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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:

  1. I was able to help many more students than I would have in one separate ESE classroom.

  2. I was able to take data, complete paperwork, and make sure the students I serviced were supported with fidelity.

  3. I had opportunities to teach both students and teachers in this role on a daily basis.

  4. I was given the gift of working with students with varying exceptionalities.

  5. I was able to help students be successful in the general education setting.

  6. The administration at my school was amazing and mentored me every step of the way.

  7. My colleagues appreciated the work I was doing to assist in their classrooms.

  8. I experienced less intense behavior and conflict than I had experienced in a separate ESE classroom.

  9. I was able to try other teaching roles when a colleague was absent, such as helping as a Civics teacher.

  10. I was able to celebrate student success at the end of the year and recognize the hard work each teacher had done.

  11. During the last month of school, I felt like I became part of a team with the fifth grade teachers.

  12. I was able to lend a hand in the library with device check-in and make-up testing.

Things that were difficult for me as a support facilitator:

  1. There is not one exact blueprint for how this job is done. Support facilitation can look different at every school and across different grade levels.

  2. I had to learn many new techniques, resources, and expectations, which felt daunting at times.

  3. I missed having my own classroom.

  4. At the beginning of the year, I experienced anxiety when students would rush toward me as soon as I entered the classroom. It was a lot to get used to.

  5. The resources used in this role were different from the ones I used in a separate ESE classroom.

  6. At times, it felt lonely being upstairs without a consistent team around me.

  7. I had to learn how to listen to many different opinions and perspectives.

  8. Sometimes I collected the data but was not always the person presenting it.

  9. I supported behavior, but I could not always control the outcome beyond the minutes I serviced.

  10. I had to say goodbye to all of the fifth grade students I had grown to care about.

As you can see, these are just a few of the thoughts I wrote down to remember my year. The list of things I liked about the role ended up being longer than the list of things that were difficult.

Being a support facilitator is a very important job. In this role, you are able to help students, teachers, and school leaders make an impact. Even though there are ups and downs, a support facilitator can influence the school environment, support teachers, and help students access the general education setting. Most importantly, support facilitators help ensure that students receive their accommodations, feel supported, and are given opportunities to succeed.

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