District Administration - May 2006 - (Page 50)

SPECIAL EDUCATION Culture Change Exceptional Children's Program in instruction. Historically, students hav- THE ISSUE: Not all special ed N.C.'s Winston-Salem/Forsyth County i ng difficulty in a general ed class- students have gotten the Schools. By and large, they feel they room would have to fail before they education they deserve. know education better than we do. could receive services. RTI starts Pa r t of this tension comes from before failure occurs. For instance, If educators are going to be really the fact that, traditionally, special ed Kelch says, the district now runs a honest, they must admit they have let a teachers have handled process while reverse inclusion preschool pro- lot of special needs kids down through general ed teachers were all about the g ra m in which general ed kids called the years. Say what you will about academics. Barbara Burke, director of language masters are asked to join NCLB, but prior to its enactment a lot special services at White Bear Lake a group of kids who are struggling of children in special education classes Minn. Area Schools, says there is a with language skills. Another innova- were simply not being exposed to aca- different mindset in terms of focus. t ion has helped El Paso's large num- demics. Gerry Altieri is the technology In special education, we're looking ber of ELL students not be placed in coordinator for special education in the at the individual student, while gen- special services because of language Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools, era l ed focuses on the class and on problems. The district now runs and he's seen it firsthand. Three, four the curriculum. In an effort to bring dual-language schools to expose non- years ago, he says, we had a lot of the two groups together and broaden Engl ish-spea k i ng students to English special ed teachers with nothing in everyone's focus, White Bear Lake speakers to bolster their skills. their classrooms. The first thing we If educators are going to be really honest, they must admit they've let a lot of special needs kids down through the years. Some Teachers Left Behind began offering joint summer institutes had to do was to make sure that [these] THE ISSUE: Special education several years ago. Week one focuses teachers had textbooks. teachers are often considered on training. During the second week, A nd even if there were textbooks, second-class citizens. teachers collaborate on projects using that didn't mean everyone was using what they learned in week one. them appropriately. We'd say we T he two most ego-satisfying jobs Burke points to an accelerated math wanted to increase the reading skills in the world are a D.J. and a teacher, teacher's experience as a good example of our students, says Susan Kelch, says Joye H. Thorne, a consultant and of how this can work. After picking director of special education in the former special education administra- up information about differentiated Socorro Independent School District tor for the Aldine Texas Indepen- instruction from the special ed teach- in El Paso, Texas. But students in dent School District. Thorne says a ers, the young man told Burke that seventh grade who started at a sec- classroom teacher is the boss and since he'd always gotten it in math, ond-g rade reading level would work that special education teachers are he just assumed that if he stood up in on the same second-grade reading considered something of a threat. front of the class and told the kids what book in eighth and ninth grade. We What's more, she thinks general ed to do, they'd get it, too. He said that didn't offer materials that would actu- teachers have a notion that special nowadays he's tying instruction into a lly improve reading skills. educators have some kind of magic projects and using a wider range of Kelch's district took a three-pronged way to reach special needs students examples, says Burke. It opened up a approach to increasing student achieve- a nd therefore, only special ed teach- whole new way of teaching for him. ment, beginning with aligning the ers should work with them. Susan Butler, director of special SPED curriculum and creating a bench- It's ironic that at a time when so education for Anoka-Hennepin marking system. Now we can see how many teachers feel disrespected due School District in Minn., says she and students are progressing, she says. The to NCLB's highly qualified teacher her staff attend every principal meet- district also replaced special ed aides provisions, their colleagues feel i ng in the district to reinforce the with teachers, pairing general and spe- general ed teachers treat them dis- idea that they're all on the same edu- cial ed teachers in inclusion classrooms. respectfully. Regular ed doesn't like cat iona l team. But, despite advances And the district began using the to be told what to do by special ed, with the principals and a growing Response to Intervention model of says Sam Dempsey, director of the 50 May 2006 District Administration specialed.w.indd 50 4/14/06 11:01:41 AM

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - May 2006

Contents
Editor's Letter
Listening In
Update
Inside the Law
Curriculum Update
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Sports & Civics
Q&A: Lessons for Tomorrow
Cover Story: Special Ed's Greatest Challenges and Solutions
Dome Sweet Dome
Smart Design
Rotten Apples
The Online Edge
Speaking Out
Principal Opinion
Public Opinion
Problem/Solution
Leadership Books
Laptop Roundup
New Products
By the Numbers

District Administration - May 2006