Special Education for Beginners | Managing Paraprofessionals, Special Education Strategies, First Year Sped Teachers, Special Ed Overwhelm, Paperwork for Special Education Teachers

Simple Systems for Stress-Free Progress Monitoring

• Episode 290

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In this episode of Special Education for Beginners, we're continuing our December theme of Survive & Thrive. 

Last week on Episode 289, we kicked things off with a powerful mindset episode that challenged you to let go of perfectionism, release the guilt, and embrace the idea that you are enough. 

Today, we're focusing on THRIVING through the chaos with actionable strategies.

Let’s be real: December is no joke in the world of special education. The behaviors are ramping up, your to-do list is growing by the minute, and that dreaded progress monitoring deadline is looming. But surviving doesn’t mean doing everything perfectly. It means simplifying.

Tune in as I share 7 practical and time-saving strategies that can help you collect meaningful data without losing your mind, or your holiday spirit. From using passive time to pull one-on-one data, to delegating with clarity, to making the most of what you already have in your classroom—this episode is all about making smart, simple choices that support YOU.

🧰 Resources Mentioned:

🎯 Data Collection Help for Paras

📊 Ready-to-Use Progress Monitoring Tools

🔑 What You’ll Learn:

  • Why December is the exact time you need simple systems (not big overhauls)
  • How to take advantage of holiday downtime (movies, crafts, rotations) for real data
  • Specific ways to involve your paras in meaningful data collection
  • How to make academic goals feel festive and fun with seasonal twists
  • A reminder that done is better than perfect when it comes to progress reports

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And if this episode helped simplify your stress, would you do me a favor and leave a quick review? Your feedback helps more special educators find the show, and THRIVE too.

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SPEAKER_00:

Hey there. Are you feeling that December overwhelm yet? Because most of the people that I'm working with right now are definitely feeling it. Today we are continuing the December theme of survive and thrive. Last week we discussed three mindset shifts to help you learn how to protect your energy and keep your perspective during one of the busiest, most emotionally intense times of the school year. Today we are focusing on the thrive part of the survive and thrive theme because surviving is essential. I get it, but I am a glass half-full type of girl, which means I want to do more than survive. I want to feel like I'm not drowning. And I want that for you as well. One of the most powerful ways to do that is by putting systems into place that can save your sanity in December and carry you strong into the new semester. So let's get to it. Hey special educator. Are you overwhelmed by the absurd amount of paperwork on your to-do list? Do you wish you had the skills to build a rock solid team with your staff? Do you find yourself scouring the internet for how to meet the needs of each student on your caseload? Well, hey there, I'm Jennifer Hoffiber, an award-winning veteran special education teacher and current instructional coach who has walked in your shoes through each of these challenges. And yes, I have the metaphorical blisters to prove it. I have cried your tears and felt your pain, and now I'm here to support you in the way I wish someone would have been there to support me. Listen in each week as my guests and I dish out practical wisdom to help you handle all the classroom curveballs that are thrown at you and learn how to laugh in spite of the chaos to celebrate those small yet significant victories that only a special educator can understand. So, are you ready? Wipe your tears and put on your superhero cape because together we are going to learn how to survive and thrive in the ever-crazy, completely overwhelming laugh so you don't cry profession of being a special education teacher. So the other day I walked into one of my teachers' classrooms and saw a Christmas movie playing on the screen. The paras were scattered around the room with the kids working on a craft, and the students were calm and engaged. The teacher, though, they didn't even notice I had walked in. They were huddled at their desk, laser focused on their laptop, typing away like their life depended on it. And honestly, it kind of did. They were catching up on progress reports. When they finally looked up, I could see it on their face. That hint of embarrassment, like they got caught doing something wrong. But here's what I told them and what I want to tell you. You're not doing anything wrong, you're doing what you have to do. There is no shame in using downtime wisely. You're not slacking, you're surviving, and honestly, that's what makes you a good teacher. You're adapting to what your students and your paperwork need at the same time. So let's talk about systems and why they matter in December. I don't know about you, but there have been many December's where I felt like everything was falling apart. Behaviors were off the charts, I still had a couple of IEPs to get done, students and paras were off their routines, and those dang progress reports were looming. And every time I would sit down to make a list or think about catching up, my brain would short circuit because there was just so much going on. So what I learned through living this is simple systems are what will save you during this time of year. Not complicated overhauls or starting a brand new method, just simple things to easily put into your daily routine to make December more manageable. What you need is a plan that works in the middle of real life, one that functions while the movie is playing, the ornaments are falling off the tree and your para is out with the flu. And I have a few simple systems that will help anchor you when everything else feels scattered, help you reclaim just enough structure to move forward, even if it's not perfect, and give you a sense of control when everything else is bananas. I promise that if you will implement just one or two of these, you'll be amazed at how much lighter your December will feel. So I have seven practical strategies that are real-world things that will help you get your progress monitoring done without staying until 7 p.m. every night. The first is to time block, even if it's imperfect. Set aside a short 20 to 30 minute block during parts of the day when your students are engaged in seasonal or independent activities like crafts, games, or a movie. These don't have to be perfectly planned blocks. The goal is to simply create a pocket of time where you can pull students one-on-one or update your data. The key is to stop waiting for a perfect window of time to appear because it won't. Give students meaningful, low prep tasks to do while you chip away at those progress monitoring reports one data point at a time. Strategy number two is to batch your data collection. Similar to the first one, but rather than switching between subjects, students, or goal types every five minutes, try batching your tasks. Pull three students with similar reading goals and assess them back to back using the same fluency probe or comprehension passage. Batching minimizes your mental transitions and it speeds up your documentation and it lets you reuse materials more efficiently. You will feel more productive and you'll get a bigger chunk of your caseload covered in less time. The third is to embed progress monitoring into your group activities. Progress monitoring does not have to be a separate event. Build it directly into your existing small groups and your classroom routines. This is where I feel like I shined as a teacher. I didn't want to wait until the last minute to get my data. I wanted it to be embedded into my daily routine and work smarter, not harder. While leading a reading group, quickly assess fluency or comprehension with each student and keep track of that data on either a sticky note or in a notebook. During math rotations, jot down accuracy on whiteboard responses or have students complete a mini skill check. For behavior goals, track real-time observations during transitions, not just during your designated behavior minutes. When you embed it into what you are already doing, it becomes more manageable instead of just one more thing on your December to-do list. The fourth is to enlist your paras help with clarity. Your paraprofessionals are an extension of your team and they can be a big help during data collection, but they can only help if they know exactly what to do. So take 5 to 15 minutes to teach them how to use a simple checklist or a data sheet. Or better yet, you can use the Training Paraprofessionals Data Collection Resource from the Speed Prep Academy TPT store. This product provides editable templates, visuals, and tips specifically designed to help paraprofessionals understand what to track, when to track it, and how to communicate that information back to you. I will leave the link in the show notes if you need something concrete to use to train your paras on data collection. But definitely use them to help you. Assign each pair one or two students to focus on during specific parts of the day, like independent work, transitions, or lunch. When everyone knows their role, the workload becomes more manageable, the data becomes more consistent, and your team becomes stronger. Remember, delegation isn't just helpful, it's necessary, especially at this time of the year. Number five is to use the holiday theme to your advantage. December is packed with holiday spirit, so lean into that. Turn IEP goals into festive activities that don't feel like work. If you have writing goals, have students write letters to Santa or write their New Year's resolutions. Math goals, you can measure holiday decorations, graph classroom gifts, or count candy canes. For early learners, you can sort ornaments by color or sequence cookie baking steps. You're still collecting progress, but you're just disguising it as fun. Number six is to leverage passive time, like that teacher did with the movie. There's no shame in using a class movie to catch up on data. If your students are engaged in watching the Grinch, you can pull students one-on-one for quick probes or update your logs at the back table. Many teachers feel guilty about this, and sometimes our administration makes us feel guilty as well. But this is exactly how you keep the ship afloat during December. Supervision is still happening, learning can still be reinforced, and you are protecting your peace of mind by getting your important work done before the break. And then strategy number seven is to use some grab and go tools. Sometimes you are just too drained to create your own progress monitoring probes from scratch. That's where grab and go tools are a game changer, especially in December when your brain is maxed out. Two of my favorite tools from the SPED Prep Academy TPT store are the progress monitoring assessments for special education, which is a bundle of low prep academic assessments for ELA and math that you can print and use immediately. And these are good for kindergarten through fifth grade. These tasks are straightforward and standards based and make it easy to track student performance without overcomplicating your system. The other one is the special education exit tickets for progress monitoring. These are perfect for quick daily check-ins and they give you real data points over time. Plus, they help your students reflect on their learning, which is a great way to keep them engaged during the holiday slump. Having these tools ready to go means you can spend less time scrambling and more time actually reviewing and analyzing the data. Or better yet, taking a breath, because let's face it, we all need more of those in December. So I hope today's episode reminded you that progress monitoring doesn't have to feel like one more thing that tips you over the edge during December. With a few small shifts in how you structure your time and how you use your team, you can survive this season and maybe even thrive a little too. So remember simple. Simple systems are what will save you right now. You don't need a fancy new plan or to wait until January to start fresh. You just need a strategy that will work with the chaos and not against it. So use those movie times to your advantage, pull one kit at a time during crafts, batch your data entries, involve your pair professionals, embed data collection into what you're already doing, and above all, give yourself permission to keep it simple. Progress monitoring doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be done, and you are absolutely capable of doing it in a way that protects your time and sanity. If you want more tools to help, be sure to check out the links in the show notes. I've included three of my favorite resources for low prep assessments, exit tickets, and paratraining that are designed to make this work easier, not harder. Thanks for listening, and I'll catch you next week as we continue the Survive and Thrive December series.