Fostering Collaboration Between School Teams and Outside Service Providers
Written by Lyndsay Palach Shelton, MA, LBSII, Transition Specialist and Founder of Future SLTP
Welcome To The Table
Let’s be honest - the field of education has evolved to become a three-pronged approach.
Back in the day, the thought of an outside provider coming into the IEP meeting would send a school team into a cautious state. Sound the alarm and information administration! The anticipation of the meeting was combative in nature, overwhelming for the staff, and a performative use of an allotted in-person 50-minute meeting. There is now a welcome seat at the table for outside services.
More commonly, families, schools, and outside providers are working together in order to improve student outcomes, increase family involvement, and support various school systems. Whether the expansion of the team is made on behalf of the families or by request of the district, the growing number of professionals with a specialty working on these teams leads to better outcomes for families, staff, and students.
As IDEA continues to be underfunded, national and local educational organizations are actively working to ensure students have access to well-prepared educators, counselors, and support specialists. In addition to the ongoing decreases in national and state-level funding, the fear of educators leaving the field and continued teacher shortage (from special education teachers to administrators to faculty in higher education and paraprofessionals, etc) significantly impacts the ever-growing and unique needs of our students of all ages with learning differences in all areas of the country.
But What Does This Look Like?
Highly qualified and specialized classroom teachers are stretched thin, and administration have an ever-growing number of mandates to oversee. Outside support is a solution to help all team members appropriately plan for students. This three-pronged approach provides a unique lens for the IEP teams in the wake of a push to close the US Department of Education.
Let’s take a closer look at the 3rd prong of support:
Related Services (Counseling, Occupational Therapy, Physical Therapy, Behavioral Supports, Speech Therapy): working on release of information, monitoring progress across settings
Educational Consultants: documenting parental concerns, programming availability, and individualized needs across settings
Transition Specialists: assisting with post-secondary planning supports, network linkages and future planning, employment connections, evaluating vocational assessments, supporting family long-term goals, and job site visits
“Outside support is a solution to help all team members appropriately plan for students.”
Let’s Make This Work With Everyone
If the team goals are to improve student outcomes, implement consistency in interventions, enhance family engagement, and offer research-based best practice support for complex learners, then let’s make this work by focusing on ongoing communication and positive collaboration.
Instead of focusing on the common challenges of fostering collaboration, such as miscommunication, lack of clarity in roles, and mistrust between teams, let’s focus on the opportunities and strategies that actually do foster positive collaboration among a variety of teams:
Opportunities to Connect
Start of year meet and greet with staff team
Invite Partners - family support nights, events- and fair
Celebrate Successes - invitations to graduations, award seasons
Social Calendar - donuts with grownups, talent show
Effective Communication Strategies
Establish clear channels of communication
Use a variety of tools and channels (e.g., websites, e-mails, apps, texts via Remind, newsletters, social media) to communicate important information to students, families, employees, and stakeholders
Have frequent and consistent two-way communication
Regular meetings with stakeholders (virtually or in-person)
Old school… but phone calls go a long way
Collaborative planning sessions - start of the year, mid-year, end of year wrap-up
Provide cross-training and joint professional development (helps all teams understand tools and limitations)
“Let’s make this work by focusing on ongoing communication and positive collaboration.”
The More The Merrier
As student needs grow more complex, collaboration between school teams and outside service providers has never been more crucial. Whether addressing cognitive & emotional wellness, learning/behavioral differences, or family support, a coordinated approach ensures students, families, and highly qualified staff receive the consistent, well-rounded support they require to thrive.
As professionals in the field, it is clear that positive collaboration improves student outcomes and can alleviate teacher burnout in the world of special education. It is true - there is power in numbers, and I say the more the merrier.
“It is true - there is power in numbers, and I say the more the merrier.”
