Oct 28, 2026 · 29 min · 17 segments
Rachel is sharing practical tips for welcoming new students into your classroom mid-year. From introducing classroom routines to helping students build friendships and feel included, she's talking…
Today we are talking about something that I feel like almost every teacher can relate to at some point in their career.
And if you teach in special education, especially a self-contained classroom like mine, you know that this can happen at literally any point in the year.
It could be October, January, March, May, if you can even believe it, even June, and that happened to me last year.
You could feel like you finally have your routines down, your classroom's running smoothly, your students know what to expect, and then you found out you're getting a new student.
Sometimes the next day, sometimes it's a Friday, you're getting them on Monday.
Sometimes you have more notice, but a lot of times it's just like they're coming.
But I'm also going to be honest and say that adding a new student can completely change the dynamics of your room.
You have to think about the routines, the relationships, the student needs, whether it's the new student or your current students.
schedules and like in my classroom with the three different grade levels, schedules is always the hardest, materials and how this new student is going to fit into a classroom that already has its own little community and functions in its own way.
And this topic is especially fresh for me because I just got my second new student in less than a month.
Today I want to talk about how I approach getting a new student, how I prepare myself and my classroom, how I get my current students involved, and how I work to maintain the routines and the flow that we have already established.
The goal is to make the transition as positive and successful as possible for everyone involved.
The new student, your old students, you, your instructional assistants in the classroom, and anyone that might be involved with your students.
Today we are talking about something that I feel like almost every teacher can relate to at some point in their career.
And if you teach in special education, especially a self-contained classroom like mine, you know that this can happen at literally any point in the year.
It could be October, January, March, May, if you can even believe it, even June, and that happened to me last year.
You could feel like you finally have your routines down, your classroom's running smoothly, your students know what to expect, and then you found out you're getting a new student.
Sometimes the next day, sometimes it's a Friday, you're getting them on Monday.
Sometimes you have more notice, but a lot of times it's just like they're coming.
But I'm also going to be honest and say that adding a new student can completely change the dynamics of your room.
You have to think about the routines, the relationships, the student needs, whether it's the new student or your current students.
schedules and like in my classroom with the three different grade levels, schedules is always the hardest, materials and how this new student is going to fit into a classroom that already has its own little community and functions in its own way.
And this topic is especially fresh for me because I just got my second new student in less than a month.
Today I want to talk about how I approach getting a new student, how I prepare myself and my classroom, how I get my current students involved, and how I work to maintain the routines and the flow that we have already established.
The goal is to make the transition as positive and successful as possible for everyone involved.
The new student, your old students, you, your instructional assistants in the classroom, and anyone that might be involved with your students.
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