Guest Blogger: Kassy Maloney...Starting the School Year Off RIGHT!

The beginning of the school year is right around the corner! As teachers of children with visual impairments and orientation and mobility specialists, we always want to start the year off on the right foot. Starting the school year successfully will allow everything to flow in to place easier. Scheduling will be easier. Teaching will be easier. Your October-self will thank you for the work you put in now.

When I first started teaching Orientation and Mobility 12 years ago, I was so flustered at the beginning of the school year. On one hand, it felt exhilarating to get back into the swing of the school year. On the other, there is SO MUCH to do. Between the mandatory meetings that have little to do with students with visual impairments and the desire to start the school year off on the right foot, I ended up stressed out every single year. For the first five years of my teaching career, I worked 14 hour days from August through mid-October. You don’t have to do that. I am going to break down the 6 most important things that you need to do to start the school year off successfully. Focusing on each of these will allow you to get it all done without driving yourself crazy.

Tips to Start of the School Year Off on The Right Foot.

First and foremost- Breathe. Everything always works out. Always. The beginning of the year is stressful. There is no getting around it. But every April, when you can see the end of the school year in sight, it all becomes clear. Sure, in some ways your schedule could have been better. In hindsight, maybe you would have changed a few things. But overall, the things that you are really stressed about right now will all be handled in a way that works out best for everyone. Believe that.

Read Evaluations and IEP’s. Once you have your caseload, gather the evaluations you need about each student. In the beginning of my career, I read every single report cover to cover before even meeting the students. Now, I review the O&M evaluation, Functional Vision Evaluation, IEP goals, and any physical and/or behavioral evaluations. After the school year starts, I can go back and read the rest of the evaluations and IEP goals. Somewhere along the way, you might want to find out each students’ reading level so you know what to expect when you give them a map or grocery list.

The reason I do this before scheduling is so you can have an idea of the students’ needs before you start scheduling. If a student with diabetes needs to take a 2PM medication, then you don’t want to schedule them at a time when this medication will need to be administered.

Next up, the best part- Scheduling. At a residential school, I tried to schedule the most academic students first, and then work my way down to the students who had less of an academic load. Those students sometimes had more availability.

If you are itinerant, you might want to schedule your students based on the area that you will be in at that time. I will be traveling hours between areas this year. My plan is to designate one day per county and see all of my students in that area on that day.

My absolute best tip is to make sure the teachers or clients know that the schedule is subject to change. If you are going to keep the same schedule throughout the school year, you may want to make a google calendar once your schedule settles down. Invite the students’ teacher and advisor to the event. If you do this, make sure to keep up with it as things change.

Develop your Teaching Strategies: Reach out to your students’ previous TVI/O&M Specialist. Try to get them on the phone for a quick chat about the student. Having somebody to talk with, especially if you are a new teacher or the student is new to you, will save you tons of time and energy in the long run. Along with that, if you have time, call the parents and introduce yourself.

Get to know the office staff: Introduce yourself to the office staff at each location you will be at. The administrative assistant to the principal or assistant principal is going to be your friend. Bring them cookies or a gift card to Starbucks if you can afford it. Do NOT skip this. These people can tattle tale on you or they can help you when you make a mistake. Which one do you want? Trust me. You ARE going to make a mistake with one of their students at some point during the school year. If the administrative assistant likes you, the rest of the team is more likely to be on your side.

Get organized! Create your organizational system. Create your students’ folders. Make an O&M Student Profile sheet to take informal notes on your student, their IEP meetings, their parents’ contact information, etc. Having one place to put all of their information will help you throughout the year. It is also easy to hand that document off to the next TVI/O&M Specialist next year. Create your Data Form to take data on each of your lessons. This form will allow you to fill in each students’ data right after the lesson ends. It will come up with a spreadsheet that you can separate in to student name when reporting on your data. Google docs and forms are both HIPPA and FERPA compliant.

After that, get your materials for the first week ready. My first lessons were always relationship building. We reviewed my simple O&M rules and I got to know the students. Use the first few weeks to teach them their surroundings and assess their skills without too much pressure on them.

I know how overwhelming the beginning of the school year can be. That’s why I am sharing both my O&M Student Profile sheet and my Data Collection form with you! If you leave your email address below, I will send them both to you immediately. You will also get examples of how you can organize your documents so they work for you, wherever you happen to be.


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