What my District 75 class has taught me
When I started teaching in a District 75 classroom, I thought I understood patience. I had studied individualized instruction, read about behavioral supports and practiced my IEP (Individualized Education Program) writing skills. But nothing truly prepared me for the reality of the classroom. The beauty of working in a 12:1:1 setting is unique and brilliant; it is an environment filled with unpredictable, inspiring students who teach you just as much as you teach them.
My first week was a mix of exhaustion and wonder. One student, J, greeted me every morning with an enthusiastic high-five but consistently refused to complete any academic work. Another student, Ava, communicated mostly through physical gestures and an augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) device that would occasionally malfunction.
Every day in a District 75 setting requires absolute flexibility, deep empathy and rapid creativity. I remember standing in front of the class one afternoon, realizing that my carefully planned Readtopia literature lesson was falling flat due to a high level of collective student dysregulation. Instead of forcing the lesson, I pivoted to a 30-minute structured sensory and self-regulation block. We practiced deep breathing techniques, listened to calming music and observed the movement of the sky out the window to ground our senses. This intentional shift allowed the students to co-regulate, lowering their frustration levels and resetting the classroom climate. It was not the academic path I had originally mapped out, but it was essential, responsive learning in its purest form.
I have quickly learned that relationships must always come first; meaningful instruction naturally follows.
I focused heavily on building these personal connections during my morning arrival routines. For instance, with J, I noticed his refusal to work stemmed from a fear of failing in front of his peers. To build trust, I began sitting with him one-on-one during breakfast, chatting informally about his favorite video games without placing any academic demands on him. Once he viewed me as a safe supporter rather than just a taskmaster, he began taking risks during our reading groups, eventually completing short matching tasks independently.
Early on, I caught myself comparing my students’ progress strictly to general-education, grade-level standards, which left me feeling disheartened. My perspective shifted entirely during a recent reading comprehension lesson on “The Gold Bug.” We were working on identifying character motivations, and Ava, who typically shut down and put her head on her desk when handed a book, actively reached for her AAC device. She navigated through three screen layers to select the icon for “helper” to describe a character in the text, making direct eye contact with me as she pushed the button. That moment was an “a-ha” realization for me. I recognized that standard grade-level expectations fail to capture the profound cognitive and social leaps our students make every day. Redefining success in this way has been one of my biggest instructional lessons.
Teaching in District 75 has taught me to slow down, to celebrate every small step, and to meet each child exactly where they are developmentally. My students remind me that communication extends far beyond spoken words, that learning takes many beautiful forms, and that pure joy can be found in the simplest successes.
The Novice is a new District 75 teacher in Queens.