Creating well-documented and thorough Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) is one of the most important aspects of being a special education teacher. IEPs are legal documents that outline the unique educational goals and services for students with special needs. As a special education teacher, you will be responsible for attending IEP meetings, writing IEP goals, and documenting student progress.

One day I realized that my body was giving me every sign it could to let me know of the burnout feeling taking over me. It seems crazy to think that I ignored all the warnings.

Let me know if this sounds familiar to you.

You’re overwhelmed by all the feelings related to the behaviors you need to navigate every day. The data collection you need to do is flooding your desk. Not to mention the rotating staff you have to keep track of, the implementation of lessons you have to teach every day, and the list goes on and on.

I know because I’ve been there. Starting your teaching career feeling like your destiny is working in a classroom. (After graduating with my Master’s degree in Special Education, I couldn’t imagine it.)

But, I felt that spark, drive, and ambition slowly but surely dissipate year by year. Until I couldn’t even remember why I had wanted to be a teacher in the first place, all the overtime, late nights, and days of overwhelm were leading me straight to quitting altogether.⁠⁠

Waking up wishing there was less on my to-do list and more time for those unique relationships in the classroom. I was hoping for the things that had inspired me to become a teacher in the first place. So, I kept pushing, never stepping back to take a breath. I gave my all and hit burnout not once but three separate times.

⁠⁠Once I hit rock bottom, I did not acknowledge that something needed to change.

Surprisingly, we don’t talk too much about special education placements as special education teachers.  Maybe you do, but I remember the administration always told me that the decision involving special education placements happened above me.

Hold up a minute; please know it is inaccurate if you had heard that before or implied it.  There are several special education placements, and your voice in the decision matters—the voice of each Team member, including the parents and student, matters.

We learn that students need a special education placement considered their least restrictive environment (LRE) when in graduate school.  However, it is sometimes out of our control when it comes down to it.