At H.E.L.P, LLC, our primary focus is helping students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) to master their learning goals. Every tutor goes through training on how to work with students with exceptional learning needs. We recommend 25 hours of one-on-one academic instruction, specifically aligned with IEP goals.
The problem is that Special Educators in many public schools spend much of their work day assisting children in other areas and not their specific academic goals. Students are not receiving the amount of academic service hours mandated on their IEPs, not because teachers are intentionally not providing them; but, because it is basically impossible when there are so many issues that occur throughout the school day that cannot be ignored. On December, 19, 2019, The Baltimore Sun shared an article about a top performing school district in Maryland. They are not exempt from this problem. See a quote from the article below:
“I’m a crisis interventionist all day; that’s really all I do. The days I actually just teach are far and in between,” said a fourth-year special education teacher in a December interview.
“I started tracking the amount of [special education] service hours missed when a crisis happens and just today I counted 163 minutes missed.”
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