Classy Gal Designs and Publishing: Classroom Organization

Other great classroom ideas await...

An idea board full of creative links.

http://www.pinterest.com/shanhenderson/cute-classroom/

Organized classroom? Yes please!

Today I put together a schedule board in my classroom...just for duties, reminders and notices. 3 paraprofessional and 2 teachers work in our resource room and some days there is A LOT going on!

This will be the scheduling hot-spot in the room.
My goal is to

You can use calendar labels you already have or purchase the set shown here available at my TpT store.

I have also seen a GIANT calendar created with magnetic strips and ribbon.

Stashing reminders and notices in a folder, clipped to the board keeps them handy. It also keeps them neat. I keep them for back up...just in case I need more information about something that is posted on the calendar.

All of the Labels are available at Classy Gal Designs and Publishing.

The biggest challenge to keeping a special education

classroom organized is KEEPING THE PAPERWORK ORGANIZED! Every other organizational chore seems minor in comparison.

Here are some tips. I am a big fan of the checklist, as you will see. Oh and binders. I ♥ binders.

At the beginning of the year I go through all of my students’ files. I create a list all of the meeting dates and reevaluation dates. This needs to be done RIGHT AWAY. As soon as those files are available! (I hate unpleasant surprises at the beginning of the school year!) I also keep a calendar for the entire school year - i.e. when I need to send out invitations, when I need to collaborate other school personnel, all of the due dates related to the timeline. I complete a student information sheet for each of my students and store that, as well as any other important documents for that student - notes from teachers, data collection, notes from home in a working file. I have found that this makes preparing for a meeting MUCH easier than digging through a student's cumulative file. I use a meeting check list to make sure I have everything I need completed before and after the meetings. Once a meeting is over, I staple the check list and all the student information together and file it with the student’s records that I keep in my classroom.

I keep current reading and math data collection on a clipboard, where it is handy to grab and jot down notes or future goals for individual students.

I also have a larger binders for reading and math data, each with tabs for individual students. There I keep copies of all of their reading assessments, group data, work samples...anything I will need at an IEP meeting or to show growth over the year.

Other ideas I love for organization: