Inclusion in Practice

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Inclusion in Practice

• Meeting diverse student needs Solomon Schechter
  Day School of
• Bergen County Middle School, 1997-2005

Presented by Benjamin Mann Head, Middle School
and Jewish Studies Coordinator- Solomon Schechter
School of Manhattan Solomon Schechter Day School
Association Conference December 10, 2006
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History

• 1988-1998 school doubles in size bringing in a
  more diverse student body (600 students preK-8)
• Students labeled LD, ADD, or ADHD. Students
  struggling academically.
• School opens resource room for elementary school
  students.

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History Middle School

• Middle School 8 classes
• General- Language Arts, Social Studies, Math,
  Science
• Judaic- Hebrew, Humash, Navi, Rabbinics

• Small group instruction in (1997-2001)
• Math Language Arts

• Applied small group model to
• Judaic Studies Humash Hebrew

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Small Group - Challenges

• Overlap between low achieving students and
  students with behavior problems - learning was
  compromised
• Students were often brought down by their peers
  as opposed to lifted up
• Groups too large to work one on one
• Stigma- students often referred to themselves as
  the stupid class and many students felt
  isolated from the mainstream classes

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Move to Inclusion (2001-2004)

• April 2001- committee of middle school faculty
  reviewed special education services model
• Recommendations
• Phasing out the Small Group Model
• Creating Inclusion Model of services
• Moving special educators into regular classrooms
• Employing collaborative teaching approach

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Educational Philosophy Inclusion

• Heterogeneous groups All students are valued
  members of the learning community.
• Differentiation One size does not fit all.
• Collaboration Together we can do what we could
  never do alone.

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Students With Special Needs Who?

• Specific Learning Disability
• Attention Deficit Disorder / Attention Deficit
  Hyperactivity Disorder
• Emotional Issues

• NOT FULLY INCLUSIVE
• Developmentally Disabled
• Cerebral Palsy
• Down Syndrome

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Inclusion Model

• Phased in
• 2001-2002, Grade 6
• 2002-2003, Grades 6 7
• 2003-2004, Grades 6, 7, 8
• Heterogeneous groups social and academic
  factors. No Tracking
• Co-teaching two teachers in half of the
  classes.
• Math, Language Arts, Hebrew, Humash
• Differentiated Instruction- professional
  development for all teachers

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Inclusion Model

• All aspects of school life
• Student Council
• School Play
• Basketball

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Students With Special NeedsHow?

• Co-teaching two teachers in half of the
  classes.
• Math, Language Arts, Hebrew, Humash

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Defining Co-teaching
Coteaching has been described in a variety of
ways, but here we define it as the collaboration
between general and special education teachers
for all of the teaching responsibilities of all
students assigned to a classroom. In a cotaught
classroom, two teachers, general and special
educators, work together to develop a
differentiated curriculum that meets the needs of
a diverse population of students. In a cotaught
classroom, teachers share the planning,
presentation, evaluation, and classroom
management in an effort to enhance the learning
environment for all students. In this way, the
teachers can provide more integrated services for
all students, regardless of learning
needs. Gately, S. E. Gately Jr., F. J. (2001)
Understanding coteaching components. Teaching
exceptional children, 33(4), pp.40-47.  
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Co-teaching Roles

• Content Area Teacher curricular goals,
  standards, expertise in content
• Special Education Teacher modification,
  enrichment, support
• In ideal co-teaching teams the roles are blurred

Regular meetings with Coordinator of Special
Services to discuss progress of collaboration and
meeting co-teaching goals.
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Students With Special NeedsDifferentiated
Instruction
ONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL!

• Diverse group of students- strengths and
  weaknesses, interests, experiences, cultural
  backgrounds, language spoken at home, etc.
• Requires diverse instruction- different students
  cannot all be expected to learn the same.

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Differentiated InstructionOverview

• In one classroom, different students doing
  different things according to their individual
  learning needs.
• Teachers adjust content, process, and product in
  response to students readiness, interests, and
  learning profile.
• ALL students working at an appropriate level of
  challenge.

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Differentiated InstructionProfessional
Development for All Teachers

• In 2002-2003 school year 6 teachers participated
  in webcast through National Middle School
  Association and developed their own
  differentiated curricular units.
• Summer 2003 all middle school faculty read How to
  Differentiate Instruction in Mixed Ability
  Classrooms, by Carol Ann Tomlinson.
• 2003-2004, ongoing professional development
  workshops based on the Tomlinson book during
  middle school faculty meetings.
• Two educational consultants worked with
  individual teachers and teacher teams to help
  them develop differentiated lesson plans and
  instructional units.

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Students With Special NeedsModifications

• Supports and instructional changes that promote
  the academic success of students with special
  learning needs
• No direct services in Social Studies, Science,
  Rabbinics, Navi
• Regular consultation with Special Educators and
  Coordinator of Special Services to make
  modifications
• Background information by grade level
• Modifications Lists by class
• Report on Modifications Checklist

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Students With Special NeedsOther Support Systems

• Advisory System- each teacher tracked the
  progress of 8-10 students, communicated with
  parents, and supported students in school
  efforts to complete assignments.
• Student Review- weekly grade level meetings to
  discuss students progress, share information,
  and strategize to better meet students needs.

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Students With Special NeedsOther Support Systems

• Administrative Coordination of Services- weekly
  meeting of Middle School Principal, School
  Psychologist, Coordinator of Student Services,
  and Coordinator of Special Services to discuss
  students suffering academic failure, plan
  interventions, and strategize ways to support
  student success.
• Parent Conferences- parents were regularly asked
  to become partners in the process of helping
  students find success. Meetings involved sharing
  information, strategizing approaches to students
  difficulties, and planning interventions.

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Students With Special NeedsOther Support Systems

• Formal Evaluations- students were referred for
  psycho-educational evaluations in order to
  provide a more clinical analysis of students
  strengths and weaknesses as learners. Parents
  consent to either a private evaluation or a state
  funded evaluation through Bergen County Special
  Services. Bergen County evaluations took place
  in school and were scheduled through the Middle
  School Coordinator of Special Services.

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Students With Special NeedsOther Support Systems

• Documentation- files were kept by the Middle
  School Coordinator of Special Services that
  include any testing results, anecdotal
  information, or communications between faculty or
  the school and parents regarding students
  receiving special services. These records were
  confidential and were used only by students
  teachers in order to tailor instruction to meet
  students needs.

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Para-Professional (2004-2005)

• One on one and small group work with students in
  need of academic support.
• Students pulled out of non-academic periods
  (specials, PE, lunch/recess, tefliot)
• Met with 10 to 15 students 1,2 or 3 times a week.
• Students received support in any of these areas
• work completion
• test preparation
• organization- materials, time
• remediation of Hebrew language skills
• remediation of English language skills (Israeli
  students)

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Successes

• No more Stupid Class.
• Fewer students falling through the cracks.
  Inclusion raised the consciousness of the entire
  faculty- We are responsible for the education of
  ALL STUDENTS!
• Many students were getting the supports and
  instruction that they needed to succeed.
• Culture of Collaboration- teachers working
  together to improve instruction

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Challenges

• Hiring Special Educators
• Hard to come by
• Classroom experience- usually pull out / resource
  room
• Content knowledge- effective collaboration with
  content area teachers
• Personality conflicts- hard to overcome
• Professional development
• never enough time
• Co-teaching strategies
• Differentiated Instruction
• Incorporating remediation
• Costly- two teachers per class high salary costs

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In education, fair is not when everyone gets the
same thing. Fair is when everyone gets what they
need in order to learn.