As an itinerant teacher, I remember the importance of tracking EVERYTHING. I tracked mileage. I tracked time spent providing direct instruction to students, time providing support to school personnel, and student absences. My accessible materials specialist tracked the dates on which she received materials from teachers, the time she spent making materials accessible, and the dates on which she provided those materials to the teachers (or me to deliver to teachers). In other words, tracking time is part-and-parcel of teaching blind students.
Educators Tracking Instructional Service Delivery
This data is valuable for more than mere IEP compliance. This data allows us to identify trends–trends in student absences, trends in teacher provision of materials to be made accessible, trends in the time it takes to make materials accessible, and much more. Data is not a burden; data is a valuable tool–especially when used properly and with skill. This Tracking Instructional Services–for Educators spreadsheet provides a template. Please edit and make it your own–and make it work for you!
Parents Tracking Teacher Instruction, Student Work, and Parent Involvement
In March 2020, schools across our nation closed. Many have reopened, and many are providing IEP services using hard copy materials, distance technology, or a blend of these. Parents, this means that you now have the opportunity to get into the data collection game. Again, I view data collection as a powerful tool. I urge you to embrace it, and please make any changes to this Tracking Instructional Services and Time Spent on Instruction and Material Preparation–for Families spreadsheet to make it work for you.
Tracking Travel
Whether we track travel for business reimbursement, for tax deductions, or just too document the miles we traverse, travel is another important task for which a good tool is needed. This Tracking Travel spreadsheet is set up for assigning mileage to one of six different school districts and sets forth a space to assign the purpose for each trip. This spreadsheet could easily be transformed into one to track travel to different medical providers, etc. Also, instead of mileage, an individual could use fees incurred for ride-sharing services, taxicabs, public transportation, etc.