When students learn how to communicate their needs and ideas in Kristie Redfering’s classroom, they transform their relationship with the outside world and with themselves.
Redfering teaches high school students with disabilities at the Nina Harris Exceptional Student Center in Pinellas Park, Florida, a school for students with disabilities who need medical, academic and behavioral support.
Too often, she said, strangers overlook students at Redfering, many of whom are classified as non-verbal and instead speak to parents or caregivers. As such, the school deliberately focuses on providing students with a common communication tool: a series of standardized graphic her symbols printed on a board that the student carries with her throughout the day.
Symbols are universally used. All the doors in the building have an image representing ‘Open’. Students point to graphics that represent ‘first’ and ‘next’ while reviewing the schedule for the day.
She said the spark is powerful when students learn to defend themselves, even against strangers.
“Our goal is to provide them with a variety of ways to communicate so that they can participate in the community and be seen as people rather than as obstacles,” said Redfering. increase. “I feel like I have supernatural powers. I can see these things in these students, and I want others to see them as well.
In January, Redfering was recognized as the 2023 Teacher of the Year by the Council for Exceptional Children. An organization that advocates for students with disabilities and gifted students recognizes her commitment to building community and willingness to share her professional learning by inviting other educators to her classroom. emphasized.
Redfering spoke to Education Week about helping students with disabilities recognize and recover from the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How did you come to teach? Specifically, what aspect of special education are you interested in?
My family is generations of teachers, including my grandmother, mother, several aunts, and cousins. And my niece and daughter are now studying to be teachers.
My mother taught students with disabilities for most of her career, so I knew I wanted to go to school. [exceptional student center].
What assets do you see in your students? What do you enjoy working with them?
One of the amazing things about my students, especially the people I work with now, is that they are so overlooked.
[Making sure they feel heard] It’s what really drives me. It’s just a joy to see how they react and react when they are recognized as people, treated as people, and given expectations and high standards.
Knowing they will progress and succeed makes a big difference for them. And you know, it lights me up.
What are some examples of student growth?
Our school has been working on initiatives focused on communication for the past three years.Implemented universal core [a set of common symbols used to communicate] Across the school, our guru is Karen Erickson [a researcher who studies communication and literacy for students with disabilities].
We have a 3rd year student working on the core board right now, and he’s piecing together two symbols to tell him specifically what he wants. It was the first time I was able to convey the same message not only to people I know very well, but also to people who had never met him. it’s huge.
How has the pandemic affected your work? Have you noticed the difference in what students need?
[Remote learning] It was very difficult. As you know, a lot of what we do for students who need extensive support is not translated online.
Especially when we’re talking about developing authoritative methods of communication for students, it’s often done through eye contact. You can’t do that with Microsoft Teams meetings. it was a struggle. It was heartbreaking.
And what I found was that many of our students hadn’t been to school for a year and a quarter. [because of medical care needs] And just really stepped back. And we still realize they haven’t regained the skills they had before the pandemic.
What does recovery work look like for you?
It’s tenacity. We have children until she is 22, so we will work to get them back on track until they are 22. It’s about encouraging kids and celebrating small successes.
The CEC announcement mentioned a project called “Suds Club” to help students prepare for transition after school. what does that have to do with it?
I wanted to give my students some basic tools to help them transition [from high school to vocational programs] Doing so will prepare you for the possibility of joining the community.
We started a school laundry service and I wrote a grant [to a local foundation] Purchase matching uniforms. Every morning, I have other classroom schedules, but I collect the laundry. [items like bibs, sheets and towels used for repositioning students, and kitchen linens]They wash the laundry, dry the laundry, fold the laundry, and deliver it for payment.
It was nice to have all the students participate. There are some adaptive tools that allow students with disabilities to use switches to dispense laundry detergent or use audio output devices to communicate with “customers.”
There are students working on their financial literacy skills.Those students charge a fee [for services]money, counting, budget [for supplies], and spend money in our school stores. As some students work on folding, they do task analysis to learn how to follow written instructions.
This service requires so many different skills that every student in the class can work on something relevant to them that supports their needs and growth.
What do special education teachers need from school leaders, especially during the pandemic recovery phase?
We wish for a little more patience, not only at the school administrator level, but also at the state and district levels. Students need time to recover. Teachers need time to recover.
The management of my school is great. They fully support teachers and provide all the resources and mentoring a teacher may need.
