Bonnie Price on SETSS

I am a special education teacher at an elementary school in Queens. I support

students who have a recommendation of Special Education Teacher Support
Services (SETSS) on their IEPs. I teach students in grades Kindergarten through 5th.
All of the students I support are in general education. My role is to provide specially
designed instruction to support my students participation in the general education
curriculum. In order to do this, I need to work closely with all of the general
education teachers, and be knowledgeable about the Common Core Learning
Standards (CCLS) for all of the grades.
Most of my students have been classified with either a Learning Disability or
Speech/Language Impairment. Because a large portion of my students have
difficulty with reading, my principal paid for me to get trained in the Wilson Reading
System, a multisensory language program that teaches students how to read and
spell. I have other students who struggle with reading comprehension, math, and
writing, and I use a variety of strategies that I learned in graduate school and at
workshops to help them master grade-level academic content.
The physical setup of my classroom includes a group of 8 desks that face each other
four desks facing four desks. On one side of the room is a felt board that contains
the letter cards I use to teach phonics. On the other side of the room is a
whiteboard that I use to teach math. I also have a separate area consisting of two
desks in another part of the room that I use when I am giving assessments, or when
I need to separate students who are working on different tasks.
I teach six 45 minute periods per day. Each period is a different group, ranging from
3 to 8 students. I have grouped the students as best as possible according to their
academic level and needs. For example, I have a group of 2 nd graders who struggle
with phonics/spelling, so I have them grouped together. I have another group of 5 th
graders who struggle mostly with math, so I see them in a group of 8. I see all of
my groups 5 times per week, and I collaborate with the classroom teachers to plan
and align my instruction with the common core and the students classwork.
Whenever possible many special education teachers who provide SETSS do so
within the general education classroom. This allows for ongoing communication with
the general education teacher, application of the skills being taught in the
classroom environment, and increased generalization of skills throughout the school
day. When using a specialized curriculum for reading such as Wilson, it is often
helpful to meet with students outside of the general education classroom as I do.
The important thing in this case is to regularly communicate with the general
education teachers and to schedule the SETSS periods so as to cause the least
amount of disruption in the school day as possible. Work with the teacher in order to
do this in the most conducive way and always remain flexible.