What are best practices you can use daily in inclusive instructional environments?

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3 Lever age the Str engths

of All Educat or s

Newly hired to teach at an elementary school, Nancy sat in a large audi- torium, watching the school district’s other new teachers fi nd seats. After inspiring speeches by the superintendent and other district leaders, the attendees were invited to scan the day’s agenda: a review of employee benefi t plans, contract requirements, and logistics. Concurrent orienta- tion sessions would be held for elementary and secondary teachers, and a separate orientation would be held for the special education teachers.

Nancy was taken aback; nothing on the agenda was related to education- specifi c issues. When she inquired why special educators would be separated from the other teachers, an event staff er replied, “We’ve always done it this way.” The school district was sending a clear message that it believed special education and general education to be fundamentally diff erent.

The Great (False) Divide This division between general and special education, entrenched in many schools, is reinforced on the fi rst day of most teacher preparation programs.

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Jung, L. A., Frey, N., Fisher, D., & Kroener, J. (2019). Your students, my students, our students : Rethinking equitable and inclusive classrooms. Association for Supervision & Curriculum Development. Created from usw-ebooks on 2021-10-25 21:56:30.

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60 Your Students, My Students, Our Students

All four of us chose special education as a career only to discover that choosing special education meant turning away from general education. Preservice special education teachers do not share courses with those studying general education, and at many colleges and universities, the curriculum is delivered by separate university departments. This tradi- tional arrangement has serious consequences. Special education is gov- erned by the principle of the least restrictive environment (LRE), but how can special educators support this without understanding what general education is? How can general educators embrace educating students with disabilities when they have had little preparation for and experience with this part of their job?

When Doug was an aspiring speech-language pathologist, he worked as an intern at an elementary school with a large cluster program for children who were Deaf. Doug was providing pullout services for two 5th graders, unaware that their general education science class had been studying plate tectonics, and that afternoon was the big event: a model of a volcano was going to erupt. After their language intervention session, Doug escorted the two back to their classroom just in time to see their peers rejoicing—the volcano had just erupted, but the boys had missed it. One began to cry; the other scowled. Doug realized that he could have eas- ily adapted his lesson to be delivered within the science classroom. In fact, it would have been more authentic to practice communication skills in the context of a hands-on science demonstration. But because Doug had no connection to the general education curriculum, he had no inkling that he should have done so. Those two boys weren’t the only ones who were struck by the inherent unfairness of the situation.

Similarly, general educators are often kept at arm’s length from pro- fessional learning and planning meetings for students with individual- ized education programs (IEPs). The exception is when they are asked to fulfi ll the mandate that general education be represented at the annual IEP meeting. More often than not, this is a minimal compliance situation. We’ve lost track of the number of IEP meetings we have attended in which

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Leverage the Strengths of All Educators 6 1

there was only one general education teacher present, even though the student whose plan was being discussed had six general education teach- ers in total. We have also seen those lone general education teachers stay in the room only long enough to report on the student’s present level of performance in his or her content area; once this box was checked, the general educator was excused for the remainder of the meeting. We can even recall a few instances in which a random general educator was pulled from the hall at the last minute to ensure compliance with the require- ment. How can general education teachers be expected to have a vested interest in the progress of their students with disabilities when they them- selves are not fully included the process that articulates how to best meet those students’ needs? When special educators box out general educators in this way, the message they are sending is clear: You aren’t the experts on student support. You aren’t needed.

The message is received, and the divide persists. Consider that a study of 239 early childhood and elementary teachers found that the majority of them were not familiar with common positive behavioral support strate- gies for students with challenging behavior, did not know if their schools engaged in functional behavioral assessments, and were unaware if their school tracked mental health issues (Stormont, Reinke, & Herman, 2011). Keep in mind that these teachers weren’t being asked about implemen- tation; they were only asked whether they were aware. Clearly, they did not see these evidence-based and best practices as part of the educational fabric of their schools.

Response to intervention (RTI) is a common three-tiered system for supporting the academic achievement of students not yet making expected progress. Yet a 2014 survey of general education teachers found that only 19 percent were able to provide a minimal defi nition of RTI (three-tiered system, needs-based, and a description of the tiers), even though this process has appeared in law since 2004 (Castro- Villarreal, Rodriguez, & Moore, 2014). Little wonder that these same teachers reported that the RTI process was “overwhelming ” and “too long,” and cited lack of training

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62 Your Students, My Students, Our Students

as the most signifi cant barrier to implementation (p. 108). If evidence- based interventions are not being provided, more and more students are going to be referred for special education services even though they might simply be undertaught.

Positive behavioral supports and RTI have a special education research base that has informed general education best practices, and both have been further defi ned through multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS). All have been used to improve the learning lives of students with and with- out disabilities. But to be eff ective, such practices rely on cohesive school- wide structures that involve both general and special education teachers. In other words, they don’t work without the full faculty’s understanding and schoolwide implementation. In schools where the full faculty is not involved in learning and implementing these initiatives, the success of the practices is low (Burns et al., 2013).

The axiom that the general educator knows content and the special educator knows intervention is outdated and must be changed. In order for inclusive education to thrive, this territorialism must be eliminated. The balkanization of schools and districts has divided caring educators into camps, benefi ting neither students nor adults. Essentially, the cur- rent status quo in many schools undermines sharing of the rich reserves of varied knowledge that teams possess.

Needless problems are created when outdated organizational systems prevent general and special educators from collaborating. To realize the promise and success of truly equitable and inclusive education, the roles of school leaders, general educators, special educators, and paraprofessionals need to be redefi ned and reimagined. This in turn requires systems-level changes that support and amplify instruction and intervention eff orts.

Redefi ning Educator Roles School change requires the eff orts of the collective whole, be it to close racial achievement gaps (Gorey, 2009), reduce disciplinary inequities

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Leverage the Strengths of All Educators 6 3

(Gage, Whitford, & Katsiyannis, 2018), or to support students living in poverty (Wong & Meyer, 1998). The processes of the past that iso- late students—and isolate teachers from one another—do not work for teachers and administrators seeking to meet the needs of every student. Because equitable schooling practices, of which inclusive education is a crucial facet, must be schoolwide and not relegated to a few classrooms, it is imperative for teachers have access to one another in ways that tran- scend licensure. They need chances to collaborate, consult, and engage in professional learning together in meaningful ways.

MTSS and RTI are examples of whole-school practices employed to support students who are not yet making expected progress behaviorally or academically. Both MTSS and RTI intentionally blur the line between general and special education and leverage the collective wisdom of the school. However, any MTSS and RTI initiative is doomed to fail if only the special educators or the newly hired “RTI staff ” are asked to do this work. The reason is simple: these practices are intended to support students with and without IEPs throughout the school. Schoolwide eff orts require schoolwide participation.

Eff orts to move to more innovative school staffi ng structures that support schoolwide initiatives are not without growing pains. In evolv- ing schools, it’s common for mistaken assumptions to arise regarding the roles and responsibilities of each member of the team, and these assump- tions can lead to gaps in school and district procedures and services to students. Practitioners may fi nd themselves being asked to provide ser- vices to a new group of students. Who should complete the report card? Which team member is supposed to schedule parent conferences? Which department is responsible for monitoring course completion require- ments so that students can move on to high school? Such oversights can lead to misunderstandings, subpar services, and even legal action.

This redefi nition of roles and responsibilities does not require any redistribution of funds. Rather, these are shared agreements about the roles of the special educator, general educator, and paraprofessional at

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64 Your Students, My Students, Our Students

the intersection of fi ve major shared responsibilities: instruction, assess- ment, communication, leadership, and record keeping. Figure 3.1 pro- vides an overview of each of these responsibilities.

The Role of the Special Educator Historically, special educators have been trained in categorical pro-

grams that emphasize instructional approaches based on or geared toward particular disabilities and focus little on general pedagogy. Fur- ther, special educators have been expected to provide intervention within more restrictive settings, such as a resource room or a self-contained classroom. Until recent years, few special education teacher preparation programs off ered experiences within the general education curriculum.

Today, more special educators are being prepared to provide their ser- vices in inclusive classrooms and schools. The practitioners in the fi eld, who are continuing to redefi ne their roles in these inclusive environ- ments, are discovering that their responsibilities are shifting to more col- laborative arrangements.

Instruction. Special educators provide individual and small-group instruction as they always have, but now they do so in inclusive class- rooms. A special educator may be assigned to a general education class- room to re-teach key concepts to a group of students (with and without IEPs). Some may co-teach a class with the content-area teacher, there- fore instructing the whole class. Students with IEPs in general education also may require accommodations and modifi cations of assignments and assessments. Special educators bring ideas for strategies that have been traditionally used in “intervention time” into the classroom to be deliv- ered to all students. These universal design strategies can be implemented at fi rst by the special educator, with the idea that they can be delivered in the future by the general education teacher. Designing each of these components is the rightful responsibility of the special educator; how- ever, carrying out the accommodations and modifi cations is the respon- sibility of everyone on the team. Rather than being the sole deliverer of

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Figure 3.1 REDEFINING ROLES IN THE INCLUSIVE SCHOOL

Role Special Educator General Educator Paraprofessional

Instruction • Provides instruction to individual stu- dents, small groups, and whole class

• Designs accom- modations for and modifi cations of materials and instruction

• Monitors students’ academic work

• Coordinates sup- port for individual students (e.g., medi- cal and behavioral needs)

• Provides instruction to individual stu- dents, small groups, and whole class

• Differentiates and adjusts instruction to meet student needs

• Implements accommodations, modifi cations, and specially designed instructional strategies

• Follows instruc- tional plans as implemented by the general education teacher

• Implements accommodations, modifi cations, and specialized strate- gies as designed by the special educa- tion teacher

• Provides special- ized assistance to assigned students as needed (e.g., personal care)

Assessment • Grades or assists with grading stu- dent performance

• Measures student progress toward IEP goals

• Administers stan- dardized measures

• Adapts classroom assessments

• Conducts forma- tive and summative assessments

• Grades students on modifi ed expectations

• Administers local and state standard- ized measures

• Measures student progress toward IEP goals within daily routines and activities

• Provides timely and useful feedback during forma- tive assessment opportunities

• Assists and sup- ports classroom assessment of stu- dent performance

• Collaborates with general and special education teachers to report student progress on IEP goals

(continued)

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66 Your Students, My Students, Our Students

Role Special Educator General Educator Paraprofessional

Communi- cation

• Attends planning meetings

• Communicates with students and families

• Attends problem- solving meetings

• Provides informa- tion for professional development relat- ing to inclusive practices

• Collaborates with the special educa- tor to differentiate curriculum

• Provides feedback to families and other team members on the effectiveness of strat- egies being used

• Attends IEP and planning meetings

• Collaborates with and provides infor- mation to grade- level/subject-area teams on curricu- lum and instruction

• Attends problem- solving meetings

• Provides feedback to team members on the success of strategies

• Assists in communi- cating with parents and families

• Maintains effective and open commu- nication with the school

• Honors confi den- tiality of student information

Leadership • Trains and supervises paraprofessionals

• Coordinates peer tutoring

• Facilitates use of related services professionals

• Designs the struc- ture of the class (e.g., curriculum, classroom man- agement, physical design, policies, materials)

• Supervises parapro- fessionals and peer tutors

• Facilitates social relationships between students

• Creates a positive and reinforcing environment for students

• Models effective communication for other staff

Record keeping

• Leads development of student IEPs

• Maintains docu- mentation of prog- ress toward IEP goals

• Maintains records of accommodations, modifi cations, and specially designed instruction

• Records daily les- son and unit plans, activities, and assignments

• Maintains student records of progress and grades on learning targets and standards

• Maintains atten- dance records

• Assists the special education teacher in documenting student progress toward IEP goals

• Maintains logs and time sheets

Figure 3.1 REDEFINING ROLES IN THE INCLUSIVE SCHOOL (continued)

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Leverage the Strengths of All Educators 6 7

interventions and supports, the special educator serves as the primary coordinator of support to address students’ academic, behavioral, and medical needs.

Assessment. Administration of education tests and inventories is an important duty for special educators. The interpretation and application of the results of these instruments may also fall to general education teach- ers or a school psychologist, depending on the nature of the assessment. But the greater change in the assessment role of special educators comes in how they support day-to-day monitoring of students’ progress toward achieving classroom learning targets, standards, and individualized goals. It is the special educator’s job to lead the team in identifying when a stu- dent needs accommodation or modifi cation on classroom assessments and designing how those assessments should look. In the classroom, some special educators collaborate with the general educator in grading stu- dents’ performance on assignments and teacher-designed tests.

Special educators are also responsible for leading the progress moni- toring of students’ IEP goal attainment. This is a key duty and one that many schools and states have struggled to fulfi ll; historically, the area of lowest IDEA compliance for states has been in progress monitoring and reporting (Etscheidt, 2006). It is the special educator’s job to outline the specifi c measures to be used for IEP goals, coordinate data collection, and communicate this progress to students, families, and other team mem- bers (Jung, 2018a).

Communication. The special educator in an inclusive school facili- tates communication among families, staff , and administrators. Curricu- lar, technological, and personal supports for students with IEPs depend on the timely and accurate exchange of information. Special educators also are charged with communicating progress on IEP goals across the team. These communications occur in planning and problem-solving meetings as well as through conversations and written communication with families. Because special educators also provide information about inclusive practices to staff and administrators, many fi nd it helpful to

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68 Your Students, My Students, Our Students

establish dedicated communication tools, such as an assistance request form to be used by the general education team. They also use student pro- fi les, the infused skills grid, and goal attainment and growth plans (see Chapters 1 and 2) to share information.

Leadership. Supervision and training of paraprofessionals who provide personal supports (now extending throughout the school com- munity) remain the responsibility of the special educator. Some special educators coordinate peer tutoring, including teaching elective classes in which students learn how to provide assistance to other students. They encourage the development of natural supports and friendships by observing peer interactions, modeling support strategies, and then fading prompts to allow the natural supports to emerge. Finally, special educa- tors demonstrate leadership when they collaborate with related services providers (e.g., speech-language pathologists, physical therapists) to identify opportunities to provide services or embed specialized strategies.

Record keeping. To be sure, there is a long tradition of extensive paper- work in special education. The special educator leads the development and scheduling of the IEP meeting and ensures that all team members receive a copy of the document and understand it. The infused skills grid and stu- dent profi le can assist in this endeavor. As noted, they also lead the eff ort to measure progress toward IEP goals and maintain records of this prog- ress. To ensure accurate grading and class credits, special educators keep records of accommodations and modifi cations provided to students.

Technology has allowed the special educator to complete their record- keeping tasks more effi ciently. Online communication tools and lesson plans developed in shared online documents ensure everyone has access to real-time updates. Templates of forms can also be developed as online documents or housed on the school’s server to make these tools available throughout the school. Online learning management systems and plat- forms for measuring progress bring effi ciency to the process. Digital cal- endars also allow them to make up-to-the-minute changes in schedules and paraprofessional assignments.

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The Role of the General Educator Like special educators, general education teachers’ responsibilities are

evolving with the times. In inclusive schools, they teach and endeavor to meet the various needs of a diverse student population. The distribution of funds and resources throughout these inclusive schools also means that they communicate daily with special education staff —teachers, ther- apists, paraprofessionals, and other support personnel—with whom they once had limited interactions.

To be eff ective, these new and expanded education teams need clearly defi ned roles and responsibilities. Like the special educator, the general educator has instructional, assessment, communication, leadership, and record-keeping duties; however, the ways in which these duties are car- ried out in inclusive schools diff er from schools of the past.

Instruction. The primary instruction of all students remains a cen- tral job responsibility of the general educator. In inclusive classrooms, the student population has broadened to include a wide range of abili- ties. This diversity challenges general education teachers to use their full repertoire of instructional arrangements, including individual and small- group instruction as well as traditional large-group delivery. It also means that they look to the special educator as a consultant to help co-design classroom instruction that can meet the needs of the broadest range of skills learners have. General educators must still monitor students’ aca- demic progress, but they must also be prepared to use this information in collaboration with other members of the team to identify and implement necessary adaptations to ensure continued growth.

Assessment. Assessments fall into three categories: classroom, stan- dardized, and performance-based. The general educator is responsible for conducting all of these assessments. Classroom assessments are used to monitor progress and guide instructional decisions (formative assessment) and determine mastery of content (summative assessment). In some instances, assessments and grades may be determined collab- oratively with the special educator. When modifi cations to classroom

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70 Your Students, My Students, Our Students

assessments are needed, it is the responsibility of the general educator to implement the modifi cation and to note that the grade is based on a modifi ed expectation (see Chapter 1). In inclusive schools, teams develop systems for noting when assessments are modifi ed so the meaning of the grade can be clearly communicated (Jung, 2017a).

In addition to administering and interpreting typical classroom assess- ments, general educators are also responsible for measuring the progress that students with disabilities make toward relevant IEP goals. The design of the measurement is led by the special educator, but the actual measure- ment happens in general education settings. Gone are the days of pulling students to “probe” and administer “trials” to measure progress. What matters is if students are gaining skills and using them in natural, every- day routines and activities. The general educator is the one best suited to see and record this evidence (Jung, 2018a).

State and district standards-based tests are important for gauging progress for individual students and across systems; the inclusion of stu- dents who have IEPs in these assessments is an important feature of fed- eral and state special education laws. The majority of students with IEPs take such tests with accommodations only or with no adaptation at all. The IEP team determines the need for accommodations on standardized tests, which should mirror the accommodations students use for class- room assessments. A very small percentage of students (1% of the special education population) take an alternate, or modifi ed, form of standard- ized assessments. Eligible students have signifi cant disabilities, including intellectual disability.

In schools and districts where performance-based assessment is used or required, the general educators helps students with disabilities develop projects and portfolios, implementing adaptions that have been designed by the special educator.

Communication. Because sound decision making is dependent on timely and accurate information, the sharing of information is critical within inclusive schools. The general educator is responsible for providing

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the special education teacher with curriculum, materials, and unit plans in a timely fashion so that necessary accommodations and modifi cations can be developed. When time is allocated for these activities and proce- dures are followed consistently, students with IEPs are able to fully par- ticipate in the classroom and curriculum.

The general educator also provides feedback to the special educator on the eff ectiveness of strategies. An accommodation that looks great on paper might be inadequate when used in the classroom. Identifying what works and what does not work refi nes teaching practices. Families and parents should also be a part of the communication loop, and all profes- sionals who support a student should be able to communicate goals and progress to the child’s family.

Leadership. The structure and design of the classroom—including cur- riculum, materials, physical layout, and classroom management policies— are the responsibility of the general educator. In all of these aspects, the special educator can be a valuable resource for ideas and strategies that will eff ectively support students with IEPs in the classroom environment.

The general education teacher supervises paraprofessionals and peer tutors assigned to the classroom. When these specialized supports are made available for students with IEPs who require additional assistance, it is essential that they complement the instructional routines of the class. The general educator gives immediate feedback and direction to parapro- fessionals and peer supports so that these resources are used wisely.

The leadership duties of the general education teacher often extend to the grade-level or content-area team. Many schools require that all staff participate in regularly scheduled planning meetings to discuss curricu- lum and instruction. Teachers assume leadership of their grade-level teams and professional learning communities. General education teachers also provide supervision and support for classroom assistants and volunteers.

Record keeping. The general educator is responsible for recording unit and daily lesson plans, activities, and homework, as well as maintain- ing students’ grades and attendance records. Records of how students

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72 Your Students, My Students, Our Students

with IEPs perform in general education routines and activities provide the basis for team discussions on support strategies. These classroom assessment data on general curriculum standards and IEP goals are far more important than standardized assessment information when making practical instruction and support decisions.

The Role of the Paraprofessional Once rare in school, paraprofessionals have become common in con-

temporary classrooms. In fact, more than 90 percent of U.S. public schools employ paraprofessionals (Hampden-Thompson, Diehl, & Kinukawa, 2007). Sometimes, parents and educators mistakenly assume that the presence of another adult is all that is needed to suffi ciently support a stu- dent who has an IEP. Like the other team members, a paraprofessional in an inclusive school needs clearly defi ned roles and responsibilities in order for these supports to work. Like other members of the education team, paraprofessionals have duties in the areas of instruction, assess- ment, communication, leadership, and record keeping.

Instruction. The paraprofessional implements lesson plans as designed by the general education teacher. Paraprofessionals also provide designed accommodations and modifi cations to any student who needs them, but they are careful to avoid “accidental modifi cations” in which they provide so much support that it actually changes what students learn.

Although paraprofessionals are not responsible for delivering pri- mary instruction to students, they can re-teach skills to individuals and small groups of students who need additional time and experience with the material. The paraprofessional in the inclusive classroom provides specialized support on an as-needed basis to students with IEPs and gen- eral support to the rest of the class as directed by the classroom teacher. It is essential that paraprofessionals are not assigned to a single student. In fact, this type of assignment is detrimental to the relationships of stu- dents with their teachers and with peers, and fosters dependence. And this is only the beginning of the negative outcomes associated with this

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Leverage the Strengths of All Educators 7 3

model of connecting a “shadow teacher,” “one-on-one aide,” or “personal assistant” to a single child (Giangreco, 2010). When specialized supports are necessary for a particular student, the paraprofessional follows pre- cise guidelines for their nature, duration, and frequency, with the goal to pull back support as quickly as possible to promote independence.

Assessment. The paraprofessional plays an important role in mea- suring student progress by assisting and supporting teachers, especially with classroom logistics and student preparation. Paraprofessionals also are important sources of information on mastery. They collaborate with general and special educators to report progress they observe during their interactions with students. Paraprofessionals need to know and be able to articulate the diff erence between accommodations and modifi cations, and they must be able to clearly communicate to the team what level of support a student needed and was provided.

Communication. Paraprofessionals provide feedback to the teach- ers on the success of strategies used and make suggestions about possible improvements. They also assist the teachers in communicating with par- ents and families. Because paraprofessionals often implement strategies, accommodations, and modifi cations, it’s common for families to direct questions about a student’s progress to them. In order to ensure that the information given is consistent and accurate, paraprofessionals should refer such inquiries to the teachers.

Because they work in a variety of classrooms throughout the day, paraprofessionals also are responsible for maintaining eff ective and open communication with other school personnel. Although important information may be shared to facilitate eff ective supports, well-prepared paraprofessionals implement measures to protect the confi dentiality of student information.

Leadership. Paraprofessionals work with all students in a classroom, including students with IEPs, and can have a great infl uence on their lives. Their presence can aff ect the social climate experienced by students with disabilities. The paraprofessional facilitates social relationships between

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74 Your Students, My Students, Our Students

students to allow natural supports to develop and friendships to evolve. Understanding the delicate nature of social situations among students and having the ability to fade from the scene whenever possible allow for these relationships to grow.

Paraprofessionals also demonstrate a leadership role when they cre- ate positive and reinforcing environments for students. It’s work that increases learning and enhances performance among students and helps to build a school community in which students feel connected. Staff mem- bers who may be unfamiliar with a particular student can learn how to communicate or interact with him or her by observing the paraprofes- sional’s general approach and specifi c strategies.

Record keeping. School and district procedures may require docu- mentation of contact time for paraprofessionals assisting students with IEPs. Logs or time sheets should be current and accurate at all times. Clear roles and responsibilities of each educator reduce the gaps and avoid the duplications that might otherwise occur.

Establishing Schoolwide Inclusive Practices Job descriptions alone do not create the symbiotic, collaborative atmo- sphere needed for this new vision of inclusive education to succeed. School leaders must work to create the conditions that enable staff to function as high-performing teams.

This begins by setting the tone of the school. School leaders identify the topics, activities, and processes that will be the staff ’s focus. In school after school, we have seen principal support for increased inclusion be the key to realizing the change. Of course, the teachers and staff have to implement the support systems, but the site administrator plays a pivotal role in creating and maintaining a vision of schoolwide inclusive practices (Villa & Thousand, 2016).

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Leverage the Strengths of All Educators 7 5

Administrators can guide policies on using the infused skills grid and lead decision making regarding under what conditions students receive instruction outside the general education classroom. They also develop and implement grading and assessment policies that support all students. Principals establish the culture of the school and clearly communicate the values and vision of the school as an inclusive learning place. To be eff ective, school leaders spend time in classrooms, too, observing but also off ering guidance on instruction, assessment, accommodations, and modifi cations. And they hire the right people (those who are true believ- ers in fully inclusive schools), provide incentives and support, and rec- ognize the eff orts and successes of their staff members to achieve their shared vision of inclusion.

We want to call out three more specifi c things school leaders can do to make this team-based approach to inclusion a reality.

Foster Collaboration Through Common Planning Time Special and general educators need to have regularly scheduled

contact with one another, even if they are not in a formal co-teaching arrangement. The knowledge educators possess about students and their progress is signifi cant, but if there is no forum for sharing it, that knowl- edge is lost. School leaders of inclusive schools make it a priority to struc- ture the master schedule to allow teachers time to plan together, and they include special educators in grade-level or content-area meetings.

The secondary school where three of us work places a high value on such interactions, assigning each teacher to two groups. The fi rst is a grade- level group, in which general and special education teachers who share students come together for a deep dive about student academic progress. These conversations are not limited to paperwork; the teams make deci- sions about the best deployment of human and material resources for the coming week. For example, they collectively decide when the paraprofes- sional or special education teacher is needed in a particular classroom

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76 Your Students, My Students, Our Students

(e.g., a lab experiment in science, a test in mathematics). The second team to which each teacher belongs is content-specifi c; there is a history team, a science team, and so on. Special educators typically attend the content- specifi c department team meeting that aligns with their responsibilities. In addition, they meet as a special education team to focus on procedures that they have in common.

School leaders are the ones who make common planning time hap- pen, and this may involve some creative use of personnel. For example, instructional coaches or other administrators (e.g., department heads) might “substitute” for special educators to enable them to attend grade- level meetings. Some schools hire a rotating substitute teacher to perform this function. It is important to note that these planning times should occur at regular intervals for a sustained period of time (at least one-hour increments), and all meetings should appear on the master schedule. This is part of an eff ective communication process and also allows teachers to anticipate when they will have time to collaborate.

Provide Appropriate Professional Learning Opportunities Too often, administrators make assumptions about the interests of

general or special education colleagues, relegating all support or inter- vention discussions to the special education faculty and failing to invite general educators to work as teacher leaders on such eff orts. Special edu- cators also need to continually develop their domain expertise if they are to adequately support the eff orts of students with IEPs to master grade- level content. Supporting students in general education classrooms can be particularly challenging at the secondary level, as course mastery requires more technical knowledge. Even in the elementary grades, though, special educators deliver small-group instruction, re-teach, and develop accommodations for and modifi cations to activities and assess- ments. All of these practices are infi nitely more diffi cult (if not impos- sible) when the content is not well understood by the special educator. Professional development for new curriculum, training about standards,

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Leverage the Strengths of All Educators 7 7

and technical workshops should always include special educators work- ing in the relevant disciplines. Of course, all professional development for general and special educators should mirror the best practices used daily in inclusive instructional environments:

• Focus on enhancing content knowledge and best practices in instruction.

• Address skills needed by everyone through supplemental instruc- tion or intervention.

• Create opportunities for teachers to examine student data and col- laborate.

• Provide teachers time to develop accommodations and modifi ca- tions of lessons and strategies presented in the session.

• Ensure that follow-up instructional coaching includes both general and special educators.

Improve Accountability Systems In some school systems, special education teachers are not directly

accountable to the principal. Instead, they report to a district special education director, who is charged with evaluating teachers, renew- ing contracts, and overseeing job assignments. Although the principal is consulted, it is the district administrator who has the fi nal word. These special educators are viewed as a resource for the district rather than the school. Some are itinerant teachers, and their job assignment may take them to more than one school site over the course of the week to provide services to students with low-incidence disabilities such as visual impair- ments. As a result, these teachers often are perceived as visitors, not fully engaged with the daily life of the school, and out of step with its culture and climate; they are an afterthought, without a mailbox or a name on the e-mail list for staff announcements.

If you are not a school administrator, principal, or teacher leader, cir- cumstances like these may be out of your control—and even if you are in

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78 Your Students, My Students, Our Students

administration, your power to alter them will be limited. However, the following actions can support positive change:

• Identify by name all the itinerant teachers who work on your cam- pus and make sure they have mailboxes, school identifi cation, and some school “bling ” with the school’s name. These seemingly small details help people feel a part of your school community.

• Add the itinerant teachers to group e-mail messages and texts to keep them informed. They need to know, for example, when the entire 5th grade is going on a fi eld trip, or when the staff will be celebrating the arrival of someone’s new baby.

• Special education teachers who are at a school full-time but employed by another agency are likely to be supervised by some- one outside your organization. Schedule quarterly meetings with such teachers to check in with them and fi nd out what they need to do their job even better. In addition, schedule meetings with the teacher’s direct supervisor so that you can reach consensus on goals.

Conclusion Outdated thinking of discipline-specifi c roles in schools hinders eff orts to realize a more inclusive environment that capitalizes on the collective expertise of the faculty. Department or grade-level meetings that do not include special educators reduce the likelihood that student needs will be addressed in a responsive manner. Responsiveness is further com- promised when general and special educators lack the common planning time and professional learning that will foster collaboration. In addition, supervision models that assign special and general educators to diff erent administrators, or that shift supervision to the district level, further dis- tance special educators and related services providers from the fl ow of the

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Leverage the Strengths of All Educators 7 9

school day. The divisions are further exacerbated when paraprofessionals are assigned to individual students as “shadows” or “one-on-one aides.”

By redefi ning the roles of the adults, we can streamline and strengthen eff orts to ensure that we go far beyond physically including students with disabilities in the general education classroom. Physical inclusion is basic. Purposefully promoting student independence, growth, authentic belongingness, and ultimate success—this has to be your aim as you shape and mold these roles as a school.

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Changing Roles and Expectations

The Challenges The SOLUTIONS

Separate special and general educa-

tion departments subdivide human

and fiscal resources.

Team members’ roles in sup-

porting students with dis-

abilities are not clear, causing

misunderstandings and

creating overlap and gaps in

instruction and services.

Traditional role divisions

leave staff unprepared

to take on the new roles

and responsibilities of

schoolwide inclusive practice.

Redefine the roles and responsibi-

lities of general education teachers,

special education teachers, and

paraprofessionals so that all share

responsibility for instruction, assessment,

communication, leadership,

and record keeping.

Devote time to whole-

school exploration,

consensus, and ownership

of the redefined instructional

and related services roles.

Provide common plan-

ning time, comprehensive

professional learning, and

an accountability system that

includes all members of the

education team.

Download this graphic at www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/books/jung2019.pdf

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http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/books/jung2019.pdf