Above and Beyond

A few days back, our POR (Positions of Responsibility) holder who also happens to be our Resource Teacher, gave me the third degree. She didn’t do it for fun; she was compelled to do so as she needed some clarification. It was in relationship to the extra CYW that I had declined sometime in October. The parent, who procured this opportunity, was upset and wanted to know why!

My first response was that I go above and beyond for my students, and each decision I make is in their best interests. To which, my POR casually commented that when we sign up for Spec Ed, we sign up to go above and beyond. That annoyed me to some extent because I do not say things for effect. I do what I say! Each school day, I send a personalized email to my students’ parent(s) about their child’s day - they get a detailed report about their child’s struggles and triumphs. For this communication to happen, I must be paying attention, and I must be on my toes constantly. I need to observe and make mental notes throughout the school day.

I have done this in every Spec Ed role I served. My summer school principal, from 2024, thought it was too much, and said that I should never do it … especially when I have my own classroom as the email communication takes up about an hour or more of my time each school day. Even Ma Bean, my CYW from last school year, wanted me to stop after the first couple of months.

In general, I tend to over communicate. As a Special Education teacher, I *want* to communicate to parents. Most of my students are non-verbal and they can’t talk to their parents about their school day. Since I send these detailed reports, parents know what happened in their child’s school day. At the end of a school year, they can potentially publish books about their children. And they can also use information in there to make a case against me. And that was the situation my POR was dealing with … the parent made a list of all incidents, related to safety, that happened over the three months of school to push for the extra CYW. My POR wanted to know why I feel the need to write everything in such detail?!

If I was a parent of a child with special needs, I would appreciate anecdotes from their school day.

Parents feel all sorts of emotions when they read my email communication - they have laughed and they have apologized; they are pleasantly surprised and can’t believe how far their child has come; and they are mostly grateful. In all honesty, I have thought of putting an end to this a couple of times … it is a lot of work and some days, I have no energy to write anything; however, I am also energized when I write about my students’ school day. I cannot imagine ever not sending these notes to the parents … even if they weaponize them against me!

I have taken the time to go through all the incidents the parent listed. 10 of the 15 listed could have been avoided if Michael had been on top of things … they would not have occurred if Ma Bean had been there. It is too bad when I want to do my best, and I do not have the best support … some days, I do not have any support at all! If I had the power, Micheal would have been let go a few weeks ago. I really don’t want him around my students. Couple of them keep running away from him.

I wanted to deal with this on my own, but I realized that I am not a miracle worker. Last Friday was the last straw. When I pointed to Michael that he spent over an hour writing an incident report instead of watching the students, he retaliated that our principal asked for it and it was a priority. This was at the end of the school day. Michael said that and walked away. I was ready to leave too as it had been quite the day, but instead I walked into our principal’s office. I wanted to know why she would make writing an incident report a priority over a CYW doing his job?! She was shocked as she did not talk with Michael that entire day and she hadn’t asked for a report!

I am glad I walked into the principal’s office. It started a much-needed conversation. I found out that Michael has been using our principal’s name to cover up his mistakes. He knew that I am a little intimidated by the lady, and perhaps he counted on me never verifying his claims. What he should have counted on was how much I care about my students and that I would go to war with anyone for them … even the principal!

Almost all the weekend, I was conflicted. I felt, at times, that I got Michael into trouble. Then, I had to remind myself that I did not go to the principal so many times because I covered for Michael. This time, I went to confront the principal about a report that was prioritized over the safety and well-being of my students. If Michael had only been honest, he wouldn’t be in trouble now. Well, he is not really in trouble as I told our principal that I would continue to deal with him and I want her to stay out of it … for now.

I hope that tomorrow is a better day.

Addendum:

Regardless of what today was like, there will be better days ... I am a believer.