the executive director for the Chicago chapter of Autism Speaks. WLS-TV (Chicago)

Robotics lessons inspire problem-solving for students with disabilities

Students with developmental disabilities at a Teaneck, N.J., school are learning robotics skills such as programming, mechanical design and the use of sensors as part of lessons provided by local inventor and author Steven Paley. Besides learning robotics and problem-solving, Paley says the lessons help build students' confidence. "Kids overcome their disabilities because the goal is so compelling to them," he said. Patch.com/Teaneck, N.J.

Encouraging student pledges to prevent school bullying

Maurice Elias, director of the Social-Emotional Learning Lab at Rutgers University, in this blog post encourages teachers to consider their position on creating a pledge for students to sign to help prevent bullying in school. Elias suggests that a powerful and effective pledge created in part by, and for students, would affirm values that the students seek to uphold, and would be signed publicly by each student.

Here's her list:

#1. Have the creation of the pledge be a shared activity with students. Involve them in the idea and the wording. It’s fine to have several versions even in the same school to make them developmentally appropriate and meaningful.

#2. Make sure the pledge addresses HIB prevention and also affirms positive values that students pledge to uphold. This is what turns students from bystanders into upstanders. Values such as respect for all classmates, being responsible to self, others, and the environment, and acting with integrity all create antidotes to HIB. Be sure to discuss whatever positive values are affirmed and integrate them into class and school rules, academic subject work, school report cards, and conversations with parents.

#3. Every student should read aloud (individually or in small groups) the pledge in a public forum and sign their own individual copy, which they keep. Consider wallet-card versions of the pledge as well as how to share the pledge with parents and community groups.

#4. No less often than the end of each marking period, ask students to rate how they have been doing in terms of keeping to the pledge and generate ideas for what individuals, classes, and the school as a whole can do better.

#5. Ensure that the principles in the pledge are incorporated into disciplinary conversations, guidance sessions, special education IEP’s and processes, after-school, extracurricular and athletic and other programs and events, including bus behaviors and Internet behavior.

Do you have anything else to add in her list? Please visit her blog and leave her a comment.

My students' final class project...way to go!!

No one will really understand the challenges that my students and I are having inside the classroom unless he has taught full time for at least a week inside a special education self-contained or a resource classroom. But what we are  having in our class this school year is way beyond the challenges that we had in the past. What made us survive this school year? Aside from having a wonderful instructional aide, whom I will always be grateful for never abandoning me through thick and thin, I have learned to mix common sense with best practices and teaching standards (thanks to the National Board process!).

There is really no "cookbook recipe" citing exactly what should work and not work in a special education classroom. What works is taking a cup of common sense and mixing it with heaping spoonfulls of patience, understanding, consistency, positive expectations, and an enthusiastic attitude, and not forgetting to pour in a heart full of love, and bake for one school year. I have learned a great deal from reading, and reading, and reading books and blogs of our exceptionally great teacher leaders!

Who else believed in my students' abilities? I know my students ---they really can do it. Here's a teaser for our class culminating activity. My students were able to finish the Unit on Intro to Greek Mythology for MS, as a final class project they played the role of their favorite gods and goddesses and introduced their characters in a short video clip. Teaser attached, culminating presentation will be scheduled soon. Watch and enjoy!! (BTW, the video ended earlier than the audio, sorry about that!)

D.C. special ed chief leaving

By Bill Turque

Deputy Chancellor Richard Nyankori is leaving after four bruising years as head of special education at DC Public Schools. He'll be replaced by Nathaniel Beers, director of the District's Early Stages diagnostic center for learning (read DC School's Insider)

Teacher of the Year 2011

Teacher of the Year is from Maryland

By Valerie Strauss

Michelle Shearer was a pre-med student at Princeton University when, on the verge of burnout, she began volunteering in a class for deaf students. She loved it. That’s when she decided to go into teaching, starting on a path that led her to Frederick County schools and, now, to being named the 2011 National Teacher of the Year.

Shearer grew up with a love of numbers and earned dual certification in chemistry and special education. She has taught all levels of chemistry for 14 years at Urbana and at the Maryland School for the Deaf, where she also taught math.

There Shearer offered, in American Sign Language, a course in advanced placement chemistry for the first time in the institution’s 135-year history. She wrote on her contest application that when she suggested to her students that they also take AP calculus, they asked, “Why?” She signed back, “Because you can.”

Shearer said she is committed to helping children who have traditionally been underrepresented in science, including those with special needs and minorities. She has worked with students with poor vision, dyslexia, dysgraphia, attention deficit disorder and Asperger’s syndrome in her AP chemistry classes.

Shearer plans to spend next year traveling across the country and around the world to promote public education. With the steady drumbeat of negative news about it, she said she will try to make people aware of the many successes in public schools. The Washington Post blog

D.C. officials move to shutter private special-education school

Officials in Washington, D.C., announced their intention Wednesday to revoke the license of the private Rock Creek Academy for students with special needs because of a series of violations, including the misuse of seclusion and restraint as disciplinary methods. A report by the agency listed numerous other charges against the school, including questions about attendance data and failures to provide prescribed therapies. The Washington Post

From a colleague in Franklin, TN

I was adding my last photos last night on the album that I created on Facebook on my teacher conventions around the country with the National Writing Project. The NWP convention in Nashville TN was one of the best! Then I received an email from a special education teacher in Franklin, TN...

Hi Ms. Angala,

I just caught up on your blog today and was so encouraged in your response to the teacher from Ohio. I too, feel exactly like her and I have used your blog as a weekly resource to help me in so many ways. I am a first year special education teacher and it is overwhelming. I felt like your response to her was one to me as well. Thank you so much for your work and effort in maintaining your blog. It is an incredible tool and one that is very much needed and appreciated.

Best regards,


D. S.
Franklin, TN

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Hello D.S.,

Thank you for your kind words and glad to know that through my blog I am somehow positively impacting new teachers as well. It was "double the challenge" for me when I was a new teacher in the inner-city school where I teach (still here!). Coming from the Philippines it was a difficult adjustment for me in all major areas of my life and all levels of teaching and learning framework. My survival and success not only was a result of my persistence but also because of the support systems from the experts and well experienced educators, high quality professional development trainings and innovative resources.

Teaching is a highly skilled craft, requiring patience, commitment, dedication, a sincere love of children, charisma, confidence, and competence. You are a new teacher, you know that it is your sincere desire to be successful, to inspire, to touch lives, and to make a difference. Seek out the most positive, enthusiastic, successful teacher around you, reach out to her and learn from her.

Hey, you have chosen the most noble of all profession...be the best teacher that you can be...I believe in you!! Cheers!!

Sincerely,

Maria Angala, NBCT
Washington, DC

An email from Ohio

I was checking my junk mails for my weekly inbox cleanup and found a letter from a special education teacher from Ohio. Her letter has validated the fact that the special education issues teachers currently experience are happening not just in DC but in other school districts as well. My response on my next entry...

Hello Mrs. Angala,

I am new to your blog, but have enjoyed spending some time reading it today. I am an intervention specialist (Mild/Moderate) at a high school in Ohio. I must say that before reading your blog, I was ready to call it quits or at least look into a new school or transferring out of my current situation. I have found a little hope in your blog but have no clue how to even begin implementing anything because I'm so exhausted. This is my 4th year teaching.

I currently have 18 students on my caseload. 5 students participated in social graduation and simply receive services through the vocational school. The remainder are all students I see daily- which is nice. We are on a block schedule- so each class is 90 minutes long and there are 4 each day. One of those is my prep period where I also have to spend half of it doing my lunch duty or other duty, plus duty to do in the morning 12 weeks a year. All of the students I work with are alternately assessed (I don't know if you have that in DC). In the 3 blocks that I teach, there are at least 3 classes in each block and at least one student who needs a one on one aide. This leads me to the fact that I do not have an aide but for one block and she doesn't care to be there (sme misses at least 1-2 days a week and spends a lot of time on her phone texting) or learn from me so she can be a better help. She does help with note taking and classroom management. The general education teachers that my students see are asking me to help the students in my room with the work they are missing (which is fine) but I also have content I have to cover. I have 2 non-reader/non-writers in my room as well. The reading levels vary in my room from pre-k to 6th grade with some able to comprehend up to 8th grade material. I don't know how much longer I can keep it together and do all of this work. I feel like it's all I do- plan my lessons, help with others lessons and meet with them to modify curriculum and assignments then help the students with the work, write IEPs, complete Alternate Assessments, do my duty, and be a wife and mother to my 19 month old. How do you do it? Is this a typical set up for SPED? I feel like it's the kids who are suffering more than I am.

I mention all of this because 1. I'm at a loss for what to do, 2. I liked the blog about organizing- it's what I've been working on this year, 3. I was curious about the lesson plan templates you had on the lesson plan log. I couldn't seem to find a link to lesson plans on the hyperlink you have set up. Did I miss it somewhere? I am really trying to do better with planning ahead of time but right now, I'm focused on the IEP meetings and alternate assessments that I have due next week.

Again, thank you for your blog and for inspiring me.

- C. C. -
Ohio


My response to her email is here.

National Board calls on president to continue federal budget commitment to effective teaching

NBPTS PRESS RELEASE: NBPTS Applauds Obama’s Call to “Reward Good Teachers”

February 4, 2011

Arlington, Va. – The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) commends President Obama in his call to “reward good teachers” during the recent State of the Union address. NBPTS encourages the President to deliver on that message by continuing and broadening federal support of the nation’s most effective program that develops, recognizes and retains effective teachers National Board Certification.

More than 91,000 of the nation’s most accomplished educators have achieved National Board Certification, which is based on the most advanced teaching standards and rigorous assessment in the country. More than half of those teachers are serving in some of the nation’s most challenged schools.
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All 50 states, the District of Columbia and more than 700 school districts currently recognize National Board Certification as a mark of distinction.
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“National Board Certification is a model of pay-for-performance that is supported by teachers and administrators nationwide,” said Joseph A. Aguerrebere, president and CEO, NBPTS. “The rigorous standards and assessments of the National Board provide policymakers with the tools to define and measure teaching and leadership excellence.”
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“As a recognized leader in defining educator effectiveness, the National Board is uniquely positioned as a proven catalyst for education reform and school improvement intervention efforts, all designed to support student success,” said Aguerrebere.
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In his speech, President Obama described the federal government’s Race to the Top program as “the most meaningful public school reform of our generation.” In fact, Aguerrebere emphasized, “many states already recognize the importance of NBPTS and National Board Certification in Race to the Top, as it was referenced in eight of the 10 winning Race to the Top Round Two applications last year.”
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NBPTS stands ready to work with U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan, who has publicly stated his support of National Board Certification as part of the school reform agenda: “As we move forward on this turnaround agenda nationally, I would love for National Board Certified Teachers to be at the forefront of that movement.” Additional recognition of the National Board’s leadership in the area of school reform includes a highly competitive five-year, $27 million Teacher Incentive Fund grant awarded NBPTS by the U.S. Department of Education to help build teacher and leadership capacity in 23 urban and rural high-need schools in Richmond, Va. and the State of Maine.
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A voluntary assessment program developed and administered by NBPTS, National Board Certification is achieved through a performance-based assessment that typically takes one to three years to complete. While state licensing systems set basic requirements to teach in each state, NBCTs have successfully demonstrated advanced teaching knowledge, skills and practices.
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About the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards

NBPTS, an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan and nongovernmental organization, is an integral part of America’s growing education reform movement. In developing, recognizing and retaining accomplished educators, NBPTS provides advanced standards, assessments and professional development resources to support educators at all stages of their professional growth; links subject-matter knowledge and effective teaching practices to student learning and achievement; and helps build and support school-based professional learning communities. Today, more than 91,000 National Board Certified Teachers are making a positive difference in the lives of students across the nation. For more information, visit http://www.nbpts.org/.

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Contact: James R. Minichello
(703) 465-2171
Cell: (202) 360-9973
jminichello@nbpts.org

Parent Teacher Conference

I got lucky this year because there are some parents in my classroom who are responsible and are cooperating with me to help their child. I am keeping documentations of how my students are improving academically and behaviorally, and data show that those who have parents that I can count on are the ones who are showing good steady progress.

This sounds really very familiar to me, I've had conversations with parents very similar to this...

 

Relationships First, Education Second

-Start the year with a "parent-only" meeting before the first day of school. Parents often come to the classroom with preconceived ideas and fears. This is your opportunity to interact with parents without child interruptions and develop the parent-teacher relationship. Parents are able to focus on your words and interact with you and the other parents in the class. This meeting also allows you to set the expectations and tone for the year, relieve parent concerns, and establish a positive parent climate in your room. The underlying theme for this first meeting: that both educators and parents are the child's teachers.

-Invite resource staff, so parents can experience the teamwork that is needed for student success.

-Schedule "Parent-only" meetings through the year to build and maintain parent relationships, align teacher with parent, and maintain parent education.

Create a Partnership between Teachers and Parents

-We can't expect academic assistance from parents if they don't understand the skills being taught. Understand that you are teacher to both student and parent.

-Provide weekly parent education tips that explain the concepts being taught and provide support materials that allow parents to help at home.

-Work with resource teachers to provide ability-based homework that reinforces the concepts of the general education and resource room.

-Bridge the gap between home and school through thematic home projects.

-Provide parent homework and a method of weekly communication between parent and teacher.

-Record the efforts of parent involvement on each child's report card, so parents can see the importance of their work and the value you place on it.

Harness the Talents and Energies of Your Students' Parents

-Ask parents to chair and plan family events and class fundraisers. Empower them to make this their child's best year of learning. Their involvement establishes "buy-in" and a sense of ownership in the classroom.

Offer Parenting/Teacher Education Classes

-Set up school-wide parenting and teacher education classes.

-Parenting with Love and Logic along with its companion course, The Nine Essentials of Learning with Love and Logic, provides effective parenting and teacher education. Both courses establish a common framework and language for behavior expectations at home and school.

-At evening Love and Logic parenting classes, provide child-care at the school, so parents are able to share issues and concerns with other parents and relieve feelings of isolation.

-Love and Logic helps teachers, parents, and students realize that children are responsible for their behaviors and able to make good behavior choices. Parents and educators alike have commented that Love and Logic has facilitated better relationships between parent, teacher and student, so students and adults can concentrate on learning rather than behavior issues.

Use Your Data to Establish Future Goals for Both School and Home

-Clearly communicate assessment goals and dates.

-Share the results of assessment with parents.

-Use a variety of assessment data to establish future goals for both home and school. Provide parents with the materials and education they need to assist their child.

-Collaborate with all specialists who work with your students, so all adults and parents work toward student success.

-Help parents set up graphic organizers and data collection sheets that indicate work completed and methods used at home. These graphic organizers provide indispensable parent documentation and will become a valuable tool for conferences when establishing resource needs as well as for future IEP and 504 meetings when new goals are established.

Encouragement vs. Praise

-Telling your students and parents that they are doing a great job is "hollow" praise. Offer encouragement rather than praise by giving specific examples of a job well done.

-Send home regular communication to all parents that details specific examples of parent-initiated creative teaching strategies and methods. Follow up with phone calls of encouragement and support. This motivates involved parents to continue working with their children and encourages less involved parents to become active members of the education process.

-Never give up... some parents take longer to become a member of your learning community. Celebrate Student Learning

-Celebrate -- provide regular events that showcase your students' learning and invite parents to participate.

-Use each event as an opportunity for parent education and encouragement while developing a community.

-End the year with a celebration of both student and parent successes, and solicit the parents' commitment to continue supporting their children throughout their academic careers.

Teachers Affect Eternity -- One Can Never Tell Where Their Influence Stops

-The common thread that is woven throughout a student's academic career is the parent, so inspire a life-long parent commitment. Together, parents, students, and teachers can create a synergy that raises academic achievement. Give your students an intrinsic love of learning. Allow your parents to experience the success of their academic involvement, so they are motivated to continue nurturing their child until adulthood.

Jeffrey Thompson is the Disney 2004 Outstanding Elementary Teacher and Teacher of the Year. He teaches kindergarten at Evergreen Elementary School on the Fort Lewis Army Post in Washington. He also teaches Parenting with Love and Logic and The 9 Essentials of Learning with Love and Logic to parents and educators. Thompson is a member of the Washington CEC.

Actresses with Down syndrome honored by disability-advocacy group

Lauren Potter and Robin Trocki, two actresses with Down syndrome who regularly appear on the television series "Glee," are receiving The Arc's first Inclusion and Image Award today. "We wanted to commend the actresses and the show in particular for providing positive portrayals of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities," a spokeswoman for The Arc said. Disability Scoop

IEP Service Decleration Form

Dear colleagues, did you receive the WTU message about the IEP Service Decleration Form? If not, here it is...

IEP SERVICE DECLARATION FORM

The Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) has reached an agreement with the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) and DC Public Schools (DCPS) that will now allow service providers to sign the IEP Service Declaration Form. Both OSSE and DCPS have agreed to the removal of the Penalty of Jury language from the form as requested by the WTU. A copy of the revised form has been forwarded to your WTU email account. The WTU now recommends that our Service Providers complete and sign the IEP Service Declaration Form. Thank you for your patience while the WTU worked to resolve this issue in a manner that protects the rights and interests of our members.

Here's the referenced IEP Decleration Form:

                                                 DECLARATION OF FULL NAME


Full Name, hereby declares that the following statements are true and correct:

1. I am fully familiar with the facts stated in this Declaration.

2. I am the Title at School Name, a public school in District of Columbia.

3. I have been employed at School Name for approximately Number years or months (please circle).

4. As the Title at School Name, I coordinate and/or attend annual IEP meetings for students enrolled at School Name.

5. I am familiar with Student's Name (hereinafter “Student”).

6. An IEP meeting for the Student was held on Date or is scheduled to be held on Date (please circle).

7. As of October 5, 2010, I had provided Number minutes/hours (please circle) of specific special education service or related service to the Student as prescribed in the Student’s IEP since the beginning of the school year. That is, I provided Number hours of specific special education service or related service per week to the Student.

8. Since October 5, 2010, I have continued providing Number minutes/hours (please circle) of specific special education service or related service to the Student on a weekly basis.

I declare that the foregoing is true and correct.



Executed on ______________________
                                   Date



__________________________________
                    Full Name



__________________________________
                          Title



SPED Collaborative Weblog

For the first time in many years our special needs students at JMS reached "Safe Harbor" in the most recent DC CAS (State Assessments). Data shows that our students reach their maximum potential if we all implement best practices, and if we give the schools the needed time, tools and training. Last year we had smaller class sizes and more intervention specialists to support our teachers and special needs students in resource and general ed classes, and of course, we all worked hard together in our school to move everyone up. We made progress last year...


I am hoping that this year we will continue to collaborate to meet our common goal: helping our students succeed.


I have extended what used to be my class portal to our now JMS SPED portal in the spirit of collaboration. To innovatively address the issues that we are having (yes, we listen and we do something hoping to resolve everyone's concerns in our SPED Department in my school) regarding differentiating instruction, modifying classwork, and availability of SPED instructional resources to help ALL our struggling kids (not just students with IEP), we have made these accessible to you 24/7 even after school hours:

- letters to parents and students

- SPED syllabus

- class rules and expectations

- lesson presentations

- lesson plans and HW

- SPED course materials

- project rubrics
- helpful tips

How else can we do this? Any ideas? Email me: solangala@yahoo.com.

Attention: All DCPS Special Education Teachers, Service Providers and General Education Teachers

Dear colleagues, please read this important announcement which was also emailed to all our WTU members:

Next week the Washington Teachers’ Union (WTU) will engage in a Summit with leaders from DC Public Schools Department of Special Education. The purpose of this Summit is to improve the delivery of Special Education services to our children. We are seeking your input for this important agenda and would like to hear your concerns and viable solutions as they relate to Special Education. In addition, if you know of any contract violations as they pertain to Special Education, please contact your WTU Field Representative immediately at (202) 293-8600.

We are also requesting your input on all of the Professional Development resources that you feel will assist you in offering the best Special Education services possible to our students. As teachers, it is important that we are knowledgeable and confident in our delivery of these specialized services.
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We are asking that you submit all of your concerns, questions and input, along with any additional documentation, by the close of business on Friday, September 10, 2010. Please send this information by e-mail or by fax only and be sure to include your name and contact number on all submissions.
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You can e-mail or fax this information to:

 

Attention: Anita Corley

WTU Field Representative

Email: acorley@wtulocal6.org
Fax #: (202) 293-8633

 

Every valid request will be presented to the DCPS leadership and detailed outcomes will be posted on our website, as well as , shared via email with our membership.

Thank you.

Monique LeNoir
Director of Communications
The Washington Teachers' Union

Woman who cannot see is head of Qatar school for visually impaired

“If you trust God and have a strong will, you can overcome any challenge, ” said Hayat Khalil Hassan Nazar Heji.

Hayat Khalil Hassan Nazar Heji is the 34-year-old director of Qatar's Al Noor Institute for the Visually Impaired. Heji, who has been unable to see since fifth grade, studied English in the U.S., where she earned a doctorate in educational leadership before returning to lead the Noor Institute, which serves 430 students from preschool through sixth grade. Heji attributes her success to the support of family, teachers and others in her life. The New York Times (free registration)

Special-education lawyer is charged with operating without a license

Sharon Cheich and her husband, Ronald, paid Howard D. Deiner more than $15,000 and lost their case against the Arlington schools. (John Mcdonnell/the Washington Post)

Howard D. Deiner, who represented the families of numerous students with special needs in and around Washington, D.C., was not licensed as a lawyer for much of the time he represented those families, court records show. Deiner allegedly lost numerous cases because of poor preparation or incomplete work. Deiner -- who faces criminal charges, civil penalties and 74 misconduct charges from the D.C. bar association -- has not commented on the allegations and is still representing families during internal school hearings in Virginia, which he is legally allowed to do. The Washington Post

NBCTs among 5 selected for teaching hall of fame

This is my 6th year here in the US, my 6th year of teaching in DCPS. In my early years here, I was inspired and motivated by some of the most outstanding veteran teachers in my school at Jefferson MS to be the exceptional teacher that I can be. Teachers like my colleague, Dr. Alesia Slocoumb-Bradford whom I currently work with in a co-teaching environment, inspired me to become an accomplished teacher.

Dr. Alesia Slocumb-Bradford, is our seventh-grade pre-algebra teacher at Jefferson Middle School. She is a teacher for 23 years; she believes the most productive relationship between teachers and students is one where there is respect, communication, comfort and a shared sense of understanding of goals for students and teachers. For me, she is a master educator in the truest sense of the word: an excellent mentor, she plays the role of teacher, friend, guide, coach, and role model to us teachers in my school. Her teaching style shows precision - no random cuts, no random comments, she is very consistent with the routines and procedures from the beginning until the end of our class. With all of us Jefferson family, teachers and staff gathered at the "Classroom of the Future", Dr. Slocoumb was honored yesterday into the National Teachers Hall of Fame. I hugged her and whispered softly "You inspire me".

The honorees are Linda Evanchyk of Florida, Erlene Nelson of Pennsylvania, Warren Phillips of Massachusetts, Darrell Woods of Ohio and Alesia Slocumb-Bradford of Washington, D.C. "There are 12,000 teachers in the district of Philadelphia," said Nelson, a retired teacher and NBCT. "If every teacher dedicated themselves to save a child each year, we would save more than 12,000 students, and what an impact it would have on society." Philadelphia Daily News

Four out of the five teachers selected this year for induction into the National Teachers Hall of Fame are National Board Certified Teachers.

Right after her reception, I drove to another event for the 2009 National Board Certified Teachers hosted by the WTU and Central Office; I was one of the seven NBCT honorees.

As I was listening to the remarks of my colleague, I remember my grandmother who is a daughter of a World War II Lt. Colonel and one of the strongest leaders in the medical field back home in the Philippines. She told me, "Maria, always fight for your dreams, and remember if your dreams are big enough the problems don't really matter". There is a noble reason why I did not become a doctor like her, or the first lady cadet at the Philippine Military Academy, or an enterpreneur...it is my destiny to become an educator.

Earth Day is every day for some Calif. students in special education

Fesler Junior High students from left, Cheyenne Drum, Alexis Montano, Jasmin Clayton and Israel Hernandez recycle classroom materials Monday. A dozen students from the school collect the bins from classrooms every Friday. //Mark Brown/Staff

A number of California schools celebrate Earth Day all year long by involving students in their efforts to recycle. Students in the special-education Advancement Via Individual Determination program at Fesler Junior High School lead their school's initiative and use the money they raise from recycling bottles to pay for class trips. "It's building self-esteem for our [students with special needs] because they're providing services to our school and, of course, it gets us all thinking more environmentally," said Principal Barbara Walker. Santa Maria Times (Calif.)

Teacher Sol is listed as a top 50 special education blog

I tried to avoid for my blog to become a venue for me to vent some political issues in education happening in our school district, although I will be posting more about my own experiences and reflections here related to education reform. My goal for having this blog is to share my resources with the teachers, parents, students, and other professionals in this field in my school district, across the country and around the globe. For six years, I have been getting emails and feedback from teachers around and outside the country thanking me for the vast resources, teaching tips and ideas, news articles, etc... my blog has served its purpose.

This morning, I received an email that "Teacher Sol is listed as a top 50 special education blog":

Hello Maria

I’m just writing this to let you know about a new featured post we just made over here at TeachTechTopia entitled, “Top 50 Special Education Blogs.” I felt that both you and your readers at Teacher Sol might find it to be an interesting article. Please do let me know if you have any feedback --


Warm Regards,

Emily Johnston
TeachTechTopia

Thank you, Emily. I am honored for my blog to be included in the Top 50 SPED Blogs. I hope your readers find my blog helpful.