School Leadership for Students With Disabilities

1. School Leadership for Students With Disabilities Course Enhancement Module Anchor Presentation #1 Project #H325A120003

2. School Leadership for Students With Disabilities Why School Leadership Matters for Students With Disabilities

3. Goals • Review what is meant by disability and special education. • Consider school and life goals for individuals with disabilities. • Understand achievement goals for students with disabilities. • Consider leadership standards and ethics as they apply to disability, including the PSEL-15 standards. • Identify challenges faced by principals. • Introduce dimensions of leadership and importance to students with disabilities. • Provide overview of the next six parts in this CEM.

4. Students With Disabilities • Guaranteed free public school education (FAPE) by IDEA (2004). • Heterogeneous student population defined by IDEA: • 13 areas of disability comprise about 13% of all students in schools. • Multiple areas of disability under some areas (e.g., other health impairment).

5. Not All Students With Disabilities Receive Special Education • IDEA provides special education and related services to eligible children with disabilities who require individualized, specialized instruction. • Section 504 does not usually provide special education or related services. • Section 504 provides accommodations for students with disabilities that allow them to access learning.

6. Special Education Basics(From IDEA 2004) • Special education means specially designed instruction and is appropriate to the needs of an eligible child: • Adapting the content, methodology, or delivery of instruction. • Access to the general curriculum so that the child can meet educational standards of the public agency that apply to all children. • Physical education. • Special education may include the following: • Supplementary services. • Related services. • Transition services (transition plan required at age 16).

7. Special Education Basics (continued) • Must be provided in the least restrictive environment (LRE), usually in public schools and general education classrooms. • Each child identified with a disability has an individualized education program (IEP). • The IEP outlines goals for the student and the education and services the student is to receive.

8. Outcomes for Students With Disabilities(Thurlow & Johnson, 2011) • Higher drop-out rates. • Problematic post-school outcomes: • Post-secondary education. • Employment. • Social integration. Achievement of students with disabilities are still low but are improving (Thurlow, Quenemon, & Lazarus, 2012)

9. Where We Want to Be(Silverstein, 2000) • Equality of opportunity. • Full participation (empowerment). • Independent living. • Economic self-sufficiency. Enviable Lives (Ann Turnbull)

10. Equitable Outcomes Equity = meaningful opportunity for educational attainment and positive life outcomes: • Improve academic achievement, social competence, and self-sufficiency. • Promote access to productive adulthood through education, career readiness, employment, and independent-living opportunities. • Indicators of progress: • Improved scores. • Higher graduation rates. • Better post-secondary opportunities. McLaughlin, Kremien, Zablocki, & Micelli, 2007

11. Accountability Context & Students With Disabilities • Achieve the same standards. • Participate in same assessment system. • Alternative assessments for small percentage. • Disaggregated data.

12. We need to “clarify how key stakeholders define the word ‘ALL’ in ‘success for all.’ Sometimes these beliefs are not consistent with a truly inclusive system, and that affects all actions and outcomes.”Thurlow. Quenemoem, & Lazarus, 2012, p. 11

13. Video: Principals Leading for All Students As you watch this video, identify key activities of principals in supporting the learning of students with disabilities. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TJRg1_vEAc

14. Leadership for Students With Disabilities Key responsibility for leadership: Creating inclusive schools where all students are included and have equitable educational opportunities.

15. Promoting Collective Responsibility for Student Learning School Leadership District Leadership

16. 1. Facilitates an Inclusive Culture • All educators foster a culture in which all students are welcomed and experience a sense of belonging in the school. • All educators actively support the participation of students with disabilities in the academic and social communities of the school. • All educators create supports that give students with disabilities an opportunity to achieve (McLeskey, Rosenberg, & Westling, 2013).

17. Example . . . “If staff members in a building know that the site administrator supports inclusive education and expects teachers to collaborate with special educators and to teach special education students, then resistance to inclusivity is diminished. The opposite also was felt to be true. Any suggestion or inclination that inclusivity was optional permission, of sorts, for marginal support of inclusive education efforts” (York-Barr, Sommerness, Duke, & Ghere, 2005, p. 208).

18. 2. Provides Instructional Leadership • Facilitates safe and orderly schools. • Ensures academic press. • Supports learning standards for all students. • Supports quality education and use of evidence-based practices (EBPs). • Creates multi-tiered systems of supports (MTSS).

19. Example The principal noted that as the teachers at “Hawk’s Nest Elementary began examining student data in reading and designing interventions based on these data; they also began transforming their teaching practice. Over time, this practice of using data to make instructional decisions has become ‘ingrained in the culture’ at Hawk’s Nest and is used across curricular areas. This has resulted in more frequent use of evidence-based instructional approaches and the reorganization of the school schedule to allow more time for co-taught classrooms” (Hoppey & McLeskey, 2013, p. 7).

20. 3. Supports Teaching Effectiveness • Understanding of special educators’ work. • Schedules for collaboration and teacher learning. • Opportunities to teach (e.g., minimal interruptions). • Curricular supports. • Appropriate instructional materials, resources, and technology. • Efficient data systems. • Opportunities to learn.

21. Examples Many special education teachers struggle with: • Schedules that do not support collaboration. • Highly fragmented roles. • Inadequate time to teach. • Teaching assignments that span multiple subjects and grades. • Compliance and paperwork responsibilities that detract from instruction.

22. 4. Facilitates Collaboration • Fosters collaboration across all in the school. • Supports special and general educator collaboration: • Structures time, schedules, resources for planning and co-teaching. • Recognizes that collaborative cultures focused on student learning is part of professional development (PD).

23. Example “As a special education teacher, I think it’s very important that a principal or any administrator be behind you to support you in giving you opportunities to plan with the general education teacher . . . . Also he has worked with the teachers to listen to them about what their needs are. We have brainstormed ideas of ways we can improve in collaboration. Many times we’ve tried to look ahead for the coming year. We try to cluster our students in ways in the general classroom so that we can best meet their needs. That’s very helpful for the special educator especially if we’re trying to do inclusion” (The IRIS Center, 2015,, p. 3).

24. Examples • In class: General education teachers may receive in-class direct support from a co-teacher or paraeducator. Page High School in Franklin, Tennessee, a Beacons of Excellence school, has some classrooms with shared teachers who provide strategies and modifications while general educators teach content. • Outside of class: Special education and general education teachers can regularly communicate as peer coaches or mentors, with special education teachers providing: • Teaching strategies. • Advice on curriculum modifications. • Behavior management strategies. • Assessment strategies. • Moral support. The IRIS Center, 2015, p. 3

25. 5. Involves Parents & Community • Welcome parents, learn about child, and listen. • Incorporate family cultures into schools. • Know about parents’ rights to be informed and participate in decisions. • Encourage parents to support their child’s learning.

26. Example Parent of a child with a disability: “The first thing is to listen to us . . . because we know our kids better than anybody . . . . I think some of these people have preconceived notions about everything . . . . So if I tried to say, to tell them [professionals something], it’d be LISTEN TO ME” Blue-Banning, Summers, Frankland, Nelson, & Beegle, 2004

27. PSEL (2015) Standards • Ten professional Standards for Educational Leaders • Approved by the National Policy Board for Educational Administration • Reflect interdependent domains, qualities and values • Although relevant to all leadership levels, cast more toward school leadership

28. PSEL 2015 Guidance Document • Guidance document that relates PSEL standards to principal leadership • Developed by the CCSSO, CEEDAR center and stakeholders • Interprets what each of the ten standards mean for principals as they lead schools for the success of students with disabilities

29. Crosswalk Partner Activity • Partner activity: Review the chart showing the relationship of your assigned PSEL-15 standard and the guidance document • Review both of the original documents, looking at the supporting documents related to your standard (15 minutes to prepare) • Report: Make specific observations about your assigned standard and principals’ responsibilities as they lead for the success of students with disabilities (2 minutes to share)

30. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBZjS7UXVb4 Which of the five dimensions of leadership do you see included in this video?

31. References Billingsley, B., McLeskey, J., & Crockett, J. B. (2014). Principal leadership: Moving toward inclusive and high-achieving schools for students with disabilities (Document No. IC-8). Retrieved from University of Florida, Collaboration for Effective Educator, Development, Accountability, and Reform Center website:http://ceedar.education.ufl.edu/tools/innovation-configurations/ Blue-Banning, M., Summers, J. A., Frankland, H. C., Nelson, L. L., & Beegle, G. (2004). Dimensions of family and professional partnerships: Constructive guidelines for collaboration. Exceptional Children, 70(2), 167-184.  Boscardin, M. L., & Lashley, C. (2012). Expanding the leadership framework: An alternate view of professional standards. In J. B. Crockett, B. S. Billingsley, & M. L. Boscardin (Eds.), Handbook of leadership & administration for special education (pp. 37-51). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.   Council of Chief State School Officers. (2008). Educational leadership policy standards: Interstate School Leadership Licensure Consortium (ISLLC 2008). Retrieved from http://www.npbea.org/projects.php

32. References Friend, M., & Shamberger, C.  (2011). Inclusion. In T. L. Good (Ed.), Twenty-first century education: A reference handbook (Vol. II, Part XI, Ch. 64; p. 124-131). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.  Hitt, D.H. & Tucker, P.D. (2016). Systematic review of key leader practices found to influence student achievement: A unified framework. Review of Educational Research, 88(2), 531-569. Hoppey, D., & McLeskey, J. (2013). A case study of principal leadership in an effective inclusive school. The Journal of Special Education, 46(4), 245-256. Individuals With Disabilities Education Act, 20 U.S.C. § 1400 (2004). The Iris Center. (2015). Effective school practices: Promoting collaboration and monitoring students’ academic achievement. Retrieved from http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/esp/ Louis, K., Leithwood, K., Wahlstrom, K., & Anderson, S. (2010). Investigating the links to improved student learning: Final report of research findings. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota. McLaughlin, M. J., Krezmien, M., Zablocki, M., & Miceli, M. (2007). The education of children with disabilities and interpretations of equity: A review of policy and research. Paper developed for The Campaign for Educational Equity, Teachers College, Columbia University: New York, NY.  McLeskey, J., Landers, E., Williamson, P., & Hoppey, D. (2012). Are we moving toward educating students with disabilities in less restrictive settings? Journal of Special Education, 46(3), 131-140. doi:10.1177/0022466910376670 

33. References McLeskey, J., Rosenberg, M., & Westling, D. (2013). Inclusion: Effective practices for all students. Boston, MA: Pearson.  National Center on Educational Outcomes. (2013). Alternate assessments for students with disabilities. Retrieved from http://www.cehd.umn.edu/nceo/topicareas/alternateassessments/altassesstopic.htm Sanford, C., Newman, L., Wagner, M., Cameto, R., Knokey, A. M., & Shaver, D. (2011). The post-high school outcomes of young adults with disabilities up to 6 years after high school. Key findings from the National Longitudinal Transition Study-2 (NLTS2) (NCSER 2011-3004). Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.  Silverstein, R. (2000). Emerging disability policy framework: A guidepost for analyzing public policy. Iowa Law Review, 55(5), 1757-1784. Thurlow, M. L., & Johnson, D. R. (2011). The high school dropout dilemma and special education students. Santa Barbara, CA: UC Santa Barbara, California Dropout Research Project. Retrieved from http://www.cdrp.ucsb.edu/pubs_reports.htm Thurlow, M. L., Quenemoem, R. F., & Lazarus, S. S. (2012). Leadership for student performance in an era of accountability. In J. B. Crockett, B. S. Billingsley, & M. L. Boscardin (Eds.), Handbook of leadership & administration for special education (pp. 3-16). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.