Dianne Davis Department Head of Special Education Brockton High School Session 63: Focused Programming for Students with Disabilities

Comprehensive ,367 current enrollment 79% poverty level 11% students with disabilities 14% transitional bilingual program 60% speak another language in their homes; (30 different languages)

Rudy Maria Cody Sabrina

Substantially separate classes for ALL. Silos: special education, bilingual education, general education “yours” and “mine” Inequitable supports based on limited understanding of disabilities Low standards and expectation for SWD

Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS) The test is a graduation requirement Massachusetts has only one diploma All students earning a diploma take the SAME test! * * EXCEPT 2% (Don’t let me get started on this!)

MCAS data was abysmal for the whole school, but for SWD it was worse: MCAS 1998 Failure ELA – 44 % (SWD – 78%) MATH – 75% (SWD – 98%)

Rigor Relevance Relationships

Is this the best we can do? Are our students getting equal opportunities for rigor? Do we believe that ALL students should reach their full potential? What has to change?

What one major issue are you struggling with in relation to students with disabilities in your school or district? What brought you here today? 3 minutes

Dismantled substantially separate classes taught by special education teachers Reallocated teachers to the co-taught model Culture shift: ALL means ALL Shared responsibility: not “yours” and “mine”

I Can’t! I Won’t! I Shouldn’t Have To!

We didn’t do a lot of planning for the changes! General educators weren’t asked and weren’t prepared. Special educators needed to shift mindsets too! Student needed help. Parents were complaining. Administrators didn’t collaborate and often disagreed rather passionately. EVERYONE is frustrated!

How many of you read them on a regular basis? Do you find that the document is: easy to understand? useful? actionable?

Goals were cut-and-paste and not necessarily disability-related. Anxiety disorder with a math goal “If they are in a co- taught English class, they have to have an English goal!”

Make the IEP a manageable document that is easily understood and implemented with fidelity.

Communicated the need to stakeholders Met with the two Team Chairs Weekly meetings Department Head reads every IEP and provides feedback to Team Chair. Caution: maintain spreadsheet to watch timelines!!! Maintained the focus at every department meeting and communicated via when an issue arose.

Do not lose sight of the disability-related need! Keep asking “How does this support ‘s goals?” 3-5 accommodations Ask: Is this accommodation just a best practice? Positive reinforcement vs. Behavior Intervention Plan Does this accommodation make sense? Preferential seating vs. seat to the right of the speaker as has hearing loss in right ear.

Have you ever tried to implement an IEP like this???

Study Lab Executive Functioning OROR Ind. Reading Electronic Text Readers Fluency OROR Life Skills OROR Social Skills OROR Academic Supports Comprehension While accessing content in general education without support, co-taught classes or substantially separate programs, students require additional supports. Assistive technologies are directly taught in some hubs.

Challenge: Students are now accessing grade level difficult reading. They are in biology, social science, English, auto tech, etc. How can a student with a severe reading disability access at the same pace? Answer: electronic text readers Caution: Matching Challenge: Written language deficits hinder students from keeping up with peers. Answer: word prediction, spell- and grammar-check ON Caution: Matching AND keyboarding skills

August PD Reading IEPS and co-teaching prep. September PD Implementation supports October PD Reflection and needs assessment November PD Differentiated Instruction March PD Anatomy of an IEP May and June PD Schedules and Transitions

Cited by the DESE for lack of student participation High failure rates Many disciplinary hearings

Data teams that look at three areas: Attendance = 3+ Suspensions = 10+ Grades = 2+Fs Student Support Teams Guidance Counselor Teacher Student Parent

Give the students their own data “You are smart!” Strengths-based All students must participate in their team meetings IEP worksheet Educator evaluation goal (monitor) 90% of students must have in folder

MCAS data was abysmal for the whole school, but for SWD it was worse: MCAS 1998 Failure ELA – 44 % (SWD – 78%) MATH – 75% (SWD – 98%)

MCAS 2014 Failure ELA – (SWD – %) MATH – (SWD – %) And now…..

big ideas 2 actionable steps 1 question you still have (please ask!)

Pick One: xzQC xzQC Paper MSC App QR Code Session Evaluation #ModelSchools

Dianne Davis