Lessons Learned: From Inclusive Schools to Inclusive Systems

1. Lessons Learned: From Inclusive Schools to Inclusive Systems 2005 TASH Conference Milwaukee, WI November 11, 2005 Anne Smith U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs

2. We can, whenever and wherever we choose, successfully teach all children whose schooling is of interest to us.Ron Edmonds

3. Context • About 6 million students in the US on IEPs (out of 55 million) • About 50% are in inclusive settings 80% or more per day • About 50% are in special classrooms or schools 50% or more per day • All students must be part of the accountability system – including students completing alternate assessments • Urban schools tend to have highly segregated programs and classrooms

4. Progressive Inclusion… • Move students from segregated to inclusive settings • Improve capacity of teachers to serve all students • Sustain schools that welcome and succeed with students on IEPs • Build systems that support inclusive schooling practices

5. Progressive Inclusion… • OSERS support - Move students from segregated to inclusive settings • 1986 REI • 1987 - Statewide Systems Change 24 States were funded by the end of this priority in 2000 • CRI - Research and TA • National LRE Network - TA

6. Progressive Inclusion… • Sustain schools that welcome and succeed with students on IEPs • Improve capacity of teachers to serve all students • 1989-1993 Research on inclusive education practice • 1992-1997 Consortium for Collaborative Research on Social Relationships • 1994 - 2000 Consortium for Inclusive Schooling Practices

7. Progressive Inclusion… • Build systems that support inclusive schooling practices • National Institute for Urban School Improvement - 1997-present

8. Lessons Learned from OSEP Inclusion Projects • Collaborative problem solving among students and school faculty is a promising means to promote inclusion as well as to teach concepts of fairness and equity. • Students with disabilities have more frequent social interactions in inclusive schools than self-contained classes or segregated schools.

9. Lessons Learned from OSEP Inclusion Projects • The robust instructional strategies and approaches (e.g., differentiated instruction, multi-level teaching) • Social interaction, social support behaviors, social networks, and friendships for students with disabilities are superior in inclusive schools.

10. Lessons Learned from OSEP Inclusion Projects • Collaborative problem solving among students and school faculty is a promising means to promote inclusion as well as to teach concepts of fairness and equity. • Students with disabilities have more frequent social interactions in inclusive schools than self-contained classes or segregated schools.

11. Lessons Learned from OSEP Inclusion Projects Barriers and Challenges • Professional Development • The National Center on Education Statistics (1999) reported that 79% of teachers who had students with disabilities in their classrooms felt unprepared and ill-equipped to address their students’ educational needs. • Despite recent efforts to increase the quality of the teacher workforce, general educators receive little or no preparation about addressing the needs of students with disabilities Annual Report to Congress, 1999)

12. Lessons Learned from OSEP Inclusion Projects Barriers and Challenges • Access to the General Education Curriculum • Some states have not aligned their curriculum and instruction to their State K - 12 Learning Standards. • Many special education teachers do not have sufficient methods or content background to be active partners in curriculum design and instruction. • There is a pervasive lack of family and community involvement in curriculum development.

13. Lessons Learned from OSEP Inclusion Projects Barriers and Challenges • Traditional Special Education Practice • Although unintended, traditional practices for screening and referral, identification and eligibility, and placement in special education have resulted in…. • Exacerbation of negative stereotypes based on disability labels. • An emphasis on process and compliance rather than student learning outcomes. • Disproportionate numbers of children of color placed in special education.

14. Lessons Learned from OSEP Inclusion Projects Barriers and Challenges • Traditional Special Education Practice • Although unintended, traditional practices for screening and referral, identification and eligibility, and placement in special education have resulted in…. • Families and children who vote with their feet by walking away from special education services. • Focusing blame for failure on students and families while virtually ignoring the quality of teaching and learning - both before and after placement in special education.

15. Lessons Learned from OSEP Inclusion Projects • Ensuring that students with special education needs are meaningfully included rather than being “the inclusion kids” requires that inclusion becomes an integral component of systemic education reform rather than merely and afterthought, an “add on” or merely a special education issue.

17. Five Arenas • Continuous Improvement • Research and Development • Professional Development • Networking and Dissemination • Evaluation www.urbanschools.org

18. Sociocultural Perspectives

20. Systems Perspective

21. Building Consenus for Inclusive Schools • What systemic work needs to be engaged? • Leadership • Coalition Development • Research and Policy Analysis • Grass Roots Activation • Events Development • Media Development • Professional Development • Teacher Education

22. 1. Inclusive Schools occur in systems that are coherent and unified about inclusiveness

23. 2. Coherence comes from simultaneous renewal at all levels of the system • District Effort • Assets Mapping • Marketing Campaign • District Feedback & Networking • Program Evaluation • Professional Effort • Professional Development • Student Assessment • Group Practice • Content and Pedagogy Knowledge • Practice-based Inquiry • Universal Designs for Learning • Culturally Responsive Practices • School Effort • PD Schools • BLTs • Leadership Academies • Design Teams

24. 3. Simultaneous Renewal is a community process • Building Thinking Tools for Renewal • Building Expertise for the Future • Building Community for Change • Linking Communities of Practice

25. 4. Leadership Academies create the context for learning

26. Logic Model: Changing Schools Systemically Leadership for Inclusive Schools

27. How do we get to multiple Systems?

30. Reflections on Robustness • Blueprint for Change • Sustainability • Roles • Boundaries and Agendas • Issues of Expertise • Accreditation

31. Questions • What theoretical frameworks guide our work? • How does the systemic change framework guide our planning? • What results are we achieving? • What’s missing? • What policies need to be developed? • What are the essential lessons about systems, change processes & diffusion of innovations?

32. Share Your ThinkingWhat are your perspectives and concerns?