Special education teachers and paraprofessionals answer three questions about what they want for students, their team, and the school community. Responses get consolidated on one sheet everyone signs, clarifying shared purpose and building unity around goals like student independence, safety, and academic progress.
Hey, to all my special ed teachers who are working in a classroom with paraprofessionals, I have a 15-minute activity that will completely change your school year. That is making a team mission statement. This can only take 15 minutes. I have 3 questions you're gonna answer as a group. Spend 5 minutes on each question. You're gonna have this done. This team mission statement puts together your common whys. Why are you in this role? And it's gonna bring you together on your purpose for being there. Have each of your team members answer these questions individually and then put your common answers on a big piece of paper and everyone sign it. So here are my 3 questions. First, what do we want for our students? Do we want them to be independent? Do we want them to feel safe? Do we want them to make academic progress? Next, what do we want for our team? Do we want mutual respect? Do we want people to show up on time? Do we want to work together collaboratively? Third, what do we want for our school community? Do we want inclusion? Do we want to feel like a member of the community? Do we want to do more things with other classrooms? So write down those answers, put your common whys together, and that is your team mission statement.
