Michelle, an autism classroom teacher with 20 years of experience, kept her class running while recovering from a knee injury by relying on three systems: empowered paraprofessionals handling assessments and data, communication tools like Remind and group chats for families and staff, and a visual Google Slides schedule that guided students and substitutes. She joined whole-group instruction via Zoom so students saw her face daily.
Hey there, I'm Michelle. I'm a self-contained primary special education teacher, and I've been working in education for almost 20 years supporting hundreds of autistic children and their families. Here's a challenge I think many of us can relate to: what happens when life throws you a curveball and you suddenly can't be in your classroom every day? That's exactly what's happened to me while I've been home recovering from an injury. But here's the good news: Because of the systems, the structure, and the teamwork that I've built in my classroom, my classroom hasn't just survived, it's actually continued to thrive. And today I want to share how that's possible. Being away from my classroom is one of the hardest things for me as a teacher. I'm usually very hands-on with planning, prepping, and supporting not only my students but my paraprofessionals directly. But right now I'm learning to do it all from the sidelines, and here is what's making it possible. Number 1, my incredible paraprofessionals. They have stepped up in so many ways, helping with assessments, collecting data, making sure we're still tracking student growth and progress every day. Next, continuing to stay connected with my students, their families, and my paraprofessionals remains a top priority for me. And even though I'm not physically there, I stay connected with my team through group chats and phone calls, and then I use the Remind app for communicating with parents. And finally, if you're a special education teacher, you know that our students thrive off of a solid daily schedule. And I'm so thankful that I was able to spend the first few days of school with my students teaching them and showing them a routine on my Google Slides. And now my paraprofessionals or my guest teacher are able to take over for me, but every morning I'm still planning and prepping the day through my detailed Google Slides. And then this way my paras and my students know exactly what to expect. Okay, now one of my favorite parts is that I have set it up so that I can still join my students via Zoom during whole group time. My students still get to see my face every day, and I still get to connect with them even if it's virtually. Now this season has been super challenging as I wait for knee surgery, but it's also been such a powerful reminder of teamwork. A strong classroom doesn't run on one person. It runs on a team working together with the same goal. And here's the biggest lesson I've learned through all of this: take care of your team and set up your structure early. Because I put systems in place at the beginning of the school year, my classroom can practically run itself. Yes, it's been hard, and yes, it's been challenging, but we've been able to manage because of that foundation and because my team feels supported. Here's a message for you today: trust in your team, trust in your classroom, and keep moving forward. If you'd like to see more about my morning meeting or my whole group activities with my students, check out my morning meeting video at the Autism Helpers YouTube channel.
