The ED Queen

✨ 8 proactive behavior strategies every educator can try!

Instead of waiting for challenging behavior to happen, let’s focus on what we can do beforehand to create more success for our students 💜

Here are 8 strategies to try:
1️⃣ What do you want to see?
2️⃣ The data talks
3️⃣ Anticipate the barriers
4️⃣ When in doubt, a visual schedule helps!
5️⃣ Break down
6️⃣ Routine & Structure
7️⃣ Reinforcement routine
8️⃣ Goals!

Small proactive changes can make a BIG difference in helping students feel supported, successful, and ready to learn!

Save this post for your next planning session and share it with an educator who could use it! 🪩

BehaviorStrategies PositiveBehaviorSuppor

The goal this year? Be the velvet hammer. 🪻🔨

Build the relationship and hold the boundary.

Know their interests. Laugh with them. Tell stories. Show up for them. Make them feel known.

But also:
→ Teach the routines.
→ Set the expectation.
→ Follow through.
→ Redirect calmly.
→ Keep the rigor high.
→ Don’t negotiate every little thing.
→ Believe they are capable of hard things.

Being warm doesn’t mean being permissive.
Having high expectations doesn’t mean being harsh.

Students deserve both: a teacher who cares deeply about them AND a teacher who won’t give up on what they’re capable of.

That’s the velvet hammer.

Soft enough to build trust.
Strong enough to hold the line.

And honestly? I think that balance is one of the most powerful things we can give our students at the start of a school year. 🤍

What does being the “velvet hammer” look like in your classroom?

Sue me, I want to be an advocate for students with challenging behavior 🤍🪩

Just completed the first full week of year 12 🤍✨ here’s what I’m here for this year!

Comment with the emoji below, how many years in special education? What is your role this year?!

🤍 first year!
✨ 2-5
🙌🏼 6-10
✏️ 11-15
🪩 15+

You are the agent, the creator and the supportive person who can create new experiences for students to help them rewrite their stories 🤍

Kinda chic behavior edition 💁🏻‍♀️💁🏻‍♀️💁🏻‍♀️

📢 First year special education teachers! I need you to read this! 📢

You do not have to build the perfect classroom overnight.

Your classroom will grow with you. The systems, visuals, centers, and resources don’t all have to be finished on day one. Give yourself permission to build one piece at a time.

Remember to protect your life outside of school, too. Your students deserve a great teacher—but your family, your friends, and you deserve the best version of you. Balance isn’t selfish; it’s sustainable.

You’re an educator first. The Pinterest-worthy classroom will come. The relationships you build with your students and the instruction you provide will always matter more than having every bin labeled and every bulletin board perfect.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed as you prepare for your first year, comment ‘new teacher’ to get my blog post I wrote for new special education teachers!

✨ What advice would you give your first-year teacher self? Share it in the comments to encourage someone who’s just getting started!

Teachers, I see 👀 you advocating. I hear 👂🏼 your conversations. Mindsets don’t change over night, but with small, micro-influence moments!