The ED Queen

👏🏼 👏🏼 👏🏼

Dear special education teachers, I just want you to remember 🤍✨

My secrets 🤫 to how I have been able to stay in special education for 12 years!

Tell me below! 👇🏼

✨ 8 proactive behavior strategies every educator can try!

Instead of waiting for challenging behavior to happen, let’s focus on what we can do beforehand to create more success for our students 💜

Here are 8 strategies to try:
1️⃣ What do you want to see?
2️⃣ The data talks
3️⃣ Anticipate the barriers
4️⃣ When in doubt, a visual schedule helps!
5️⃣ Break down
6️⃣ Routine & Structure
7️⃣ Reinforcement routine
8️⃣ Goals!

Small proactive changes can make a BIG difference in helping students feel supported, successful, and ready to learn!

Save this post for your next planning session and share it with an educator who could use it! 🪩

BehaviorStrategies PositiveBehaviorSuppor

The goal this year? Be the velvet hammer. 🪻🔨

Build the relationship and hold the boundary.

Know their interests. Laugh with them. Tell stories. Show up for them. Make them feel known.

But also:
→ Teach the routines.
→ Set the expectation.
→ Follow through.
→ Redirect calmly.
→ Keep the rigor high.
→ Don’t negotiate every little thing.
→ Believe they are capable of hard things.

Being warm doesn’t mean being permissive.
Having high expectations doesn’t mean being harsh.

Students deserve both: a teacher who cares deeply about them AND a teacher who won’t give up on what they’re capable of.

That’s the velvet hammer.

Soft enough to build trust.
Strong enough to hold the line.

And honestly? I think that balance is one of the most powerful things we can give our students at the start of a school year. 🤍

What does being the “velvet hammer” look like in your classroom?

Sue me, I want to be an advocate for students with challenging behavior 🤍🪩

Just completed the first full week of year 12 🤍✨ here’s what I’m here for this year!

Comment with the emoji below, how many years in special education? What is your role this year?!

🤍 first year!
✨ 2-5
🙌🏼 6-10
✏️ 11-15
🪩 15+