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When Your Best Doesn’t Feel Like Enough

When Your Best Doesn’t Feel Like Enough I’ve struggled to find the words to write for the last month. I am in the thick of it—physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. I’ve had to pause, look back, and remember my “why.” As someone who has always found comfort in being in control, this year has challenged me in ways I didn’t expect. How come no one ever told me just how different teaching K–2 students would be from teaching third through fifth graders? Tonight hits a little harder because I am tired. I keep coming back to the same wish: one day that flows smoothly, without any hiccups. I’m still holding out hope that day will come, but I’m learning to notice the moments that go well, even when the whole day doesn’t. This year, I’ve had the privilege of working alongside the district’s instructional and behavioral teams as I learn new tricks of the trade. I attended a workshop called “Dysregulation to Ready to Learn,” led by two wonderful people in our district. One takeaway was ...
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Living Resiliency

  What does resiliency mean to me? As I finish another week as a separate classroom teacher, I feel an overwhelming desire to share what resiliency looks like in my life—and to remind myself that I can do hard things. R — Relationships are the foundation of everything I do. My relationships with family, friends, students, colleagues, and mentors deepen when I humble myself, let others see my struggles, and connect on a human level. E — Encouragement is important to give and receive. There are challenges that stretch me, and sometimes another person’s kind words help me recognize progress I cannot yet see. S — Support comes from mentors and others who walk beside me. Their experience and guidance help me find my footing when I feel uncertain. I — Intrinsic motivation comes from within. It is my desire to keep trying, grow as an educator, and become the best version of myself. L — Learning is essential to growth. Every day brings opportunities to become wiser, understand my stud...
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I Do Hard Things

  This statement has resonated with me since Friday night. This year started whether I was ready or not. There have been so many changes all at once, including moving from a Support Facilitator to a Separate Classroom ESE Teacher for KG–3rd grade. Both of our previous assistant principals were placed at different schools, and our school welcomed a new assistant principal. When one of those previous assistant principals—my mentor—left, it hit me harder than I expected. Over the last month, I have learned a lot about myself, including both my strengths and my shortcomings. Not only did I change career paths this year, but I also changed grade levels and support staff. I will admit that meeting new people AND learning to work side-by-side with them is definitely not easy for me. I tend to put walls up, and sometimes the things I want to communicate don't come out the way I intended. One thing is for sure: I need a continuous reminder that I have walked a similar path before AND reache...
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The Life of a Support Facilitator

At the beginning of the 2025–2026 school year, I began my journey as a support facilitator. To make sense of everything I was learning and experiencing, I started writing down the reasons I liked the role and the parts that were more difficult for me. This list represents the truth of my world for one school year. It is only one person’s perspective and does not take away from the importance of being a support facilitator or attempt to explain every aspect of support facilitation. This is simply my journey, and I thought you might enjoy reading the things I liked and loved about being a support facilitator, as well as the things that challenged me. Reasons I liked being a support facilitator: I was able to help many more students than I would have in one separate ESE classroom. I was able to take data, complete paperwork, and make sure the students I serviced were supported with fidelity. I had opportunities to teach both students and teachers in this role on a daily basis. I was given...
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Week 39

The Final Week of the School Year Has Arrived... I cannot believe we have arrived at Memorial Day weekend! This year has given me memories, lessons, and experiences that I will carry with me for years to come. Each administrator, teacher, parent, and student has left an invaluable mark on my educational journey and helped shape the teacher I am becoming. I have learned that I will never be “just” an ESE teacher, a Support Facilitator, or a Separate Classroom teacher. I am a teacher for all students, whether they are learning in general education or in a separate classroom setting. This year helped me grow in my ability to screen students for targeted skills, analyze Tier 2 and Tier 3 data, monitor progress, and use that information to help close learning gaps. This year, I completed training to administer   Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills , also known as (DIBELS).   DIBELS is a screening tool used to monitor and detect early literacy and reading skills...
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Week 38

I cannot believe this is the last full week of the 2025–2026 school year! It feels like this year has flown by, but at the same time, I feel like I have experienced every single month in its entirety. I am thankful to have my blog memories to look back on and remember the growth, lessons, and moments from the year. On Monday, I served as the test administrator for students completing makeup ELA and Algebra assessments. Algebra was an all-day test, and I enjoyed working with the middle school students. I also quickly learned that extra computer chargers are a must! On Tuesday, I helped with fifth grade Science testing until about noon. I also assisted a colleague with collaboration logs for social skills support for students I work with regularly. Before this year, I did not know much about support facilitation or what collaboration logs entailed, so this was another reminder of how much I have learned throughout the year. Later, I participated in an IEP amendment meeting for a studen...
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Week 37

It is hard to believe school is only a couple of weeks away from ending! This week I spent the majority of my week testing, just as I will again in the coming week. On Monday, students in grades 3-5 participated in the FAST ELA progress monitoring assessment. Students with IEPs have specific accommodations listed in their plans, and those accommodations must be followed during state testing. For more information, families can visit the Florida Accommodations Reference Guide for details about accommodations for students with disabilities. On Tuesday, makeup testing began, along with 1:1 testing for specific students who had not yet completed the ELA assessment. My classroom A/C was also magically fixed thanks to one of my amazing assistant principals, which made a huge difference!  In the afternoon, I had the opportunity to work with a student who was having a difficult time getting started. We have all been there. Another teacher stepped in to support, and I was able to observe th...
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