Action Plan: Working in a School
Gretchen Smith
National University
ABA 610
September 18, 2020
2
ACTION PLAN
Action Plan: Working in a School
As someone who wishes to work with children as a Board-Certified Behavior Instructor, I
find it important to know what is expected of me regarding the many environments and scenarios
where my services will be needed. One of the environments where I will need to be active in is
the school setting. I may work for a company that is contracted by schools.
I may work directly
for a school district. I may simply collaborate with a client’s teachers or administrators.
Whatever role I take on, I need to be prepared to work, and to interact with, others in the school
setting. Developing an action plan is an excellent way to be prepared for what is expected of me,
and this paper will provide a guide, which I believe I will follow, when working in schools.
Before Entering
Before I enter a new school, there are some things that I need to do to prepare for
working there. This will depend, of course, on the context of my work. Will I be working there as
a behavior instructor, or as a district-hired BCBA? Will I be working from an outside agency,
working on an IEP team, or will I be there to collaborate in some other way?
These are all roles
that I could have when entering a new school, and all require many similar ways of acting,
although there would be some variations.
Another thing that is important to have understood is what my goals will be for the
interaction. Will I be entering an IEP meeting hoping to champion some change in a client’s
accommodations? Will I be entering as a part of an IEP team as an expert on my client’s
behavioral levels? Or will I be there simply working as a behavior instructor? Understanding my
purpose in the school is vital to knowing who to interact with and what my expectations are
(Carr & Modzeleski, 2014).
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ACTION PLAN
One of the most important things to do before entering a school for the first time is to do
some research to learn about the school, and about the individuals that I will interact with there.
It is important, when meeting these individuals, to create and maintain a positive, collaborative
relationship. This could be done by letting these individuals know what my role is there, by
providing them with opportunities to ask, and have their questions answered, about my role, and
possibly by exchanging contact information. Knowing my role there will definitely change
whether or not all of these are appropriate. As a behavior instructor, for example, it may be
unnecessary to exchange contact information, because my purpose there would only be to
provide behavior intervention, but as a BCBA it might be important to exchange information
with a client’s teacher in case he or she needs to contact me about the client. It is also important
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