Is this normal for SPED inclusion/resource teachers?
I’m an inclusion/resource teacher and I’m curious if this is normal at other schools.
My principal requires all resource/ICS teachers to have every minute of our day filled (outside of lunch/plan), even if all IEP minutes are already met. We’re not allowed to block time for things like IEP writing, paperwork, progress monitoring, etc.
Because of that, I have a few short blocks where I push in just to check on my students. These are not instructional minutes, just monitoring/check-ins to make sure they’re doing okay.
Well… my principal chose to do my formal observation during one of those blocks.
I explained that this was not direct instruction time and that I was intentionally not over-supporting in order to respect students’ LRE. Despite that, I was marked down for not providing instruction and not giving enough support.
On top of that, a lot of the feedback included things that weren’t even observed… because it wasn’t an instructional setting to begin with.
I’m honestly frustrated and confused. Is this normal at other campuses? Are y’all expected to fill every minute like this, and do admins observe during non-instructional/check-in times?