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If you are an educator working with students who have varying needs, I know I do not have to tell your twice that this group of students has struggled throughout the pandemic. All students have struggled with the pandemic, but for those with varying needs, the palpable anxiety and lack of a structured academic routine caused many to fall behind. Many schools shuttered their doors to protect children from the coronavirus, and many communities are struggling to navigate the challenges that the Delta variant has brought.

Last August, Tuffs University published an article which stated that “while all students have had routines interrupted, those perhaps most affected by that disruption are special education students.” Because the field of special education covers a diverse range of needs like adolescents with a learning disability, adolescents who have visual or hearing impairments, adolescents who are on the autism spectrum, adolescents who have mental health or behavioral health challenges, or those with another varying need—educators are on the front lines trying to support them in every imaginable way.

Towards that end, the National Education Association (NEA) published a report about the overall impact the pandemic has had on special education students. The NEA’s report found that:

• Special education students along with their parents and educators have faced uniquely complicated challenges during the pandemic.
• A large population of students did not have the technology or internet access needed to participate or complete schoolwork from home.
• Thanks to staff dedication, student resilience, and stronger partnership with families and communities, many educators and students have succeeded.

Throughout the pandemic, I have heard repeatedly from educators across the country who use our program, the Healthy Relationships Curriculum, that it has been a “lifesaver” and “critical to ensuring their students’ development.” Because our program has always been able to be taught in a variety of modalities—virtually, in-person, or in a hybrid environment—when schools shuttered their doors, students were able to continue learning the lessons the Healthy Relationships Curriculum provides. There is so much about the future that is unknown, particularly when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. That is why I would encourage you to reach out to me to learn more about how our program can support you as you teach and your students as they learn.

All my best,

Jen Falkowski, M.Ed

As you settle into a new school year, you might be wondering whether you have enough support services, learning materials, and resources for your students with varying needs. As a former special education teacher, I understand the challenges educators face—especially at this time of year.

For most of us around the country, the weather is still warm, the sun is shining, and students are having a hard time adjusting to the routine of being in school again. I have always found that special education teachers go above and beyond the call of duty to ensure the students (and their families) they work with feel comfortable in the class and with the content that is being taught.

In fact, I suspect that many students with varying needs might be having an especially difficult time right now adhering to a routine and having structure considering the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Ensuring that students stay focused during class and teaching them information, that is not only valuable and practical to their everyday lives but interesting as well, was always one of my top priorities. Adolescents and young adults with varying needs are missing out on critical social skills and life skills which can impact their ability to function and relate to others. I know it can be extremely hard to find subject material that explains issues like dating, personal boundaries, hygiene, relationships, how to navigate bullying, and household chores to students with varying needs in a manner that they truly understand.

That is why I am so passionate about our Healthy Relationships Curriculum. It is a unique and highly adaptable program with lessons that teach critical life and social skills activities. Additionally, it was designed by special education teachers and counselors FOR special education teachers and counselors. As an educator, our program provides you with over 120 videos, role-play demonstrations, an online portal, a comprehensive manual with ready-to-use lesson plans, visual elements, outcome tools, and materials for your students’ families to encourage their participation in the educational process. If you are looking at the months ahead and wondering whether you are fully prepared with enough support and resources, look no further than our program. I hope that you will reach out to us to learn more.

The last eighteen months have been incredibly difficult for students, teachers, school personnel, and parents. The COVID-19 pandemic is still something that we are grappling with to this very day, and it appears that we could be for quite some time. With the new school year beginning for many around the country, I have heard from special education teachers that trying to get their students used to being in a classroom full-time again has been challenging. That is why maintaining a routine for students as they transition back to school is incredibly important.

As a former special education teacher, I know that consistency is the key when working with students that have varying needs. They require additional support and services and having those built into a routine provides structure and reassurance for students with varying needs. By following a routine in the classroom with your students, they become aware of what they need to do and when they need to do it. Creating a supportive yet structured learning environment for students with varying needs helps set their expectations and allows them to anticipate when various activities will take place.  Adhering to a routine can also help you to manage the behaviors of students with varying needs. By fostering an atmosphere where students are provided with predictability and structure, any disruptive behaviors they might have are likely to be less.  We believe that repetition, consistent messaging, and offering a proactive approach are key to their success.

While school districts spend significant resources on helping students with varying needs, sometimes teaching them about critical life and social skills is not a priority. That is why I am so passionate about our Healthy Relationships Curriculum. It is a program specifically designed for special education teachers, schools, and other organizations that work with students who may be on the autism spectrum, have a developmental and intellectual disability, or have an emotional challenge. Our program encourages students to pursue and maintain healthy relationships and to know what appropriate boundaries are and how to establish them.  With over 140 videos, lesson plans, and online tools, you will be equipped with an abundance of resources at your fingertips to teach your students. Our lesson plans and videos focus on topics like consent, consequences to breaking social expectations and norms, dating, relationships, personal hygiene, how to navigate bullying, and what is appropriate behavior on social media.

Additionally, our program can be taught in a variety of learning modalities including in-person, remote, or hybrid settings, and I know this is incredibly important right now given schools are still faced with pandemic-related issues.  To learn more and to schedule a free, virtual presentation with us just complete this online form and a member of our team will be in touch with you. I hope that you and your students have a successful school year!

 

All my best,

Jen Falkowski, M.Ed

This past week I traveled to Albany to attend the New York Council of Administrators of Special Education (NYCASE) conference. More than a hundred special education administrators from all over the state attended.

I was thrilled to travel to the conference for two main reasons. First, as all of us know, the last fourteen months have been incredibly difficult due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For many of us, working from our living room or dining room became the new normal. Our daily routines changed, we had to limit our in-person interactions, and things like vacations and birthday parties were put on hold. All of this was of course done in an effort to protect one another and combat the COVID-19 virus. However, now that there is light at the end of the tunnel and our country has rounded a corner, traveling to Albany was a particularly enjoyable experience. It was nice to just be with people again and in an environment where everyone was excited about the future.  And second, this conference was specifically designed for administrators of special educators. These are individuals who have extensive experience working as special education teachers or in the special education space. They frequently work as the special education director for a school district and ensure that teachers and students receive the resources and tools they need.

Towards that end, I was particularly excited to meet the special education administrators who attended this conference and tell them about our Healthy Relationships Curriculum. This curriculum is a highly adaptable program that teaches critical life and social skills that many special education students do not receive in a traditional classroom setting.

During my conversations with many of the special education administrators I met, I repeatedly heard from them that yes, while the last year was difficult for their students and teachers, the need to pivot and have educational curriculums that could be taught in adaptable and flexible environments was never so great.

That is why I am so passionate about our program. It is able to be taught in a variety of educational modalities including in-person, virtual, and hybrid models. Throughout the pandemic, I was witness to the countless schools, special education teachers, and students our program was able to help. Many special education teachers told us that if it wasn’t for our program helping them to teach critical life and social skills to their students—like how to wear a face mask and wash one’s hands—they don’t know how they would have been able to support their students.

When a school or special education teacher purchases our Healthy Relationships Curriculum, here is what they receive:

• myHRC Online Portal
• Unlimited Student & Family Access Points
• Visual Cue Cards & Visual Checklist
• Outcome Tools
• Over 120 Videos (Available in English and Spanish)
• 39 ready-to-use Lesson Plans
• Parent Guide for Success & Home Supplements:
• Role Plays, Demonstrations, and Life-Skills Activities
• Interactive “Check for Understanding
• Comprehensive Professional Development
• Ongoing Consultation with our team of experts

If you are a special education teacher or administrator, look at our website to learn how your students can benefit from the program.

And don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you are interested in learning more or would like to invite us to attend your conference.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

 

Rob Anderson

Educators, teachers, and students have experienced a tumultuous year. We’ll probably be uncovering the emotional and psychological impact that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on all of us for years to come. With many schools reopening or in the midst of reopening, it’s important for educators and teachers to be equipped with comprehensive activities that will support their students’ development.

Students that have varying needs face unique challenges in an academic setting and often miss out on critical social skills and life skills—this impacts their ability to function effectively in school and in society once they graduate. Without a solid foundation, they can face lifelong struggles when it comes to forming meaningful social relationships. One way to prevent that from happening is to ensure that are taught with a curriculum that will build and enhance their social skills.

We know that the pandemic and need to practice social distancing over the last year has likely exacerbated your students’ difficulties in developing their social skills. Additionally, as a former special education teacher, I know firsthand the type of roadblocks that educators face in trying to obtain an interactive curriculum that provides comprehensive activities and lessons which focus on topics like sexuality, appropriate boundaries, and personal hygiene.  That is why I am confident you will love the Healthy Relationship Curriculum and believe it in as much as I do. I’ve seen what a difference it makes in the lives of students all across the nation.

When you purchase the Healthy Relationships Curriculum, you will get over 100 educational videos, role-playing scenarios, and demonstrations, 39 ready-to-use lessons, outcome measurement tools, and an online portal that connects you directly to me and our team to answer questions that might arise. Take a look at one of the videos here. This particular video teaches students what type of behavior and social interactions are appropriate and not appropriate in the bathroom. Students with varying needs are often missing out and do either need additional support or have never been taught these kinds of lessons. That is why it’s important for them to have both visual and written lessons, and for an educator to present these types of lessons in a manner that will keep them engaged.

Our curriculum is centered around teaching your students critical life and social skills that will help them while they are in school and later in life. Thousands of educators and schools have used our program over the years, and that’s why we are confident your students will succeed with it. Should you have any questions about the Healthy Relationship Curriculum, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.

All my best,

Jen Falkowski, M.Ed.

Jennifer.Falkowski@wfspa.org

There has been a concerted effort in many states to provide teaches with the COVID-19 vaccine, and a result, some schools are headed back to full-time, in-person learning. Many students and teachers are looking forward to returning to school, but with that return, there will be a variety of issues for educators to navigate.

We all know that there are millions of students across the country who have been learning virtually from home since last year. As a former special education teacher, I know how difficult it can be to teach students in a traditional classroom setting. Teaching virtually on a long-term basis was something most of us could never imagine!

Learning from home has most likely disrupted your students’ daily routines. From forgetting to log-on for class to tuning in wearing pajamas – I’ve heard the comical stories that virtual learning has brought, along with the challenging ones.

Because the Healthy Relationships Curriculum can be taught in-person, virtually, or in a hybrid-format, our program is not confined by your school’s modality. When you purchase our program, you receive over 100 educational videos, role-playing and demonstrations, 39 ready-to-use lessons, outcome measurement tools, and an online portal that connects you directly to our team to answer questions that might arise. Most importantly, the student activities we’ve designed will keep your students engaged and motivated.

I know you have probably been extremely busy adjusting your master lesson plans and breaking them up into smaller segments. Our program can help you with that because our lesson plans, while exhaustive, are not overwhelming. They are broken down step-by-step, so it is easier for you to understand and implement.

By now, your students are used to learning virtually and watching everything on-screen. That is why our video lesson plans will help to streamline your students’ transition back into the classroom. They are used to learning everything on-screen, so watching our videos in a traditional classroom setting will feel very normal to them.

While our program is specifically designed to support students with varying needs, any student can benefit from our program.  Our lesson plans are focused on topics they are interested in, like cyberbullying and sexuality. We strive to address issues that are relevant to their academic and personal lives. Given everything that has transpired over the last year, it’s crucial that your students are in a position to develop critical life and social skills.

I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you, should you have questions about the program.  Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me, and here’s to hope that spring is bringing us!

All my best,

Jen Falkowski, M.Ed.

Jennifer.Falkowski@wfspa.org

 

The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted all of our lives in ways that we will probably be discovering for years to come. The last year has challenged our mental, emotional, and physical well-being. It’s been hard to process and digest the influx of news and the drastic changes to our daily routines. Most importantly, our students—especially our special education students—have had to navigate the new normal that we’ve all lived in for the past twelve months and many of them are struggling.

As schools begin to open up and teachers get vaccinated, ensuring that your students know how to develop and build their social skills will be critically important to their overall growth. Whether your school has opened, will be opening, or plans on reopening this fall, our Healthy Relationships Curriculum enables educators to teach critical life and social skills.

It is specifically designed to support students with varying needs. Whether your students are on the autism spectrum, have a cognitive impairment, a learning disability, or a unique need, our program is specifically designed to teach them critical life and social skills in a way that they can easily understand.

Our Healthy Relationships Curriculum is a highly adaptable program that meets students exactly where they are. It features lesson plans that focus on topics your students will be interested in like how to properly wash hands, maintain appropriate social distancing, sexuality, and dating, what physical boundaries mean, and how to navigate cyberbullying. When you purchase our program, you receive over 100 educational videos, role-playing and demonstrations, 39 ready-to-use lessons, outcome measurement tools, and an online portal that connects you directly to our team to answer questions that might arise.

Without developed social skills, students can face lifelong struggles when it comes to forming personal relationships. Not having these well-rounded skills impacts a student’s ability to interact and effectively function in an academic setting and in society. If you have questions about our program, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you!

All my best,

Jen Falkowski, M.Ed.

Jennifer.Falkowski@wfspa.org

As a former special education teacher, I know that being an educator is one of the hardest jobs in the world. Educators spend countless hours each and every single day trying to ensure their students receive a well-rounded education, as well as provide emotional support and guidance. I often tell anyone who will listen that educators—especially now during the COVID-19 pandemic—are our nation’s unsung heroes.

Many of you have probably spent the last year exhausted. The pandemic has taken a toll on educators and students that will likely take years to undo. But, there have also been many successes and triumphs throughout this period. Educators adapted and have been teaching their students in-person, virtually, and in a hybrid model. What this has taught many of us who work in the field of education is that we are stronger than we thought, and we need to make it a priority to continually find new and creative ways to keep students engaged. After all, we want our students to love learning in some capacity.

The Healthy Relationships Curriculum is a highly adaptable program that meets students where they are. When educators purchase our program, they receive over 100 educational videos, role-playing and demonstrations, 39 ready-to-use lessons, outcome measurement tools, and an online portal that connects them directly to our team to answer questions that might arise.

While the Healthy Relationships Curriculum can be used with any student, it is specifically designed to support students with varying needs. Whether your students are on the autism spectrum, have a cognitive impairment, a learning disability, or a unique need, our program is specifically designed to teach them critical life and social skills in a way that they can easily understand.

Our topics focus on issues like appropriate physical boundaries, sexuality, and how to navigate cyberbullying. These are real-life, timely, and relevant topics that your students have probably asked you about or they are privately contemplating. It’s important to have educational activities that your students are interested in and hopefully enjoy.

Whether your students are learning virtually from their homes or are headed back to the classroom in the next few days and weeks, it’s important that they continue to learn and stay engaged with their schoolwork. If you have questions on the Healthy Relationships Curriculum, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you and tell you about how this program has educators and students across the nation.

All my best,

Jen Falkowski, M.Ed.

Jennifer.Falkowski@wfspa.org

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a psychological, emotional, and physical toll on students and teachers. The long-term impact will likely be felt for years to come. As a former special education teacher, I understand educators are in the midst of a very difficult and challenging situation right now.

While it is not an exaggeration to say that we are living in an unprecedented time, I believe there a reason to be cautiously optimistic and hopeful right now. The creation, production, and distribution of the vaccine continues to ramp up. Nearly 17 percent of the adult population across the U.S. has received the first dose of the vaccine, and as we enter into the spring, this rate is expected to rise rapidly.

However, while the end of the pandemic appears to be within reach, it will take many more months to get there. Recently, I’ve been talking with educators all across the country and many of them have told me they are organizing their lesson plans so that they can be taught in all three learning environments—in-person, virtual, and hybrid.

No one is quite sure what the next few months will bring us or even what going back to school will look like this fall. That is why our Healthy Relationships Curriculum is the ideal program if you work with students who have varying needs. Regardless of whether your student is on the autism spectrum, has a cognitive impairment, a learning disability, or a unique need, our program is specifically designed to teach them critical life and social skills in a way that they can easily understand.

While many schools have felt it has been necessary to adjust the modalities by which students are learning, the key to their success is not where they are learning but what they are learning. I know alternating between in-person, virtual, or a hybrid learning environment is not ideal for students, but the disruption to their routines can be minimal.  Continuity and consistency have always been at the backbone of a successful learning environment and that is what our program provides.

The Healthy Relationships Curriculum is highly adaptable, and its content transcends the space where it is being taught from. When educators purchase our program, they receive over 100 educational videos, 39 ready-to-use lessons, outcome measurement tools, and an online portal that connects them directly with me and our team. Our online portal is also designed for them to connect directly with their students’ families. And now, more than ever, this type of interaction is a necessity. Special education students need structured support and guidance. That is why whether students are learning from the confines of their home or in a traditional classroom setting—our program is not limited by location or geography.

Here’s to the next few weeks and months looking brighter!

All my best,

Jen Falkowski, M.Ed.

Jennifer.Falkowski@wfspa.org

For those of us that live on the Eastern side of the country, we’re looking forward to March and April and hoping that warmer, sunnier weather comes our way. Normally, in years past, March and April would be the time period that students would have spring break or a break for Easter.  As a former special education teacher, I used to look forward to spring break. It was a time to spend with family and friends, get respite from work, and start planning for the remainder of the school year. I know the families of the students I taught always looked forward to having a little downtime to relax, take a vacation, or work on projects at their house. Taking trips to the beach or Disney World were always popular spring break trips among the families that I worked with.

This year due to the pandemic, your school district may have decided to forgo spring break altogether in an effort to minimize disruptions to your students’ routine. Recently, I’ve heard that some school districts, instead of giving students a traditional spring break might give periodic days off until the end of the year in an effort to curb the virtual burnout that many teachers and students are experiencing. Regardless of whether your school district is having spring break or not, this season of the school year can be challenging. We’re entering into the final few months of school and it’s important for educators to keep their students motivated.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been extremely difficult, especially for special education teachers. Students have either been attending school in-person, learning from the confines of their home virtually, or they’ve been learning through a hybrid model format. While it has been necessary to adjust the modalities by which your students are learning to keep both students and teachers safe from the coronavirus, there have been enormous disruptions to your students’ routines. When I talk with educators, there is one challenge that has been constant throughout this pandemic: its disruption to their routines.  Continuity and consistency have been the glue that has held the academic environment together.

For special education students and students with varying needs, learning about life and social skills and trying to build them is a challenge. Maybe your students are on the autism spectrum, have an intellectual and developmental disability, a cognitive impairment, or an emotional disorder. Or, perhaps they just simply need extra support and guidance when it comes to daily life or school activities. That is why the Healthy Relationships Curriculum is the ideal program to support your students’ needs. It’s a highly adaptable program that can be taught both in-person or virtually. Our program includes more than 100 videos, lesson plans, role paying and demonstrations, and a comprehensive training for educators. One of my favorite parts about this program is that I get to work directly with educators, like yourself, and train them. I have the opportunity to walk them through step-by-step how they can utilize the vast number of resources that the Healthy Relationships Curriculum has to offer.

If you are in the midst of preparing your students for spring break, I hope you have a free moment to reach out to me. I would welcome the opportunity to hear about your students, and the ways that our program could support them and you.

All my best,

Jen Falkowski, M.Ed.

Jennifer.Falkowski@wfspa.org