Saturday, August 28, 2010
Data Case
As principal you have evaluated the latest data on the state’s testing program and have determined that students with disabilities are falling short of meeting accreditation benchmarks and will cause your school to miss the AYP target for the fall report. What steps will you take to make the necessary adjustments in teaching strategies?
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With the beginning of a new year, I would address the staff at our first meeting. I would have a list of data from last year's AYP scores and share with the staff the concern. I would then ask a committee to be formed that is headed by our lead Special Education teacher. I would also ask that this need be addressed at the grade level meetings and that we will address this each time during our meeting. I would then work with the committee to see where can make the necessary adjustments to better prepare our students.
ReplyDeleteAt the grade level meetings, I would ask that each teacher bring at least 3 different strategies that they have used in the past and even look for other teachers who have been successful with students with disabilities.
I would also work with our school division to see why other schools are doing well and how they are doing it. We will probably have some Profess. Dev. to incorporate better teaching strategies to get a good start in reaching our target goal for AYP.
I agree with Israels comments completely, and if he didnt answer all his blogs first on the list he could have repeated what I said.LOL
ReplyDeleteAnyways, I beleive that addressing this issue as a school community first is vital. Reviewing the data to see the specific areas of weakness and formulating a focus group to concentrate and evaluate the schools efforts of addressing this issue throughout the school year. Then I would ask the teachers to compile a list of areas of weakness in their instruction that they would like assistance in meeting the needs of the special ed. students, and ask the focus group and soecial ed. department to research ways with the teacher to help them. Again, like Israel considering this is a school area of weakness I believe that some PD of teaching stratgies focused on exceptional learners is well needed.
Zack Dotson
I agree with both Israel and Zack. I would also address this issue by talking with the teachers and sharing the data with them. I have worked in a school where special needs weren't addressed as well as in other schools and found that it is not because the teachers don't care or don't want to address these needs. It is truly because the haven't been provided with training or resources to address all of the needs. I feel that as an administrator, it is my job to ensure that a similar situation not occur so like Israel and Zack, I would create a focus group that would work to find the resources that would help all teachers meet the needs of these children. I think it would be beneficial to have teachers get together and brainstorm on what strategies work and have outside sources that have been successful on helping students with disabilities.
ReplyDeleteAlana Sexton
I would inform my teachers of this information and ask for ideas of why these scores are lacking in the disabilities area. We would discuss these for a while and see if we can come up with solutions that we can agree to try. I would follow up on these ideas when I have observations, look at lesson plans, and during grade-level meetings and faculty meetings. If we need to seek new remediation programs I would try to acquire those for my faculty. I would make sure these students are coming to tutoring and that the strategies being used are appropriate. Also, a follow up in classroom differentiation is important to make sure the instruction these students are getting is appropriate.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate all of the excellent discussion lifted up by my peers. I, too, believe this data would need to be shared at our first faculty meeting at the beginning of the year. A group would then need to be formed made up of special education teachers, general education teachers, and administrators to analyze the data and analyze the current research based teaching and learning strategies we were currently using as well as specifically add research based teaching and learning strategies and tools to our staff's "tool box".
ReplyDeleteWe would then have professional development based on the research based teaching, learning, and assessment strategies the group lifted up to train all personnel on in the building.
As the principal I would have already some ideas and suggestions to share with the staff on possible strategies to look at such as the collaborative teaching model, formative assessment, differentiation tools, etc;
Kind regards,
Amanda G. Gibson
The logical first step is to present this data to the faculty as a whole since we all have a stake in the performance of the school.
ReplyDeleteI would form a committee of special education teachers, general education teachers, and the administration to approach this issue. I would ask that we make a folder for each student with disabilities that failed an SOL from the previous year and analyze the student performance by question for each failed test. I would also ask the committee to look into the possibility of attendance or discipline playing a role for any of these students.
With this information in hand, the committee would look at possible strategies for dealing with this problem and take these back for discussion during grade-level and department meetings. Some items to consider would be possible inclusion of certain students in the general classrooms, differentiation of instruction to accomodate different learning styles, scaffolding for different levels of ability, recovery classes, additional math or english classes, after-school tutoring, staff development possibilities, and observations at schools excelling in this area.
The committee would continue to meet regularly and analyze other areas of data such as STAR Reading Test and Benchmark Tests.
Robert Sturgill
I would begin the year with forming a committee that would be composed of special education teachers and teachers from the core classes where the SOLs are taken. I would go over the data that was compiled from the recent tests and discuss possible ways to enhance instruction. I would also meet with the SPED department to make sure that all the accomodations within the IEPs were being up held and ask if all mainstreamed teachers worked well in aiding the SPED department and the students with IEPs. I would also set up different staff development opportunities for our faculty on differentiating instruction and meeting the needs of students with disabilities. Continuous supervision of the progress of these students will be essential so that the work done is not just being pushed aside.
ReplyDeleteI would give the faculty a 'heads up' at the first meeting, and tell them I'd be brain storming ways to help correct the problem and discussing it with my site based team.
ReplyDeleteThen I would get very data specific. I'd want to know exactly where we are deficent and I'd speak with these departments. I'd offer encouragement, and cast the vision for meeting the goals this year. As a group, we'd talk about ways we could improve and what we could do differently this year. I would be very supportive and find ways I could help, or even get other departments to help.
My classmates have actually said everything that I would say. I would meet with the faculty and discuss the disaggregated data. After being informed of the situation, the faculty should determine which one member of each department should serve on a committee that would examine the situation more closely and offer suggestions to his/her respective department that may help students with disabilities in those classes.
ReplyDeleteI would have to also agree with the rest of the blog. I would definitely want to make sure everyone in the faculty is aware of the situation and have a improvement committee with this issue in mind. Brainstorming with teachers and other administrators will make a huge difference. Setting goals for the teachers and students to improve this area needs to be a top priority. Also if there are resources available for student services, I would make sure to get them as much help as possible. Whatever needs to happen to improve our school is what we will make the best effort to do. JMorris
ReplyDeleteThe first step I would take is bring the issue before the staff at the beginning of the year faculty meeting. Each staff member would be given the information in hard copy to view. Staff members would then be required to meet with their departments and disaggregate the data. After disaggregating the data, they would be required to form three goals departmentally. With these goals they would have to form strategies of how to accomplish their goals. These would be submitted within the first month of school. The following year each department would be required to study data to determine if their goals were met and new plans formed if not.
ReplyDeleteJerad Ward
Infortunately, students with disabilities are usually ALWAYS the area of AYP danger. These are student not performing on their grade level but are expected to take high stakes tests ON GRADE LEVEL. "Joe" has decoding challenges and therefore has fallen behind in reading. He is now in fourth grade, identified LD and is reading on a second grade level. The state assessments required are on a fourth grade level and "joe" is expected to take them (with acommodations of course but none sufficient enough). Our "LD" department has begun making test-taking strategies a BIG part of their instruction. We can provide all of the allowed accommodations, we can complete alternative assessments which still have to be on grade level but are performance based. In the end, we have to keep providing as much effective support as possible. Keep looking at the data to see what makes improvement and cross our fingers!
ReplyDeleteI think it would be very important to remind the faculty that the SPED students are everyone's students. That being said, I would then work to provide my entire faculty with meaningful professional development to enhance their collective ability to differentiate instruction, while disaggregating the data to identify areas in which all teachers could contribute with the effort to bring the scores up.
ReplyDelete