Using a One-Pager for Back to School

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As speech language pathologists, teachers of the deaf, or parents, we know what makes “our kids” tick and what’s special about them, but how do we communicate that to new teachers or school staff?

One resource I like to use at the beginning of a new school year is a one-pager introduction. It’s simply one page that highlights who a student is, what they’re good at, what they’re working on, and what their family’s vision is for them.

An image of a yellow one pager that includes a photo, demographic information, and strengths and needs of a student

What’s Included

Here’s an example one-pager I made for myself. It has the important stuff (that we sometimes overlook) like name and age, and also includes what I’m working on (could be IEP or classroom goals), what’s hard for me (situations or other circumstances), what I’m good at, and what my interests are.

By including things kids are working on as well as interests and things they’re good at, teachers and staff get a more well-rounded picture of who a child really is.

A family’s vision statement can serve a couple of purposes. First, it lets parents communicate to the school what their expectations are. It also reminds everyone who sees it that this child is an incredibly valuable member of a family.

Here’s another example:

An image of a one-pager with an orange background for a student named Sal. The one pager includes different boxes for things that are easy, hard, interests, and a photo of the student.

One of the reasons I like using one-pagers so much is that once you create it, you can give it to so many people in a school setting. While we’d like to believe that everyone interacting with a child has fully read and understood their IEP, we know that isn’t realistically the case. Having a one-pager that’s easy to read and understand raises the likelihood they’ll learn more about a child.

Some of the people you can give a one-pager to are:

  • Classroom teachers
  • Specials teachers (think PE, Art, Band, etc.)
  • School counselor
  • Front office staff/Receptionists
  • Librarian
  • Therapy staff
  • Janitor or Custodian
  • Paraprofessionals
  • Before/After school workers
  • Cafeteria employees
  • Principals/IEP Coordinators
  • Special education staff

How Do You Make One?

You can make a one-pager in lots of different ways. I made the ones above using the templates I sell in my TPT store, but you can also make them using Powerpoint, Canva, or even Word if you want to keep it very basic. As long as you include the relevant information, the format is really up to you. The only requirement, in my view, is that you keep it short. We all know that teachers and school staff are busy, and the easier it is to read, the more likely they are to read it.