5 Ways for Special Ed Directors to Make Summer Planning Count
For many special education directors, the summer months provide a rare opportunity to take a step back and plan for the upcoming school year. With students and teachers on break, the intense day-to-day demands of the job ease up, allowing some breathing room for big picture thinking and preparation. However, the summer can pass quickly. Following are five tips to help special ed directors make the most of this valuable planning time.
1. Plan Early
When you are in the whirlwind of the spring semester, Summer can feel like an unimportant point in the distant future. However, Summer is when you can set the stage for improvement in the next school year. Summer is also when there are fewer people around, and the people who are around are in and out of the office for breaks and vacation. If you are not intentional about the work being done and the structures to keep up with the work, the entire summer can pass with the most important work being undone.
Starting on January 1, I start a Next Year folder where requests and ideas are placed as they come up. In April, I start to organize these ideas into a list of summer projects to develop or I make decisions about the suggestions that will have the biggest impact on our organization. I also use this time to review data and pick one or two areas to improve. Last year was our evaluation report and our FBA/BIP processes.
I then organize the projects and the steps they will take to accomplish, identify a due date for the project, and work backward to determine when each related task needs to be done. I then organize the tasks by date and share the projects and tasks with the staff who will be in the office during the summer. I ensure all of their projects are accounted for as well.
We then meet weekly during the summer to ensure we are making progress on the projects. These meetings also give us a chance to communicate with everyone about upcoming absences so work can be reassigned appropriately.
2. Analyze data and assess your program's strengths and weaknesses.
Take a deep dive into the previous year's data on student performance, behavior, classroom observations, and more. Look for patterns and areas where adjustments could drive improvement in academics, social/emotional support, staffing, professional development needs, etc. This is a great time to review the APR/SPP data, evaluation outcomes, referral rates, staff ratios, etc. Understanding the facts about your organization is key to telling the story to others and knowing what needs to be changed and what needs to be built upon.
3. Review procedures and legal requirements.
The legal landscape for special education is constantly evolving. Use the summer to thoroughly review your district's procedures and make any updates needed to stay compliant with new rules, regulations, and case law.
We collect data from our periodic file review process and any formal file review processes involving the state department of education and then use this data to identify which areas need improvement. This may include changes to forms, clarifying prompts within the system, updating guidance documents, or developing training. There will always be errors within a process as complex as special education, but we can learn and grow beyond making the same mistakes over and over again.
4. Develop a long-term vision and set yearly goals.
With the daily fires of the school year sometimes taking precedence, it's easy for long-range planning to get pushed aside. The summer provides space to craft a multi-year strategic vision for your special education program and establish concrete goals for the year ahead.
I focus on the key areas of results and retention and create goals based on these areas. I have a certified and classified retention goal, as well as goals related to improving inclusion, academic performance improvement, and graduation rates.
5. Build key relationships.
Reach out to connect with principals, general education directors, superintendents, and other stakeholder groups. Discuss priorities, hear their perspectives, and solidify shared objectives for an integrated system supporting all learners. Scheduling one or two lunches per week during the summer can be a great first step without taking up a ton of extra time.
While a well-deserved break is important, taking advantage of the summer's flexibility can pay huge dividends for keeping a district's special education services optimized and moving in the right direction. With intentional planning, this valuable time can be capitalized on for the ultimate benefit of students.