Welcome to issue #3 of Around the IEP Table, Reader!

Intentional Priority ⭐

Build a lesson-planning system that stays at school.

I want to touch on lesson planning this week because I know some special ed teachers have a protected planning period... and some don't. And some teachers technically have one... but it gets filled with meetings, coverage, paperwork, student needs, and all the things that apparently could not happen at any other time.

That is why I will never tell a teacher that the answer is simply to “use your planning time more efficiently.” Sometimes the time genuinely does not exist. But the work still does, the clock just says, "HA! Yeah right...".

So, the goal is not to create the prettiest lesson plans or map out every minute of every day. The goal is to create a repeatable system that reduces how many decisions you have to make each week... and keeps as much of that work at school as possible. Taking work home should be a choice you make because you want to get ahead, finish something in peace, or plan while watching your favorite show. It should not be the only way your classroom functions.

This Week's Focus

This week, I want you to:

✅ Learn how to brain dump. And build this strategy into your weekly planning time.
✅ Then, look at your lesson planning process and identify where you repeatedly start from scratch. Now choose one part of your planning that can become repeatable (we aren't doing this all at once, so seriously - just pick one part).

• Begin implementing your new part of your lesson planning system, every week, over and over again. As you start to intrinsically do this without second guessing, repeat this step and add another part here.

Inside the System

Inside The Intentional IEP System, lesson planning begins with the IEP, not with searching for another random activity that might keep students busy. Use the goals, baseline data, Screeners, and progress monitoring information you already have to identify what needs to be taught next. Then use the planning and instructional resources inside the system to connect those priorities to what happens during the school day.

The goal is to reduce the gap between what the IEP says → what you teach → what you monitor.

When those pieces are connected, lesson planning becomes less about constantly finding more activities and more about intentionally choosing the next step.

Beyond the System

A planning system cannot create more hours in your contract day. It cannot protect a planning period your school does not give you. It cannot prevent every interruption or remove every unexpected responsibility. But it can reduce the number of times you have to reinvent the wheel.

This week, pay attention to what you are carrying home. Now I'm not talking just the physical papers or laptop, I'm talking about the unfinished decisions still running through your head. Which of those decisions could be made once, turned into a routine, and reused That is where your system begins.

Community Spotlight

I love when something I'm passionate about turns into a community-based conversation where we can have great conversation. This is one of those topics... every single time I post about it. See the Post PS. If you want to dive deeper into the why behind not using "80% accuracy" on all of your IEP goals, start with this free YouTube video and this TII podcast episode.

Looking Ahead

I’m planning next week’s issue, and I want to hear what is making your job feel harder than it needs to right now.

Which part of your job is taking up the most space in your brain right now - IEP writing, data collection, meetings, scheduling, lesson planning, or something else?

Hit reply and tell me. It can be one sentence—or even just a few words. You do not need to explain the whole situation, just tell me what is currently weighing on you.

Stephanie
Founder, The Intentional IEP