TRANSCRIPT
Setting the Stage for a Successful School Year
8/4/2025

>>Emily: For those of you who are new to the field or new to being an itinerant, that is an adjustment. To that role of going between campuses, seeing a huge variety of students within a day or within a week. So it requires some different strategies, I think, than for some classroom teachers. And so some of the things I want to talk about today is organization. Getting all that stuff together, getting yourself together for the year, your planning for the year. How are you going to keep and maintain documentation. And then even more important is that building of relationships with campus staff and with teachers and families and then also self-care. So we'll start with the organization piece. Maybe. My slide show is not doing anything. Do you have advice on this, Belinda, why is it not moving? 

>>Belinda: I wonder if you want to share with me or Collin and we can screen share, if need be. 

>>Emily: Okay. I can stop this one and you can share it. 

>>Are you clicked on to the window itself? You could be clicked off the window and the arrow keys wouldn't be working. 

>>Emily: There you go. You're brilliant! Really, I have done this once or twice before. Like it flows out of my mind exactly how it's supposed to work in between. So for the getting organized piece, I see it as two different parts to getting your information together about students. And one is that basic information. Like the student's name, their age, or date of birth. Their grade level, their campus. Their parent contacts. And who are the teachers that -- or other members on their team who are involved with that student. The student's case manager. To have those e-mail addresses or phone numbers or whatever's the best contact method, easily available to you. And I like to keep this information in a binder because I also like to have it electronically. But to me the binder was sometimes easier to just grab and quickly find that information when you're sitting in the parking lot getting ready to go to a campus and you're like, hmm, what class is that student in during third period or something like that. Or I need to make a quick call to the parent. Anybody have any ideas or other methods they use for keeping this type of information handy? Feel free to put that in the chat. 

>>Belinda: I'm with you. I was starting to type but I will say I also like to have an electronic -- like Google Doc and use a form that has all of this information. But also keep a paper copy. Like, I had a little plastic tote that I would keep in my car with a folder for each student. Because sometimes there's no cell signal, depending on the campus that I'm at. And if I need to grab it and go, you know, I have it right there on paper and can look that information up. 

>>Emily: Right. And we'll get to this on the planning piece, but the other information that is going to help you set up your schedule and to know where you're going on the campus can also be put together like in a binder by campus. So you have two students on that campus and you need to know how to get from the different classrooms. But that's coming up in another slide. I think this is basic as part one. Because if you're keeping it with you, this is not confidential information. But part two would be beyond the basics but the things you need to know would be really important to inform your lessons or your planning for that student. It can be maintained on the spreadsheet so it's quickly available to you. And you can also set this up for the VI registration or Deafblind census where all that information is in one location so you don't have to go looking for anything when you're trying to complete that process. So things like the student's etiology, their acuity fields. So when you're like what is that student's etiology? It's escaped my mind. It's right there. And you can add notes to yourself separately about specifics for that student, on the same form but specifics about that student's vision in different situations. Things that are really important for you to know. But I also like having the IEP and FIE dates in there because then that's kind of a heads up way of just for the month I would make a note on my calendar that these three students have IEPs that are due this month. So it helps keep me on top of it so I know I need to start prepping for those ARDs right at the beginning, have that reminder. And also the service type for that student and their time. It's in their IEP and their primary and secondary learning channels. And also I would include learning media too might be something to include. So all of that information. I like to keep this in electronic format rather than a paper copy that I'm carrying with me, just because of that confidentiality factor. 

>>Belinda: Emily, we did have a comment. Diane agreed with you. She likes to keep the IEP dates. So that helps her plan. 

>>Emily: It's really helpful. Also that FIE because if that student's three-year reeval is coming up, that's another thing that needs to be on your radar that maybe the student does need an updated FVE and you want to have that in mind so you can beginning planning for it ahead of time so you are aware. Okay. And another part of getting organized is managing that equipment. And that is really a hard one sometimes -- at least it was for me. Because at the end of the year you have picked up equipment or if you're new to that district, that equipment is somewhere. You need to familiarize yourself with where it is. But it's just -- can be really crazy that prep week trying to get equipment delivered to campuses so that it's in place for the first day of school. And you feel like you're going 15 different places in one day to deliver stuff. If this is set up ahead of time so that you have a form or a consistent method to note what the location -- where that equipment is located, its serial number. And then also if the equipment is being loaned to families, to have a method of documenting when it was loaned and when it was returned. And most districts have a process for this and that would be what you would follow. But even in addition to that, I like to just make notes for myself about when something was loaned and returned. Because it could happen during the school year too so you have a way that you can make that adjustment. And serial numbers can haunt you where you get a request about where this piece of equipment that's on inventory and here's the serial number and if you don't have it written down somewhere, it can cause you more headaches, for sure. Anyone have comments about managing equipment? 

>>Belinda: I'll share something. In Round Rock when I was itinerant there, you know, everybody has some high-cost equipment, like CCTVs that aren't necessarily district property -- I mean, they're VI inventory, not something that the technology specialists at the campus would manage. So we struggled a little bit with trying to have our own system and serial numbers for a while. And then we just weren't -- with everything we were doing, all of our traveling we decided that it was really more efficient for the campus folks to manage within the same system that they're managing all the laptops, all of the expensive equipment. That just worked out better for us to put it in that more efficient system. Yeah. 

>>Emily: I've heard some other districts that do that too. There may be things that are already established. But, to me, for my records I like to know this information because sometimes you get asked. And it's not always a good look to be like I have no idea what you're talking about. 

>>Belinda: No. And that location, I love that you mention that because the teacher's name and room number is sometimes -- you never know when you're handing over a student, you get the student that had Ms. Smith last year and, you know, this is a high school campus and that particular equipment, the CCTV was only used in that classroom and then it's not there. Or the teacher moved and you need help looking for it. It's good to have a place to start. 

>>Emily: For sure. So this is an example of a student data form, because we're talking about reporting information in an electronic format. This wasn't my idea, it came from another itinerant, about how to get that information into a spreadsheet in a simple way. I think it feels more approachable to me than putting it directly into a spreadsheet. So it really depends on your preference. But this is a Google Form where the information about your students -- you can enter it into the Google Form and then it automatically populates into a Google Sheet. So these can be set up with the Google Sheets. You can set it up so that each student has their own tab in the Google Sheets. So it's not all bunched together. They're separated out. And you can organize it, you know, in whatever way you want to. But this is a form that you can use for all of the students. And I think it's like a quick and easy thing to do. Because you can also use it -- and we'll talk about that in a little bit -- is you can use that for data collection as well, for making your notes for those specific kids. If you're going to write a novel about what happened with a kid, that might not work out the best, but it is a way that it's all in one place where you don't have to really search and dig for things. Now I have this black bar. Once that information goes from the Google Form into your Google Sheets, you have it all there on one line where you can put together all that extra information more specific to the student beyond the basic information. You could use it for that. Or you can also add the basic information in. It's whatever works for you. But, again, I do like the fact that you can use this to collect data or make notes on and then it's all over the place. Rather than back in the day when we didn't have this as an option, you had binders and folders and notebooks and it was -- could be more challenging to keep everything easy to find. Anybody else have a different method that they've used? Or do you prefer to just fill it in the spreadsheet or something completely different? Okay. And I know that some people like to keep running notes on a student rather than put it in a spreadsheet form too, when you're thinking about notes and data collection. But it's whatever works. This is just something I wanted to show as an option and what it looks like when you get into your spreadsheet, so all of your columns are labeled and then again you can organize it so each student has their own tab in the workbook. So more on getting organized. And this is about your traveling office, your vehicle. So I like to think about the traveling office, like how do I make it comfortable and how do I keep it organized? As I might want to for an office in an actual building. But because you're traveling, you're going to need to have a lot of materials with you -- at least I did. And, again, this wasn't my idea originally, but I did get this idea and started doing it from another itinerant. Was to organize the trunk of my car with bags and bins to store materials related to either students for a specific campus or certain types of activities or materials or related to grade -- age levels and grades for students. Because, you know, we are serving birth to 21 and that variety of materials, it just can really be immense. And also if you have bags or bins, it was easy to me to trade things out. So there might be only so much room in your vehicle, but you can then easily remove a bin of materials if you don't need those anymore. Or use that same bin to switch out to other materials. And for hauling things around, a rolling cart is great. You can also get the -- it's a rolling -- I can't think of the name. But it's like a wagon that folds out if you're carrying more materials or carrying bigger, bulkier things. That, I think, is a great investment if you can do that. And then I think a backpack is essential. I have -- I was the bag lady for years where I had three different bags full of stuff. Carrying them on my shoulders, holding something, all of that. And that takes a toll on you physically. You know, I found out later after having developed problems with my shoulders that that was the reason. So the backpack, combined with a cart, really is good for your body. And then just like at an office, physical office, the hand wipes, the tissues, hand sanitizer, all of that is really important to have around, as well as snacks and drinks. And as an itinerant, we all know that sometimes we don't really get that lunch built into our schedules. Or it just doesn't happen because the schedule is really off that day. You know, it helps you get through the day if you have a little snack and maybe a little caffeine in your vehicle. That you can just grab on the go. Anyone have key things that they put in their traveling office? 

>>Belinda: I like that. Those are great ideas. I combined -- you said rolling cart. I snagged my daughter's old rolling backpack. Not quite as big as a rolling cart. And it closed so that if it was raining, you know, it was a little bit more protected than a rolling cart might be sometimes. I love the idea of having a pre-K bag and, you know, a Braille -- early Braille bag. That's definitely how I organize my stuff. And then I would have a pencil case with markers and vis-a-vis pens and the dark pencils and erasers. And then I would have another plastic tote that's like an upright filing system with a lid that had different kinds of paper, lined paper. Just in case, you know, I needed that when I was going to visit a campus. Oh, we do have a question. How do you transport those large eye charts? 

>>Emily: The large eye charts? 

>>Belinda: Uh-huh. 

>>Emily: Carefully. Yeah, so sometimes -- it depends on what type of vehicle you have. So for something like that, I would just figure out how to lay it flat and maybe just in the backseat of the car. Because you might not have it -- I didn't use it all the time. I didn't always need it, so it would just be for that period of time that I needed it or that day that I was using it and return it to somewhere more protected, to keep it from getting damaged. It is tricky when you have something really bulky when you're trying to carry around a tri-fold board or maybe you can't store on the campus. But some creativity can help. But, yeah. Some of those things are real challenging. Belinda, I like what you said about the carrying various types of papers and such with you and those hanging file folders. And I also did that with textured materials. Of different types. So that that was available for an on the fly, let's accommodate this material. I know I just need a piece of burlap and that would be perfect. So I keep that with me. 

>>Belinda: Yes, I have to say getting groceries, we didn't use my car because I had to unpack the car to get groceries and that always irritated my husband. 

>>Emily: Well, I would go sometimes to get groceries and forget all this stuff in the car and be like what do I do with the groceries? And then you ask your child to hold them. 

>>Belinda: Diane, I would say too I'm thinking about a large eye chart that I have. I kept the packaging that it came in. It came in a thin but pretty sturdy cardboard container. And I just kept that. And so, you know, I would hoist that under my arm when I was walking into the school to keep it from getting scuffed up just floating around in my car. Or dropped. 

>>Emily: Before we move to planning, I would like to say that getting organized piece is a lot of front loading of work. If you're new to a district or you have a whole set of new students, getting that set up can seem daunting. Because you do have to put that work into it. But you will be thankful that you did in November when you need access to this information. Or especially during the VI registration, Deafblind census time in January. It just makes things so much smoother. I do remember feeling overwhelmed with trying to get organized. And over time it got better because I had to try different methods. That's the other thing. We gave some tips or suggestions. But sometimes those don't work for you. Don't work for everybody or that school year, even. So that flexibility is important but also to not feel like once you start something that you can't vary from that. There are times when I started off with what I thought was a great organizational system and that turned out to not really be the case. So on to planning. And that creating a schedule. Like, one of the most challenging things I think for an itinerant is getting your schedule established. There's a lot of information that you need to gather in order to get to the step where you can actually start figuring out when you're going to see various students. So you'll need campus maps, classroom locations, and district information. And you can put that with a student's basic information. So your district map, or if you're in a co-op, the district maps within that co-op. Your campus maps. The bell schedules, student schedules, an then your time options for direct and pull-out service. I would also suggest with those campuses and the traveling between schools to -- if you can, take the time to actually drive between campuses. Google Maps might tell you it's 11 minutes but really when you go from one campus to another, you're lucky if it's 11 minutes. And then you have to figure out where to park and there might not be parking near the building. It depends on the situation on those campuses. They can be all over the place about where you can park, how long it's going to take you to get into the building, signed in, and then to the student's classroom. So I usually try and pad time into the schedule. Maybe go and figure out this whole process is actually going to take me 15 minutes. So take that into account. Allow 20 minutes, if possible. Some of that seems impossible in your schedule but thinking about that ahead of time can keep things -- make things less stressful and help you be more punctual, rather than being constantly late. Which can't be helped sometimes but trying to be realistic for yourself. And then with the campus maps, I like to walk those over. Not the whole campus but the key things I would need to know. It's not a great feeling to be totally lost on a campus the first few weeks of school. Again, that can't be avoided. If you get a giant high school, that may be the case for a while. Just to make that experience less stressful for you, just as we want to make things less stressful for students. And those bell schedules are super important, even for elementary schools that may have different schedules on different days of the week, depending on how that campus manages their students' time. And especially if you're on middle school or high school campuses that have A, B days or three different types of schedules per week. Those are really helpful to have and quickly accessible. And so I would usually put this information either with the student or just with its own binder. Thinking about the maps and the bell schedules for those campuses. Because that can be a campus where you have three different students and figuring out and managing their schedules and how you're going to be able to provide service time when there's three different bell schedules for that week -- or every week. 

>>Belinda: I like that. I think maps have saved me so often. Because sometimes you get there and you've got five minutes to pull a student for this -- we have these enrichment windows that some of our schools are doing. And that can be a really good time to pull -- especially a student who is academic and doesn't have a lot of other opportunities to pull them from core classes. But if you're lost, if they've had a schedule change and you're lost trying to find this new room that particular class period as moved to, you're wasting time. Anita commented that they have a system called Tennessee Pulse that lets them know electronically when eligibility and IEPs are coming due. And so they have case managers that work on that system via e-mail too. So they have a couple of ways to be notified. I should say, we do have case managers and ARD facilitators who are notifying folks in Texas. But sometimes the teacher for the visually impaired can get forgotten when they're scheduling an ARD, gathering data. So especially those who are contract and only come to the district, you know, once a month to check in for a student. You definitely need to have your system to monitor those dates and be on top of it. 

>>Emily: Exactly. So getting to the actual creating the schedule piece. There's a lot of different ways that people do it. This is one I like, which is good old sticky note on a grid. Or some people do it in a folder or just lay it out on a table. Put it into, you know, have a desk calendar out. Whatever works for you. So this one I color code it by the service time. Or how many times per week. And starting off with the weekly schedule and then coming back to look at the overall monthly schedule when you have students -- like Belinda mentioned -- are one time a month. Maybe they are collaborative consultation students, so your frequency is less. Here I have our friend Roger who is four times a week. So I'm using yellow. And other students that have most of the week, four times a week, would also be yellow. And then the 30 minutes two times a week time slot -- or 45 -- it was really more of the number of times per week is how I color coded it. With two times per week student and a one-time per week student, with the times they are available. So I gather all that information, put them on the sticky notes and then start moving things around until I had something that made sense. Taking into consideration the location, the campus location, and how far apart campuses are. You know, can you consolidate. Sometimes you have several schools that are fairly close together and you are able to set it up so those students can be seen on a particular day. And sometimes it doesn't work out that way. And that's going to vary year to year, typically. So some other methods that people use and one that I tried and it just didn't work for me, was like a schedule grid. And using pencils or colored pencils to write in student names. And you can erase and redo it. I felt like I ended up with a big eraser mess. And that I liked being able to physically move pieces of paper around. This can also be done electronically in a calendar, electronic calendar. And so people do that. And also color code it, depending on the comfort level with that. You know, I just like the hands on. But does anybody have other methods that they use or that they particularly like for figuring out a schedule? Or possible schedule. 

>>Belinda: I would add one thing that was important for me was to have a visual map of the district, just as I'm planning. So that I can remember, like, okay. Roger is at this campus. And Sam is at this campus. And then try to start breaking it up by days at campuses so that I didn't have to -- it inevitably happens that you go to more than one campus in a day. But the goal is to have one campus a day. 

>>Emily: Yeah. I ended up one time with 13 students on a high school campus. So I spent days there. It felt like it was just so weird. I'm not itinerant anymore. 

>>Belinda: Yeah, that's lovely. 

>>Emily: I don't know if it was lovely. I like being on the go. So that's just one example for the planning. And then thinking about O&M, COMS, and that campus familiarization. You know, one of the things that you could even find out, if you happened to be in that district the prior year -- but even if you're new to the district this school year -- finding out those students who are transitioning to a new campus. Who need to learn routes. We want them to be more independent during the first few weeks of school. But finding out who those students are and prioritizing them in your schedule and your planning for lessons with them. So you need the students' schedules. And the same information that we have gone over already, you would want all that as well, knowing who the teachers are and the case managers. And also thinking about working with the families too. Set up those sessions on the campus before the start of school. Even if it's just that week before. Maybe you're able to get there a little earlier than that or work with the family to see them later in the day when the family is available to drop off a student. So that takes some communication with the family but also with campus staff, administrators, and teachers about what would that look like and how could that happen. And also thinking about focusing on the key routes rather than looking at the whole picture of, oh, there's all these places the student needs to be able to go. Especially when they're on a new campus. What's most important and how can you build, as a COMS, that level of independence for that student right away? What does their arrival look like? Are they on the bus? Are the parents dropping off? Maybe that's the key is getting into school and getting to their first class or to their classroom, if they're elementary. As being the primary route. Which it provides for them an opportunity to be independent, and maybe there's just a part of that route that they can do independently but think about how to create success for that student during that first week of school. And then when planning for those first weeks of school, these might be students that you would want to prioritize time with, even though their schedules wouldn't look the same for the rest of the school year. And that would be especially true for middle and high school students who are transitioning frequently between classrooms and parts of the campus. Any COMS on the -- participating today? All right. Just me. Just me. 

>>Belinda: No, you have a couple of them. Erika and Andrew said they are COMS. And I wonder if anybody has like a trick or a suggestion for helping get those schedules early. Because it's tough. I know the campuses don't want to hand out the schedules until it's all finalized but I always found convincing them that it's okay if it's not perfect. If I can just get them started, please, just let us get them started. 

>>Emily: Right. Right. I think the next couple of slides are about building relationships. And that is a really key thing to getting schedules ahead of time. And also knowing who are the people that can give you access to the district or the campus information system where you could have that early access to it. So it's just letting people know who you are and what you do and why this is important. Even though it's not going to be perfect. I think once people on the campus understand, you know, what the purpose of this is, it can really open up that communication with them so you can get the assistance that you need. Okay. And so also under planning -- I think you mentioned this already, Belinda. But determining logistics and the service delivery. So, you know, that's one that I think often requires some negotiation. And, again, if you have some relationship with people on the campus that could help you figure out a place for lessons when you're doing instruction. And so it might keep you from being told you can only work with a student in the hallway. Which sometimes may be the case but, you know, there could be somebody that knows some way to kind of work around that to find a space for you. And then another one that's always a challenge too and was a challenge for me is that material storage for the student. Not just for lessons but also what the student needs, like in the classroom or those materials that are your lesson materials that you would prefer not to haul back and forth when you're working with a student on a daily basis or frequent basis. So, again, sometimes there are places to store materials that might not be information that's immediately available. So a little talking to a custodian could help you out with that. 

>>Belinda: I love that, yes. And the librarian. The librarian, yeah. 

>>Emily: And also we added that in about the beginning of the year lesson activities. And that's the get to know you activities. The similar activities they're doing in the classrooms. But also that review of the use of equipment. That the student has not been using over the summer. And that skill review that you would do with them to kind of figure out where they are and what you need to work on. Again, those kinds of things -- not the equipment use -- but what happens in the classrooms with those teachers already. The teachers that they have already. So on to documentation. That's the most fun part. Good paperwork will really help you out in the long run. So figuring out a method that works for you to keep a service log. I know a lot of districts have their own requirements for where you are logs your time. And maybe even putting in some brief notes. I also like to have my own logs, just for myself to refer back to. Especially if I had to make up lessons. So I could see I could see notes and how much I need to make up. Keeping a parent contact log. Again, some districts have a required place for doing that. But I also like to keep my own. These things can be done through Google Forms or Word doc, Google Doc, electronic format. Whatever works for you for this. Also those meetings with other staff. Be sure to document when that happened and who was present. And I think we already talked about the data collection. How you could do it. Lots of methods. Those paper data sheets are also helpful when you're looking at, you know, how many times per trials and how much support did the student need as you're looking at documenting mastery for those IEP goals. I feel like some of this has already been covered when we were talking about organization and planning. But the data collection piece, the other thing I wanted to add -- or other thought about that is allowing for a little time on that campus, before you leave the campus, to enter some of your data into whatever electronic format you're using. Because by the end of the day you just might be over it. Don't have the energy to do that. And if you wait to the end of the week, then it's going to be much harder to be accurate about your data and your notes. I like to do that. It's not always possible, but it helped the week feel less stressful with those few extra minutes to write those notes. 

>>Belinda: I agree. Those can catch up with you. They can build up and be overwhelming. And I love even having -- I was a big fan of Google Docs. I had a table set up and would enter notes from my session and use voice to text to say it on my phone as I walk to the car. 

>>Emily: That's a great idea. The voice to text. And I have met a couple of itinerants recently who are doing that very same thing. And I thought that was a really great idea. So when you're thinking about collaborative consultation, you want to know who the team members are, what their roles are. And to think about how frequently that group will meet. Will it be everybody? Will you just be talking with and collaborating with the classroom teacher? Thinking about, you know, assigning tasks and responsibilities. Who's in charge of what? Who's responsible for what? And another one that helped me is that the materials request tracking sheet, those accommodated materials. So I can make a note to myself of when it was received and when they want it back, what the target date is for getting that material back to the classroom. And then the date it was delivered. So, again, I didn't use that as an electronic form. I just had like a running notebook for that. Really for myself just to make sure that I did get stuff in process for being accommodated and then delivered. Okay. So we've talked a little bit about building relationships. You know, one thing to think about -- and sometimes it feels like all these people are busy with their own stuff they're trying to get done during that prep week or the first week of school. Think about how you could accomplish this in that two-week period of prep week and first week of school. Maybe the second week of school. Getting to know that campus staff. It's really important to introduce yourself to the administrators in person, by e-mail. And then getting to know those other campus staff, again, with the front office folks and the custodians. I.T. being really helpful to have them know who you are, why you're there, what you do. Especially if you're on a campus pretty frequently. You know, seeking out that support for the custodians who have the keys to all the rooms can be really helpful. And then with families. I think we all know that relationship with families are so important. And, you know, thinking about when you have the parents want to be contacted and making that contact with them during the first couple of weeks of school to find out what they want to share with you about their student. You know, I think it's important during this getting to know you or contact with families, initial contact, that you can communicate to them that you care about their student and their student's success during the year. And that you want to collaborate with them regarding their concerns and the other things that they would like for their student to work on or accomplish during the year. And then your teachers. So, again, introducing yourself and explaining your role. And that might not be a one-off process. These teachers have a lot going on during that prep week and the first couple of weeks of school. So, you know, a brief explanation may be a good way to start. And then provide more information as things settle down a bit. But you also -- sharing information about the student is important. A one-page info sheet is what I would go with is because, you know, a three-page document teachers don't have time to read. You just want the key information about that student that's important for that teacher to know for the first week of school. It can also be done in a PowerPoint. I like to have students create one or both of these and share that with their teachers. The PowerPoint, I think is really great because you can put images in there that help teachers understand what you're talking about, especially regarding equipment. 

>>Belinda: I love that idea, Emily. We have about five minutes left before I give the codes. But I wanted to add in here too one of the things that sometimes I would forget in my early years as an itinerant is that if you have a particular size font that your student needs materials enlarged to, make sure the teacher knows how to either convert a document that they have to that font size or enlarge it on the copier. Because when it comes down to it, they're the ones who are there every day providing the material to the students, is your itinerant. They need to be comfortable doing that or you may run into problems. 

>>Emily: Definitely. And sometimes I would provide, on the info sheet, an example of font and the font size. 

>>Belinda: Yes. 

>>Emily: That makes an impact and really helps the teacher to judge whether or not that size is appropriate. So more for teachers and for us as itinerants is recognizing that the beginning of the school year is stressful for us and also for those teachers. Remember that everything's not going to be perfect and that expectation of -- we would love for it to be perfect -- but that expectation that it will be puts stress on us and can put stress on the teachers. And communicating that you were there to support the teachers helps with building that relationship. Not a person that's going to give them more demands but a person who will support. And just laugh together. Have some popcorn together. All those things help to build that relationship and benefit the student. And then don't forget self-care and embracing change. So when a new school year starts, whether you're brand new to that district or brand new to that student or you haven't had that cluster of campuses before, it's going to take time to adjust. Every year there's an adjustment period. And recognizing that some of the things are out of your control regarding schedules, regarding lessons, accommodations for kids. All of those things have factors in them that you cannot control, and recognizing that can reduce your stress. And also recognizing that sometimes lessons fall apart. Your lessons. Classroom lessons. And then also that your schedule falls apart sometimes and that can be really frustrating because it creates its own set of problems later. You know, often that can't be helped, those factors that are out of your control. And to remember to give yourself grace along with giving grace to those classroom teachers. And your student. They are also adjusting to a new school year. So anyone else have tips on self-care? What are the things you do to help get through those first few weeks of school? 

>>Belinda: Yeah. This is the crazy, crazy time of year. Sometimes my treat was, you know, driving through Starbucks and getting something for that drive in between. 

>>Emily: Right. Something that you really enjoy. 

>>Belinda: Yeah. And I love a good podcast too. So getting like, okay, I'm going to have that break after this to get in the car and listen to my podcast. 

>>Emily: Yeah. I was thinking of adding to this, and I didn't. It ties to building those relationships on campus, but find a place that you can maybe store a lunch and heat it up and have that 10 minutes, 15 minutes to have something that's not a cheesestick and an apple for lunch can really just make the day seem brighter, easier to get through. 

>>Belinda: Yeah. I like that idea. Building relationships is huge, especially with like front-office staff. They're the ones who are going to be checking you in and out. And making that process go smoother. And with families. Really important. 

>>Emily: Right. And the front-office staff often has that information about what's going to be different that day. Or may be willing to tell you right when you walk in that the student's absent. So just save you that bit of time so now it gives you that gift of time to work on something else before you had to look all over the campus for that kid.