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Crosswinds Arts and Science School. Promotion of School Culture through meeting the needs of all Learners Stacy Theien -Collins April 20,2013. School Mission.
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Crosswinds Arts and Science School Promotion of School Culture through meeting the needs of all Learners Stacy Theien-Collins April 20,2013
School Mission Crosswinds is a culturally diverse education community where each student’s special talents and needs are recognized as he/she becomes a responsible citizen and an environmental steward.
Importance of school culture • A positive school culture—what many people call “school climate”—is the cornerstone of all good schools. It is the foundation for school improvement (Elbot & Fulton, 2008) • C. Elbot & D. Fulton (2008) Building an intentional school culture. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press
School Demographics • 48% students of color • 52 % white, • 50% free and reduce priced lunch • 28% of the students qualifying for special education services • 8% are ELL.
Strengths • Collegiality • Colleagues support what each other does • Planning time allotted to teachers is used to plan as collective units or teams rather than as separate individuals to meet the needs of all learners • Professional development • Professional development activities are designed to acknowledge, respond to, and appreciate diversity in the school and larger community. • Community and school demographics • Changing demographics have been embraced • Activities exist to address the changing diversity or cultural norms of the community • Staff members have adapted to the changing demographics of our community • Teachers are advocates for and promoters of learning differences, multicultural awareness, gender sensitivity, equity, and appreciation of ethnic diversity • Students • Unique learner needs are addressed in the general education setting with access to standards. • Student success is celebrated
Innovative Practices for Inclusion • Co-teaching is becoming one of the fastest growing inclusive practices in school. • Despite this rapid increase in popularity, co-teaching remains one of the most commonly misunderstood practices in education.
Defining Co-Teaching • Co-teaching occurs when two or more professionals jointly deliver substantive instruction to a diverse, or blended, group of students in a single physical space. Friend & Cook, 2003
Co-Teaching leads to… • Shared responsibility for educating all students • Shared understanding and use of common assessment data • Supporting ownership for programming and interventions • Creating common understanding • Ability to meet the needs of all students through differentiation Friend & Cook, 2003
Five Approaches Adopted by EMID • One Teaching, One Drifting • Parallel Teaching • Station Teaching • Alternative Teaching • Team Teaching
Professional Development Model • Three-year cadre model • General Education/Specialist pairs attend together • Network of support • Observations/Peer Learning Walks • Observational Rubrics "It's all in how you implement it, It doesn't work if you just have two bodies in the room.” Susan Fitzell, Educational Consultant
Minnesota Accountability Tests Trend Data-ReadingCo-taught Compared to Single-teacher Instructional Models
Minnesota Accountability Tests Trend Data-MathCo-taught Compared to Single-teacher Instructional Models
Positive school culture that meets the needs of all learners… • is not a constant in a school. It can be created and sustained through policies, quality practices, alignment with priorities and accountabilities, encouragement and support. • supports learning at high levels (Pickeral, 2009). • Pickeral, T (2009). School Climate Guide For District Policy Makers and Educational Leaders. Retrieved from www.schoolclimate.org