Blog Post Listing

We all want students to succeed in schools and build critical life and social skills that will help them as they become adults.

However, many students in minority communities that have various needs sometimes are not set forth on an educational path that leads them to success. Frequently, these students do not get adequate support services or special education programs they need and are left floundering in school.

Take for example this essay that TIME Magazine ran about Tophs Harris, a young African American child whose parents struggled to navigate his special education needs. We know that not every child or community receives adequate and equal support services and programs when it comes to special education.

With February being Black History Month, now is the time to reflect, honor, and recognize the contributions of Black Americans and understand that there is still so much work to do to ensure that students receive the support services and programs they so rightfully deserve.

That is why I am passionate about the Healthy Relationships Curriculum. Educators, counselors, and school psychologists developed the Healthy Relationships Curriculum, and it is a unique program that teaches students how to navigate everyday life activities.  It is specifically designed for students that have various needs, so they have support in the classroom and at home. It uses positive reinforcement methods to help them achieve their goals.

With over 20 years as a special education teacher, I can say that the resources, tools, and materials, that students receive from this program are unparalleled. Educators receive over 140 unique videos and lesson plans, an online portal to bring the material to life outside the classroom, and so much more!

Finally, your school can use American Rescue Plan funds to help cover the purchase of the Healthy Relationships Curriculum. There is a concerted effort taking place right now by school districts to bridge the gaps in special education programs that exist among minority populations. Every student deserves to receive quality special education programs, and our Healthy Relationships Curriculum may just be the program you are searching for.

I would encourage you to look at our sample lessons, and if you are interested please reach out to me to schedule a  free demonstration.

Jen Falkowski, MEd

With the Omicron variant is on the rise around the country and many school districts shifting to virtual learning, the next few weeks will be extremely difficult for special education teachers and students By now, we all know too well just how challenging it was to pivot last year and require students to learn over Zoom.

Having been in a classroom most of the year, it will be an arduous adjustment for students with varying needs to switch their routine to an online learning style. However, we have been through this before, and I can confidently say our Healthy Relationships Curriculum is ready to help you and your students make a seamless switch to online learning.

We all know that students with learning disabilities, on the Autism spectrum, or who have cognitive challenges will face the most challenges if school districts revert to virtual learning. However, you do not need to worry about these students lacking a quality education during this change. One of the highlights of our program is its adaptability. It can be taught both in-person and online and is tailored to meet the needs of our students.

When educators purchase the program, they will gain access to lessons that can be taught both in-person and online. These lessons build upon each other, and educators will receive:

• Outcome tools that can measure students’ progress and be shared with parents and administrators.
• Over 140 videos and visuals to enhance learning outcomes and demonstrate the behaviors taught in the lessons.
• Roleplaying and demonstrations allow students to act out the lessons in actual scenarios to enrich understanding.
• Supplemental at home skill-building that encourages family and friends to reinforce the lessons

In addition to these resources, educators do not have to feel like they are alone in figuring out how to make these changes.  Our team of former special education teachers and therapists are available and will answer any questions you might have to ensure your students’ success.

Having been a special educator for over 20 years, I can say that the resources you receive in the Healthy Relationships Curriculum are like nothing else out there and will help your students receive the best possible education. Take a look at a sample lesson, and reach out for a free demonstration of how you can implement this program with your students.

Jen Falkowski, M.Ed

If you are teaching adolescents with various needs, then you know many are probably glued to smartphones or devices. Whether it is Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, Twitter, or Facebook, social media has become a dominant part of our lives. Students often follow each other on the platforms, sometimes posting funny photos or memes.

However, when students with various needs are using these platforms, they need to be guided through what type of posts and behavior is acceptable. Unfortunately, we live in an era where students and adults often overshare on social media—whether through their words or images.

That is why it is essential for students to understand that they must make it a habit to stay safe online.  We often hear from educators that their students are:

• Being bullied online
• Their pictures or posts are being used against them
• They are interacting with strangers online
• They’ve given out personal/private information

Adolescents with various needs are missing out on critical social skills and life skills, and this impacts their ability to function effectively in society. Without a solid foundation, they can face lifelong struggles when it comes to forming meaningful social relationships. That is why we’ve created the Healthy Relationships Curriculum. It was designed by special education teachers for special education teachers because our team of skilled educators and therapists know the unique challenges that the classroom poses.

Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum features an entire lesson plan devoted to keeping your students safe online. In fact, one of our 140 videos and lesson plans is focused on instructing your students on the specific steps they can take to stay safe. You can watch part of this video lesson plan here.

When you purchase our program, you will also get role-playing and demonstration scenarios, an online portal, visual cue cards, outcome tools, a curriculum manual, and so much more! If you are interested in learning more about our program, I’d encourage you to reach out to us and schedule a free demonstration.

The holiday season brings a renewed busy schedule for both students and educators. I spent more than 20 years as a special education teacher, and while the holiday season is one of my favorite times during the year, it also can be hard to get your students to pay attention.

Students are often distracted by outside activities during the holiday season. From family gatherings to shopping trips, I always witnessed that my students would appear a little more tired and less engaged in the classroom. Students with varying needs require additional support and specialized instruction in order to keep their interest.

I wish I had access to the Healthy Relationships Curriculum when I taught. I did not come across this program until several years after I left the field. But that is why I jump at the chance to tell any special education teacher, counselor, or educator about it.

The Healthy Relationships Curriculum is a unique educational program that was designed by special education teachers FOR special education teachers. It is highly adaptable and teaches students about critical life and social skills activities. It also equips educators with the resources they need to be successful.

The program includes a curriculum manual, over 140 videos, outcome tools, and an online portal where you get live access to our team of former educators and counselors. What will keep your students staying engaged though is the 140 videos that feature role-playing and demonstrations on topics like bullying, dating, and personal hygiene. These are very real issues that adolescents with varying needs are dealing with and want to know about.

If you are looking for a way to keep your students engaged over the holidays, you will want to take a look at one of our sample videos and schedule a free demonstration with us.

This time of year can be an incredibly busy time for all of us. Thanksgiving is just a few days away and before we know it, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanza, and New Year’s will be here.

The holiday season is always jampacked with activities, social gatherings, and parties but this year—similar to 2020—may look and feel different. What often brought joy may now bring sadness, anxiety, or stress due to the unknown. Plus, as an educator, you are working with students, many of whom have varying needs, and that can be emotionally taxing.

That is why our Healthy Relationships Curriculum was designed by special education teachers for special education teachers. This educational program supplies you with over 140 videos and comprehensive lesson plans so that your students are engaged, role-playing and demonstrations, an online portal, live access to our team and so much more!

I spent more than 20 years working as a special education teacher, and I know from experience that it is vitally important to prioritize yourself and focus on personal wellness. Below are a few tips that I wanted to share with you that helped me over the years when I spent my days in the classroom:

• You must remember that whatever is happening in front and around you is only momentary, and taking a deep breath often does wonders in helping to destress and deescalate a situation.
• Physical activity. It has always helped to take a quick walk during lunch around the outside of the school or even through the halls. It allows your mind to destress and gives you a chance to regroup.
• Talk to other teachers, friends, or relatives. If you are feeling stressed, make sure you talk about it with someone who cares about you so that you are not keeping it bottled up.
• Watch a funny movie or television show. Enjoying comedic entertainment and laughing always helps, especially this time of year.

I spent more than 20 years as a special education teacher, and I know how challenging it can be to find resources and activities that meet the needs of students with varying needs.

During my time in the classroom, I was always searching for curriculums that offer lesson plans but also visual elements such as videos and role-playing demonstrations. It is one thing to teach your students verbally, it is quite another to teach your students visually.

So many of us are visual learners and are able to retain information if it is explained to us in that modality. In fact, a 2017 Inc. article estimated that 65 percent of the U.S. population self-identifies as visual learners.

That is why when I came across the Healthy Relationships Curriculum, I knew countless students and educators across the country would be helped by this program. Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum is a comprehensive and adaptable program that teaches life and social skills activities to students, and it can be implemented in a variety of learning modalities including in-person, remote, or hybrid settings.

When you purchase our program, you obtain immediate access to over two dozen videos that are available in both English & Spanish featuring real adolescents acting out role-playing and demonstrations. Even more is available with every home supplement, check for understanding and many other resources in both languages ready for your classrooms or groups!

Perhaps you have special education students that are fluent in Spanish? As an educator, you always need to adapt to the needs of your students, and if you are finding that many of them speak Spanish, this program provides you with the option to play video lesson plans in either language.

According to a May 2021 Forbes article, 13 percent of the U.S. population speaks Spanish at home, and our nation is home to the second largest population of Spanish speakers in the world outside of Mexico. Additionally, many experts estimate that by 2050, one in every three individuals in the U.S. will be speaking Spanish.

When you purchase our program, you also receive:

• myHRC Online Portal: An interactive website to assist educators in delivering the curriculum, connecting with other professionals, and easily communicating with students and parents.
• Outcome Tools: Outcome measurement tools can be shared with parents and administrators to show real-time, individual progress
• Curriculum Manual: All lesson plans include a list of materials, purposes, objectives, and quick references to related subjects.
• Visual Elements: To promote retention in visual learners
• Home Supplements: Offers specific, at-home tasks to engage the parent or guardian, reinforce the skills learned, and encourage family participation.
• “Check For Understanding” Quizzes: Measure and assess acquired knowledge before moving on to the next lesson.
• Comprehensive Training: Available and encouraged to provide a firsthand experience that builds familiarity and confidence with lesson content.

To learn more about the Healthy Relationships Curriculum click here.

It is hard to believe that we are almost halfway through November. Thanksgiving is just around the corner and then most school districts will give students a week, or perhaps more, for winter break around the holidays. While this is the time of year that students are in a groove and set in their routines, it is also the time of year that many lose focus.

I spent more than 20 years working as a special education teacher, and I know firsthand how challenging it can be to get students to focus on their schoolwork around this time of year. Some have special trips planned to visit relatives for the holidays, while others have birthday parties, concerts, and sporting events to attend. That is why having lesson plans that are engaging and of interest to students with varying needs is incredibly important. If students do not enjoy the subject matter that they are learning, they will tune out and not stay focused.

Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum is focused on providing educators the tools they need to teach critical life and social skills activities to students with varying needs. That can include students who may be on the autism spectrum, have a learning disability, or have an emotional challenge. Reaching students at their level is vital, especially when they need to learn about topics like hygiene, how to stay safe online, dating, establishing appropriate physical boundaries, and bullying.

I am passionate about the Healthy Relationships Curriculum because I have seen so many educators and students across the country benefit from it. There is one component of our program that I believe is invaluable—our video lessons. When you purchase our program, you obtain immediate access to over 140 video and corresponding lesson plans which feature real adolescents who are acting out role-playing and demonstrations. Take a look at a sample video lesson on how students should behave in public restrooms here.  By presenting these real-life issues in a format that your students can understand, I have no doubt they will stay engaged and focused on the material you are teaching.

In addition to the lesson plans, videos, role-playing, and demonstrations, you also receive access to an online portal that allows you to share resources directly with families and others that are in your students’ lives. I would encourage you to take a look at one of the sample lessons or reach out to me and request a free demonstration of how our program works.

We know that our Healthy Relationship Curriculum is an extraordinary program. That may sound like an overly confident statement, but I can assure you it is not!

I spent more than 20 years working as a special education teacher, and I am fully aware of how difficult it is to find a comprehensive educational program that can be used with students who have different degrees of varying needs.

Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum is a highly adaptable program that teaches challenging life and social skills activities. It was written and designed by special educators for special educators and therapists because the challenges that special educators face are truly unique.

As an educator that works with adolescents who are on the autism spectrum, have a developmental and intellectual disability, and/or emotional challenge, you know that it takes more time, attention, and specialized instruction in order to meet them at their level.

From start to finish, our program encourages students not only how to pursue and maintain healthy relationships but to find value in doing so. We have more than 140 video lessons focused on everyday life and social skills activities. From teaching your students what appropriate physical boundaries are to them knowing how to stay safe on social media, we have topics that will be relevant to them.

I would encourage you to take a look at a sample lesson or reach out to request a free demonstration of how you can implement this program with your students.

As we enter the last week of October, Halloween is approaching us quickly. I have always found Halloween to be a fun holiday, one that calls for scary costumes and delicious candy. However, I spent more than 20 years as a special education teacher & supervisor and understand that for students with varying needs, the days in school leading up to Halloween can be challenging.

Due to the costumes, parties, scary sights, and loud sounds, some students with varying needs—particularly those with sensory disorders—have a difficult time being in an overstimulating environment.  By the time adolescents reach middle school and high school, most have adapted to Halloween in their own way. Some may even come to love it! But, for those students with varying needs who do not love Halloween, I have always found that it was helpful for me to pay closer attention to them this week.

I would ask them questions, monitor their behavior, and notice if they seemed to be more anxious or stressed during Halloween week. I would also use this holiday as a time to focus on teaching them critical life and social skills. The Halloween holiday presents many opportunities for special educators to teach their students about appropriate physical boundaries, relationships, and what to wear. In fact, one of the video lessons our Healthy Relationships Curriculum program provides is teaching students what clothes to wear for various occasions. I always loved teaching this lesson and contrasting it with the Halloween holiday, so students could understand the difference between what they should wear on a typical day versus what they might dress up as for Halloween.

If you have not heard of the Healthy Relationships Curriculum yet, it is a comprehensive program designed for special educators by special educators. The program covers topics like dating, how to stay safe on social media, navigating cyberbullying, and how to complete household chores—among many other relevant and timely topics.  If you are working with students with varying needs who are on the autism spectrum, have a developmental and intellectual disability, or navigating an emotional challenge, the Healthy Relationships Curriculum is an essential resource that you will want in your classroom.

When you purchase the program, you receive more than 140 videos, lesson plans, role-playing and demonstrations, and an online portal that allows you to teach these concepts more concretely to those students and clients we work with on a daily basis. Because our team has spent decades teaching and working with students with various needs, we have been in your position and are poised to answer any questions you might have.

I would encourage you to take a look at a sample lesson or reach out to request a free trial to learn how you can implement this program with your students.

Until next time, stay safe and have a Happy Halloween!

For special education teachers, finding curriculums that will clearly educate your students about critical life and social skills activities can be tough. Trust me, I know. I spent more than 20 years as a special education teacher, and the challenges that educators face in this space are unique. You need resources, programs, and learning materials that students can understand and find interesting, especially when you are working with adolescents.

In the era we are living in, it seems like educators have to work overtime to keep their students’ attention and ensure they are engaging with the material. From smartphones to social media, there is a plethora of information for students to be distracted by.

Additionally, many schools lack adequate funding, and special education teachers often find themselves in a position of trying to “make do” with what curriculums are laying around. That is why I am so passionate about our Healthy Relationships Curriculum. It is a comprehensive and highly adaptable educational program that teaches challenging life and social skills activities to students with varying needs.

Our program covers topics like dating, appropriate physical boundaries, hygiene, cyberbullying, and how complete household chores—real, everyday issues that are impacting your students. Our program has been designed by special education teachers for special education teachers, and it encourages students not only how to pursue and maintain healthy relationships but to find value in doing so. If you are working with students with varying needs, who are on the autism spectrum, have a developmental and intellectual disability, or navigating an emotional challenge, the Healthy Relationships Curriculum

With more than 140 videos, lesson plans, role-playing and demonstrations, and an online portal that allows you to connect with our team of experts, special education teachers can have the confidence to rely on our program. It is also able to be taught in a variety of educational modalities. So, whether your school has students in the classroom full-time or you are operating on a hybrid model, transitioning will be a seamless endeavor.

I would encourage you to take a look at a sample lesson or reach out to request a free demonstration of how you can implement this program with your students.