Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Getting the conversation started.....
Creating and sustaining a high quality inclusive school district takes the ongoing collaborative efforts of a variety of stakeholder groups. This includes staff in our schools, our students, central office staff, professionals from our institutes of high education, and our parents and members of the community. If we are committed to creating a high quality inclusive experience for each and every one of our students, we must continually examine our practices. We must be willing to look at what we do well and determine a way to strengthen these areas as well as look at our areas of challenges and determine how to improve. In order to do so, we need to engage the voices of many. Hence, I look forward to a conversation with interested individuals relative to what makes a high performing inclusive school district? What does this look like? What types of structures are in place? How are the teachers, principals, etc. supported so they can do this work? How do we engage the voices of our students? What can central office staff do to support this work? I thank you in advance for engaging in this conversation. Ann
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As a special education teacher,teaching students in a small group/pull-out situations for over 18 years, it was brought to my attention that our school was going inclusive. I felt inclusion was inconceivable. How could needs be met if the students were now going to be placed in the general education? After 7 years of our school being inclusive, I have not only seen these students blossom, but students with language/culture barriers progress. Students of all populations, backgrounds, disabilities, academic/athletic achievements have come together and built a community of tolerance and acceptance.
ReplyDeleteThe times when I've felt most successful in an inclusive setting, have been when our team of teachers received structured support. The intent was to help our team work collaboratively in specific areas, particularly differentiating curriculum and collaborative teaching. A structured planning time with facilitators was the BEST part of successfully implementing curriculum for a variety of learners.
ReplyDeleteIn the past, the efforts of a collaborative team of "experts" assisted teams in thinking "big." Not only did they help with the logistics of planning and implementing a unit, but they really made our team think about what was possible for all students. It was helpful to have someone bring a variety of sources to the table in advance. A comprehensive approach was so much better than a piecemeal approach.
I've missed this support. Not only was it a helpful resource, but it also helped us all perform at the top of our game. Because the facilitators came to us loaded with research, resources, and depth, it felt professional, and I appreciated that kind of professional growth.
As a parent and a professional advocate, I try to look at this question from the perspective of not only what's good for my child, but for all children.
ReplyDeleteI think a big answer to the way we get here is by hiring, training and supporting excellent school leadership. Principals need to understand and believe in inclusion - not as a physical place, but as a philosophy and set of supports. And when I say "supports", I don't just mean those provided to an individual child - I mean the internal supports to strengthen teaming and sharing of resources.
With our tight budgets and scheduling constraints, I know it is difficult to build in professional development on best practice inclusion, yet I see it as so key to giving educators the tools they need to do inclusion well and not feel defeated.
I want general educators to feel as invested in this concept as special educators and for teams to be encouraged to work together to provide content in ways that are accessible to all learners - from gifted to students with unique challenges.
I think teams need to see/hear success stories from their peers, encouraging leaders who provide flexibility when necessary and access to the resources that can help them design classrooms that work for them and their students.
I spent time at an elementary school today and had the opportunity to query a number of the staff relative to their thoughts on creating and sustaining a high quality inclusive educational environment. Many of their comments echo those of the previous three posts. More specifics are as follows:
ReplyDelete1. Build in time for professionals to collaborate. This time must be held sacred and requires the adults to "police" themselves to ensure folks come ready to plan.
2. Set an agenda prior to the meeting. Make sure this agenda focuses on core issues related to teaching and learning versus the behavior of a one or two students. For example, middle school epxert Jim Beane frequently reminds teachers that most team meetings revolve around the behavior of one-two students versus our fundamental work as educators.
3. Support our principals and assist them in becoming leaders for inclusive practices.
4. Realize the work is never done. For example, you can't attend a one-time training on a topic such as differentiation and then think you are done. The work is complex and ever evolving. Hence, requires all the adults involved to continue to come together to share, lament, and envision a better future for our students.
Our parents and DPI provides us with feedback.... MMSD is in the process of completing a special education procedural complaince self-assessment through the WI Department of Public Instruction. Through this self-assessment, we as a district reflect and respond to a variety of queries related to the following areas:
ReplyDeleteparent participation, IEP evaluation, IEP team composition, IEP content, discipline of our students with disabilties, and private schools. The purpose of this self-assessment is to make sure we are in compliance with the provisions of IDEA. However, participation in the self-assessment has also provided us with the opportunity to think critically about the IEP process and the quality of the IEP programs we create and implement on behalf of our students. In addition, through this process we have connected with some of our parents of our students with disabilities to get their input relative to what we do well as a district in relation to the IEP process as well as provide us with suggestions for improvement. This feedback is proving to be invaluable as we work together in collaboration to continue our efforts to become a high performing inclusive school district. In my short time in the current position I hold in the MMSD, I have been struck by the insights and excellent suggestions that come forth from our students, staff, families, community providers, and now the state. I look forward to continuing these dialouges and encourage folks to share their best thinking with us. More to come......Ann
As I have mentioned in the past, high performing inclusive schools require a collaborative effort between school staff, parents, the community, etc. The team of staff that I work with in our school district have been engaging in an ongoing dialogue relative to how we can engage parents and the community in frank conversations relative to our current efforts to create and subsequently maintain high performing inclusive schools. In addition, to maintain a high level of programming on a consistent basis, we need the best thinking of a variety of our stake holder groups. We need to create structures where these stake holders can come together and have candid conversations that center on the needs of our students and what we can do to ensure each of them leave our schools as confident and successful learners. We are currently reaching out through electronic communications, a radio program on LaMovida, this blog, attendance at relevant community functions, and this spring we will be holding two "town hall" meetings to share our current efforts and gain insights from our parents and community members. In addition to current efforts, we are always looking for other suggestions or comments sent to us through this blog or via email ayehle@madison.k12.wi.us. Thank you in advance for your thoughts.
ReplyDelete