Meeting the Needs of Students of ALL Abilities
How Leaders Go Beyond Inclusion

Second Edition

Other Titles in:
Inclusive Education | Leadership | School Change, Reform, & Restructuring

January 2009 | 192 pages | Corwin

Guarantee high student achievement for all students—without adding separate and alternative programs in your school!

Meeting student needs shouldn't mean isolation from peers. This step-by-step handbook offers practical strategies for administrators, teachers, policymakers, and parents who want to shift from costly special learning programs for a few learners to excellent educational services for all students. Readers will find practical strategies for:

- transitioning from separate programs to effective services

- establishing broad standards as prerequisites for student success

- using the law and funding to meet student needs

- preparing for the journey of change.

The second edition includes the latest research on integrated and socially equitable schools, a greater emphasis on social justice, and a new Equity Audit Questionnaire.

List of Handouts

Preface to the Second Edition

Acknowledgments

About the Authors

Introduction

Part I. Shift From Programs to Services

1. Setting the Stage: The Social and Legal Impetus for Services Rather Than Programs in Integrated, Socially Just Schools

2. Shifting From Programs to Services: Where to Begin?

First Stage: Ask Necessary Questions

Second Stage: Establish a School Service Delivery Team to Initiate Change

Third Stage: Shift Personnel Roles to Meet Student Needs

3. Leading for Social Justice at the School and District Levels

Primary Leadership Characteristic: Inclusive Social Justice and Equity Are the Leader's Core Identity

Leading for Social Justice at the District Level

Traditional Roles of Central Office Administrators Impede Change

Transforming From Centralized Leaders to Social Justice Leaders

Part II. Establish Standards for Integrated, Socially Just Schools and Districts

4. Standards for Physical and Emotional Safety: Prerequisites for Student Success

Standard 1: Make Physical and Emotional Safety Central to All Aspects of the School

Standard 2: Establish a Culture of Inclusivity and Visibility

Standard 3: Take Harassment Seriously

Standard 4: Cocreate Antiharassment Policy and Strategies

Standard 5: Integrate Antiharassment Into the Curriculum

Examples of an Antiharassment Policy in Practice

5. Standards for Student Behavior

Standard 1: Be Conscious of How We Label Students; Student Behavior Is Relative

Standard 2: Hold High Expectations for Student Behavior in a Context of Care

Standard 3: Develop and Consistently Implement Schoolwide Discipline Policies That Have Individually Designed Consequences and Positive Incentives

Standard 4: Provide Early Intervention

Standard 5: Involve Students in All Aspects of Intervention

Standard 6: All Staff Must Understand That All Behavior Is an Attempt to Communicate

Standard 7: All Staff Must Have Similar Expectations and Strategies for Student Behavior

Standard 8: View Teaching and Learning Appropriate Behaviors as a Long-Term Process

Standard 9: Staff Must Use Proactive Strategies for Students Who Need More Intense Support

6. Quality Instruction and Assessment: The Foundation for Integrated, Socially Just Schools

Strategy 1: Focus on Instruction: Ensure That ALL Students Have Access to Quality Teaching

Strategy 2: Get It Right the First Time: Interventions and Programs Are Not the Answer

Strategy 3: Develop Teacher Capacity/Hiring

Strategy 4: All Teachers Are Experts and Shall Teach All Kids, No Magic in Student Services

Strategy 5: Reduce Student-to-Teacher Ratios and Class Size

Strategy 6: Configure Class Grouping to Meet Student Needs Without Labeling

Strategy 7: Make Early Literacy a Priority

Strategy 8: Provide Early Intervention and Prevention Without Labeling

Strategy 9: Make Curriculum Accommodations but Not as a Substitute for Skillful Teaching

Strategy 10: Use Teaching Assistants With Caution

Strategy 11: Begin With the End in Mind

Frequently Assess to Measure Student Progress and to Inform Instruction

Dos and Don'ts When Addressing High-Quality Instruction

Part III. Leverage Law, Funding, and Student Differences Toward Critical Transformative Change

7. Leveraging the Law and Funding Toward Integrated, Socially Just Schools

How Educators Can Use the Law to Leverage an Integrated, Socially Just Education

Reallocating Resources for Integrated, Socially Just Schools

8. Toward Integrated, Socially Just Schools: A Framework for Change

Determining the Locus of Control

A Dual Approach to Change

One Framework for Equity and Social Justice Change

Resource A: Equity Audit Data Collection and Analysis

Resource B: Reference Material for Service Delivery Teams

Resource C: Malcolm Shabazz City High School

References

Index

"A timely and friendly read with useful surveys, self-evaluations, and stories. The book brings together current trends and educational issues, including Response to Intervention, bullying, professional learning communities, the planning and change process, and the school’s responsibility in providing for at-risk students."

Pat Rhodes, Principal

Bryan Elementary School, Omaha, NE

"This book provides a clear road map for everyone who is interested in changing schools to be responsive to ALL students. School personnel, school boards, and individual educators will be challenged to think courageously about how schools should operate for every student who comes through the classroom door."

Darin Drill, Executive Director of Secondary Programs

North Clackamas School District, Milwaukie, OR

"Offers specific strategies for creating environments where children can work together and learn from each other regardless of their abilities."

Cathleen J. Chamberlain, Assistant Superintendent

Oswego City School District, NY

"Brings a creative, well-researched perspective to schools that is inclusive in exciting ways. I strongly recommend it for use in graduate courses in educational administration and to administrators who want to put their caring and commitment into effective action."

Ruth Harper, Professor

South Dakota State University