Marco Romero

SPD 521

Professor Diaz

September 2, 2020

Clinical Field Experience B: Collaboration with the Community

As a special education professional, often the support from just the school and classroom

setting is not enough help families or care givers who have children with disabilities. Being a

professional in this field, I understand that part of my career is that one of my roles is assisting

families and caregivers in finding support outside the classroom so that the child can reach his or

her full potential academically and socially. From previous experience in the field of special

education and speaking with my coworkers such as my principal or social worker, I have realized

that outside support for families/caregivers and students is crucial to their success.

The individuals that oversee the support for our students and families or caregivers is the

school that I work for, which is Menta Academy Chicago West. Supports that our school offers

are resources such as alternate curriculum, behavior management/interventions, classroom

modifications, and curriculum modifications and adjustments. Our school social workers are

trained in multiple aspects from behavior interventions to simply talking to the students while

they are escalated. We also offer alternate curriculum to students who might be struggling with a

lesson. We do this by giving them an assignment that will allow them to understand the topic at

hand in a different way without falling behind academically. There are also outside supports and

resources for our students that they utilize such as behavioral health centers that offer behavioral

therapy and other medical needs. Since our students are considered special education students
and often come from lower income homes, the families and caregivers receive these resources

and supports at little to no cost.

The school resources are communicated with families and caregivers when they enroll

their children into our program. Our staff gives new students a tour of the school and also

discusses the resources and supports that will be available to their child while attending the

school, such as social workers and speech pathologist. These supports and resources are also

communicated at meetings such as IEP meetings or parent teacher conferences, where

adjustments or different resources needed for the student could be discussed. The school also

recommends outside resources and supports to families that the school itself can't deliver. The

administrator also communicates outside resources to families and caregivers via newsletters,

Facebook, and letters.

The importance of continuing the support for students and families/caregivers outside of

the classroom is crucial because children with special disabilities need constant care and support

so they live as comfortable as possible. As a special education professional, we should

continuously support our students and their families outside of the classroom. During remote

learning due to COVID-19 we provided a lot of support and outreach. Our students come from

lower income neighborhoods in Chicago so there is not as many resources as there should be.

Due to the lack of resources in the area, the school directs families and caregivers to resources in

places that are attainable.

 Reference
I referenced myself and my experiences in special education.