I’ve been teaching for 26 years – all of them in special education. For 26 years, it has been my privilege to serve several, including self-contained classrooms, an ICT teacher, an educational evaluator and a reading specialist. 

As a special education reading specialist, I worked with students in grades four through six who were non-readers or were still struggling to learn how to read despite the interventions they were given. I found that many of those students, as a result of their reading struggle, often experienced reading-related anxiety that came from the repeated frustration and discouragement that had its roots in failing to learn how to read. Not surprisingly, all this often negatively affected their confidence and their belief in themselves as learners.

This year, I started working as an Integrated Co-Teaching model within the same grade band. Across every role I’ve held, one thing has stayed consistent: I see it as my responsibility to support every student in doing their best.

Students don’t have to be perfect, but they do need to be supported, equipped and believed in so they can make big progress. Setting and maintaining high expectations starts with creating the conditions where students feel safe and supported enough to try. 

Here are four steps that help me set high expectations – and help my students reach them:

1. Be honest about challenges and communicate my commitment to supporting their success.

I try to meet that reality of their reading challenge with honesty and respect, which at times leads me to have very direct conversations with students about where they are, where they need to go, and the hard work that will be required for them to get there. I communicate to them that I understand how frustrating it can be to feel like you’re constantly being asked to do things you can’t do.

At the same time, I make a promise early in the year that I repeat often: “I will not ask you to do something and let you drown. If I ask you to do something, it’s because I’ve given you a tool to do it. And if you can’t do it, you can ask for help, because my job is to help you get there.” 

I don’t just say that. I show them. That’s how trust is built, and that trust is what allows me to hold high expectations without students feeling shut down.

2. Create predictability and safety through clear routines.

From day one, I focus on helping students feel secure and grounded in the classroom. Many of the students I work with have experienced a lot of frustration in school, so predictability matters.

That’s where routines come in. I establish clear expectations for how we enter the room, where materials go, how we unpack in the morning, how we transition, how we walk in the hallway, and how we line up when it’s time to leave. I model everything, and we practice it together.

These routines aren’t about control. They’re about creating a classroom culture where students know what to expect, which frees them up to focus on learning. Over time, those routines transfer into how we approach academic work as well.

3. Celebrate progress without lowering the bar.

I often tell students that I know they can do better. I’m very open about why that matters. If I weren’t expecting my students to do grade-level work, I wouldn’t be doing my job. I wouldn’t really be caring for them, because that would mean I was giving up on them. And I won’t do that, and I won’t let them do that.

It can be tempting to celebrate what students can do in the moment and stop there, especially when they’ve struggled for a long time. But if we don’t continue to nudge them forward and help them believe they can stretch, it becomes easy for them to settle and start believing that there’s something wrong with them.

To me, it’s not acceptable for a student to leave a year with me exactly where they started or barely ahead of where they began. I’m not afraid to push students when more growth is needed, and I’m equally intentional about celebrating their wins. Small wins, big wins, and everything in between. I see myself as their cheerleader.

4. Focus on what I can control in my practice. 

At some point in my career, I made an important shift. I stopped explaining away student struggles via factors I could not control, such as what is happening at their homes, or the language difference, or any other factors outside my control. 

Instead, I started asking myself what I need to change in my teaching/lesson so the students could access the material. This reflection on my practice helped me learn from my own mistakes and moved me to learn more and to finesse and grow my teaching practices. If something didn’t work today, we come back tomorrow and try again. That shift helps me feel like a partner in my students’ growth – and they know I won’t give up on them. That relationship takes time, especially because many of the students feel like the system has already given up on them. But that trust between teacher and student is essential to maintaining high expectations.

This work isn’t always easy, especially when you’re holding a high bar across an entire school year. There will be days when it feels uncomfortable, for you and for your students. But holding expectations with warmth, consistency and care is one of the most meaningful and loving ways we can support students. It’s how we help them grow and help them learn that even when growth takes time, it’s always worth it.