REACHING THE GOAL

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2010PARAGON CASINOMARKSVILLE, LOUISIANA

COLLEGE AND CAREER READY SUMMIT

2010

REACHING THE GOAL: INCLUSIVE PRACTICES…THE BRUIN WAY!

Presented by:Vialouphia “Via” Wattree, MPA +30Assistant Principal –Special ProgramsBonnabel Magnet Academy High SchoolJefferson Parish Public School SystemKenner, Louisiana

OBJECTIVES

Define Inclusion Educational Laws and Inclusion Challenges Successful Strategies Identify Inclusive Practices for:

Jefferson Parish Public Schools Bonnabel Magnet Academy Your LEA or School

HOW DO YOU DEFINE INCLUSION?

INCLUSION: DEFINED

The practice of placing students with special needs in the regular classroom with non-disabled peers and providing specialized services and/or specialized curriculum for them.

From: The Classroom Teacher’s Inclusion Handbook by. J. Yanoff, 2007

Two Rationales: Students with special

needs develop better socially if they can attend classes with non-disabled students;

Students who are non-disabled will become more knowledgeable and sensitive when working with children who have disabilities;

INCLUSION DEFINED, CONTINUED

We ALL Belong;

All Children are Accepted;

MAINSTREAMING

Often referred to as Inclusion;

Students with disabilities take classes in a general education setting WITHOUT receiving special support(s).

INCLUSION

Must be made possible by teachers and administrators;

Students should not prove they should be educated with their non-disabled peers;

Earning the right to be included or struggle to maintain your place in the general setting is not the goal;

REGULATIONS

Brown v. Board of Education, 1954 Equal Educational Opportunities

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 1975 (1997) Free, Appropriate Education for all students

Section 504, Rehabilitation Act, 1975 Those with qualified disabilities are not to be discriminated

against at school or work Americans with Disabilities Act, 1990

Extends civil rights to individuals with disabilities No Child Left Behind, 2001

Alternate Assessments for students with disabilities to meet AYP

INCLUSION: LOOK, FEEL, AND SOUND

Answer the following:

What does Inclusion LOOK like?

What does Inclusion FEEL like?

What does Inclusion SOUND like?(From: The Suns Center PD Binder, 2010)

MRS. SQUIRESBY: TOM HUNTER

Read the “Mrs. Squires” document;

How can we create schools where the Mrs. Squires of the world are everywhere so that students can be accepted?

(From: Because We Can Change the World, M. Sapon-Shevin, 2010)

SELF-NOMINATIONS: JPPSS INITIATIVE By the year 2014, 75% of all students with

special needs must be included in general education classes for at least 80% of their school day.

On-going, job-embedded professional development for all instructional and administrative personnel will be provided by Inclusive Practices Strategists assigned to each school.

 

· ·   

SELF-NOMINATIONS ,CONTINUED

 Participating schools must actively participate in JPPSS’s progress toward the 2014 Goal.

  

JEFFERSON PARISH SCHOOL SYSTEMINCLUSIVE PRACTICES (VIDEO)

BONNABEL MAGNET ACADEMY:INCLUSIVE PRACTICES

Core Implementation Team Professional Development: The SUNS

Center Needs Assessments:

Students Levels (1, 2, or 3)

General Education Teachers Binders

CORE IMPLEMENTATION TEAM

Administrator

Paraeducators

Teachers General Education Special Education

INCLUSIVE OPPORTUNITIES

Identify opportunities at your school for students with disabilities…

INCLUSIVE PRACTICES APPROACHES

Team teaching One teaching, one observing One teaching, one drifting Station teaching Parallel teaching Alternative teaching

TEAM TEACHING

Teachers share the responsibility of planning and delivering instruction for all students

Teachers deliver instruction at the same time

BENEFITS

Highest level of teacher collaboration

Effective instructional decision making

ONE TEACHING, ONE OBSERVING

• TeachingDesigns and delivers specific instruction to the entire group

• ObservingObserves a single student, a small group of students, or the entire class for specific behaviors

BENEFITS

Minimal collaborative planning

Allows for systematic observation

Clarifies for students that there are two teacher with equal responsibility and authority

PARAEDUCATOR MODEL

Facilitates special services in the general education class;

Works with the special and general education teachers Resource for SPED teacher: IEP Resource for General Education teacher:

assist with accommodations and modifications

BENEFITS

Minimal collaborative planning

Allows for systematic observation

Allows for flexibility for the general education teacher to differentiate instruction

GENERAL EDUCATION TEACHER AND PARAEDUCATOR RELATIONSHIPS

Interpersonal skills; Define Clear Expectations; Students’ needs are always FIRST;

INCLUSIVE PRACTICES: CHALLENGES

COMMON PROBLEMS FOR INCLUSION IMPLEMENTATION

Building Administrative Support

Providing Professional Development

Cultivating Staff Commitment

From: Collaboration for Inclusive Education by: C. Walther-Thomas, et.al. 1999

Creating Balanced Classroom Rosters

Finding Common Planning Time

STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL INCLUSION IMPLEMENTATION

Use e-mail and voicemail to reduce meeting times.

Visit model schools to observe effective collaborators in action.

Encourage language that emphasizes “our students” rather than “my students/your students”.

ADDITIONAL SUCCESSFUL STRATEGIES

Create professional development school partnerships with universities.

Schedule weekly or monthly early release periods.

Cover classes with “floating” substitutes.

Surf the internet to find collaboration based resources.

(Walther-Thomas, et.al. 1999

IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT INCLUSIVE PRACTICES

IMPORTANT FACTS:

Services are delivered by the student’s IEP;

Most disabilities do not affect what a student learns but HOW a student learns;

Inclusion works best when professionals collaborate; if collaboration is not available, the general education teacher is still required to teach all students;

MORE IMPORTANT FACTS:

The success of students is usually determined by the thoughts or feelings of the general education teacher

The number of students with disabilities requiring special education needs is increasing

From: The Classroom Teacher’s Inclusion Handbook by J. Yanoff, 2007

INCLUSIVE PRACTICES: YOUR SCHOOL…YOUR LEA

COMPENDIUM

Defined Inclusion Regulations Strategies Challenges Inclusive Practices: JPPSS and BMAHS Inclusion for your school site or LEA

THANK YOU: 2010 College and Career Ready Summit Committee/LDOE Dr. Diane Roussel, Superintendent, JPPSS Jeff Helmstetter, EB Region Assist. Superintendent, JPPSS Carolyn VanNorman, WB Region Assist. Superintendent, JPPSS Cheryl Carpenter, Acting Asst. Superintendent-Special Programs, JPPSS Randi Marziale, WB Region Special Programs Coordinator and

Inclusion, JPPSS Vic Castillo, EB Region Special Programs Coordinator, JPPSS Dr. Carol Torrey, Special Programs Coordinator, Secondary/APE Mary Ann Robarts, Inclusive Practices Specialist, JPPSS John R. Kulakowski, Principal, Bonnabel Magnet Academy HS Administrators, Teachers, Paraeducators, Students , and Staff:

Bonnabel Magnet Academy HS Dr. Sassy C. Wheeler, Associate Professor, Louisiana State University,

College of Education The SunsCenter

ENJOY THE REST OF THE 2010-2011 SCHOOL YEAR!