1. East High School Holistic Approach to Special Education
Presenters:
Zarra Keith, Andy Mendelsberg, Gregg Velasquez, Cathy Buchanan, Bethany Goodman, Eric Sinclair & David Stoler

2. Agenda Introduction - Andy Mendelsberg, Principal
Identifying Core Values and Implementing Values in Your Programming - David Stoler, Special Education Teacher and Zarra Keith, Special Education Teacher
Analyzing Data for Successes and Struggles - David Stoler, Special Education Teacher
High Impact Instructional Strategies - Gregg Velasquez, General Education English Teacher, and Cathy Buchanan, Retired Special Education Teacher
Building Relationships with Students/Discipline - Eric Sinclair, Dean of Students
Intentional Scheduling for Incoming Students - Bethany Goodman, 9th Grade Counselor
Special Education Programming as a Whole - Zarra Keith, Special Education Teacher
Next Steps- Q & A - David Stoler, Special Education Teacher
Andy

3. East High Demographics (2015-16)
All Student Breakdown:
2,471 Students
46% White, 24% Hispanic, 20% Black, 8% Multi-Racial, 2% Other
34% Free/Reduced Lunch
8% Students with IEPs
Students with IEPs Data:
6 year graduation rate- 80.4%
7 year graduation rate- 95.2%
Dropout Rate- 1.3%
ELA Median Growth Percentile- 67%
Andy
5 minutes

4. Access to Materials
All materials from this presentation can be accessed through google drive:
Dave
1 min

5. East SPED Team- Mission and Value Statement
East High is a diverse, inner-city high school that serves a wide-ranging student body. We offer a full continuum of Special Education services ranging from Multi-Intensive Severe to Consultative Mild/Moderate support. We believe students thrive when they have strong relationships with adults and peers.
As special educators at East High School, we value…
Building relationships with students
Post-secondary readiness
Meeting the individual academic, social, and emotional needs of students
Student independence, self advocacy, and IEP awareness
Dave
2 min

6. East SPED Team- Core Values
Our Values as a Special Education Team
Building Relationships with Students
Helping students become post-secondary ready/graduate on time
Meeting individual academic/emotional needs of students/more time to help students
Student independence/self advocacy/IEP awareness
Current structures in our special education programming that support these values are… (what we are doing well)
Intervention
Tutorial
Self contained classes
Co-taught classes
Caseload to courseload alignment
Academic supports
General and work study diplomas
Access to CEC, Program
Communication with counselors
Active co-teaching
Support from service providers (Social Worker, School Psych, etc.)
Peer tutors in intervention classes and MI/MI-S classes
More co-taught classes
Student self-advocacy through ing teachers and attending tutorial
Additional structures to or changes in our programming to support these values are…
(where we can improve)
Multiple intervention classes per class period (multiple content expertise)
More time in teacher schedules to meet with caseload not in classes
Intentional Transition Planning Identifying multiple post-secondary pathways
Targeted basic academic and skill instruction
Targeted self advocacy and exec. functioning skills
Disability awareness
Actively common plan
One-on-one interventions
Content specific, paired intervention classes
Skill development
Structured progress monitoring system
Emotional support curriculum
Self directed IEP’s
Structured way of communicating with teachers, counselors vs. case managers
Yearly responsibility release model
Zarra
5 min

7. Your Team’s Values Our Values as a Special Education Team Value 1
Current structures in our special education programming that support these values are… (what we are doing well)
Additional structures to or changes in our programming to support these values are…
(where we can improve)
Zarra
10 minute activity
minutes for share out

8. Analyzing Data for Successes and Struggles
ELA MGP Growth at East
Math MGP Growth at East
Guiding Questions:
Does anything jump out at you?
Are there any trends that you can identify?
What types of classes are producing the strongest outcomes?
Dave
10 minutes

9. High Impact Instruction - Block English Class
Class Design/Environment
Meets for 100 minutes daily
Environment: Work Zone Mentality
Coaching Style Classroom Management
Graded on homework, participation, assessments, and writing
Relationship Building with Students and Family
Communication with families about student progress
GPA/Credit Goal Setting
Weekly Grade Checks
Cathy/Gregg
10 minutes for slides 9 and 10

10. High Impact Instruction - Block English Class
Skill Building
Middle school level homework
MAZE (and other progress monitoring tools), Spelling/Homophone Practice
Repetition, Scaffolding, ELA Strategies
English Class Content
Non-fiction articles for argumentative writing, comprehensive assessments at the end of novels, 5-8 novels per year, CLOZE quizzes, comprehension questions
Standardized Test Prep
Familiarity with content/questions, structure of the test, etc
Cathy/Gregg

11. Relationships with Students/Discipline:
Paired 60 at-risk students with mentors in the dean’s office
12 out of 60 students selected (20%) were students with IEPs
92% attendance rate for the 12 students with IEPs in the program
73 ELA MGP of the 5 freshman with IEPs in program
13.2% of all suspensions were student with IEPs
None of the students with IEPs from mentoring program were suspended
Eric
5 minutes

12. Intentional Scheduling for Incoming Students
Increased counselor/special education collaboration
Counselors attending IEP meetings
Documentation of student contact and increased communication between counselor and case manager
Naviance/transition planning for IEP’s and in special education classes
Scheduling
Transitions Day
Choice of Studies Night’s - Special Education Break Out Session
Special education services get locked before general population schedules are generated
Counselor reference sheet for special education offerings
Data driven course selections/Stoplight Report
Bethany
10 minutes
Explain what naviance is

13. Special Education Programming at East
Continuum of Services
Multi Intensive and Multi Intensive - Severe Center Programs
Deaf and Hard of Hearing Itinerant Services
Specialized instruction in math and English targeted for 9th grade students
Co-taught math and English for grades
Co-taught science and social studies targeted for 9th and 10th grade students
Intervention Classes for grades
Supports students in their academic classes
Academic, social, and emotional skill building
IEP goal support and progress monitoring
Consultative IEP support services with teachers and with related services providers
504 Plans
Zarra
5-7 minutes

14. Next Steps for East HS/Q & A
Continuous data analysis to determine appropriate student placement and supports.
Block English and Block Math
Strengthening our Intervention Program
Dave
10 minutes - ending