Al’s World is a tribute to Albert “Al” Brigance, the man behind the BRIGANCE assessments, and is inspired by special educators like you and the important work you do every day. This series of original watercolor cartoons depicts the day-to-day triumphs and tribulations of Judy, special educator extraordinaire, and her colleagues. We hope Al’s World gives you a smile or two!
When you’re feeling good, the hallway can really start to feel like a runway. And just like your favorite outfit, individualized education is always in style!
BRIGANCE Special Education inventories help you gain meaningful insights into your students’ strengths and learning needs, providing you with the information you need to write IEPs that will support your students’ success. So go ahead and turn that movement break into a model walk! BRIGANCE looks great on you.
After a long winter, it’s probably starting to feel like it’s time to spring clean, get organized, and freshen things up—and BRIGANCE has done just that. With updated assessments and instructional materials in the Transition Skills Inventory 2 and the Transition Skills Activities 2 (TSA 2), you’ll be even better equipped to support your middle school and high school students as they make plans and build skills for life after high school. And for the upcoming school year, the TSA 2 will be easily accessible in a digital resource library, helping you stay even more organized.
For special educators, life is like a box of chocolates. The good news is that we have chocolate to help us get through. And more good news . . . using the BRIGANCE assessment tools to inform the instructional objectives for your IEPs makes your life as a special educator a little easier.
Field trips would ideally provide learning for all students, regardless of impairment or developmental level, but they can be challenging for special educators. By helping you unearth what each of your students knows and can do, our BRIGANCE assessments can give you insight into potentially appropriate experiences that will take your students outside their everyday activities.
In many schools, classroom space is at a premium. As a special educator, you may bear the brunt of sharing space, possibly adding undue stress to your already demanding job. Unfortunately, BRIGANCE can’t orchestrate an addition to your building, but rest assured, our BRIGANCE inventories will support you as Maestro of Assessment!
There are never enough hours in a special educator’s day. Efficiency is paramount. With our BRIGANCE assessments, you will quickly pinpoint the skills your students have mastered and those you’ll set as objectives. What will you do with the extra time? Perhaps you can grab a few minutes to connect with your colleagues and savor a fresh cuppa joe!
Today, clear and regular communication between you and your student’s parents or caregivers is imperative. But communicating a special education student’s strengths and needs can be challenging. BRIGANCE can make these conversations easier. The BRIGANCE assessment tools help you pinpoint what a student knows and can do and allow you to chart even the smallest increments of progress—positive news everyone loves to hear!
Because your role as a special educator can be so different from that of general education teachers, you may sometimes feel isolated, even left out. Connecting with colleagues who know little about special education or the students you teach can be challenging. Sharing students' BRIGANCE assessment results could help. By capturing exactly what students know and can do at different points throughout the year, BRIGANCE lets you connect with your colleagues while sharing your students’ successes!
What pushes them out: Inadequate support (from administrators, parents, other teachers). Not enough space. Insufficient planning time. No relevant PD. Parents' and other teachers' misconceptions about special education. What's keeping them in: Support (from instructional coaches, administrators, parents, other teachers). Adequate prep time. Being valued. A positive school climate. BRIGANCE assessments. And, of course, the KIDS!
Each day special educators plan for multiple ability and skill levels and divergent learning modalities—not to mention individual medical concerns, such as food allergies. Unfortunately, BRIGANCE can’t help you manage your lunchroom duty, but our assessment tools will help you determine spot-on, measurable goals for each student and track progress toward these goals.
As a special educator, you can always use support, but you probably don’t want your classroom to become a helipad. Let the BRIGANCE assessment tools help by providing specific and spot-on information about your students’ skills—information that will put even the most anxious parents at ease.
Special education can be a challenging career, and those who seek it are often beacons of inspiration. Just as Lady Liberty carries enlightenment to the world with her forever-lit torch, Judy, fortified by her forever-full coffee pot, carries enlightenment to the world of her special needs students. In the spirit of one of our favorite holidays, we’re thankful for special educators everywhere and your continued hard work and dedication to your students. Happy Thanksgiving from the BRIGANCE team!
Although the winter months can be bleak, take a minute to celebrate the progress your students have made already this year. Using BRIGANCE for ongoing assessment lets you see just how far they’ve come and where they’re headed. For now, you deserve a break—so take it! And then, full steam ahead toward spring!
It’s gratifying to see students’ skills grow over the school year. For some, progress comes in small incremental steps. For others, it comes in huge leaps. By pinpointing exactly what a student knows and can do from one evaluation period to the next, BRIGANCE helps you design individualized, targeted instruction and create a unique step-by-step path for each student.
*Special thanks to Jane Haffner, an Intervention Specialist in the Mt. Healthy City Schools (OH), for this terrific cartoon idea!
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