Focus Group Notes 4-24-06

Special Education Focus Group – 4/24/06

“Minimal, Moderate, Maximum” Special Education

Summary of Group Work

Define:

Minimal:

Moderate:

“Tweeners” need more contained program – sometimes in a “combo” program of Res/LS – much pullout
Take so much teacher time
They become isolated from peers & general ed when pulled out for much of the day

Maximum:

Min/Mod/Max model:

Could this work with current caseloads? – May need to change/reduce caseloads
Example of 3 teachers – 1 takes 15 min students; 1 takes 10 mod students; 1 takes 5 max students
Student needs primary – location? – Teacher time/planning
Should say “services” rather than program when talking about level of student needs & support – amount of services as well as time

Pros of current continuum of services:

HS – share students, good communication about all kids
HS – Majority of special ed students attend their neighborhood HS
Parents appear to like the Resource programs
Resource provides instruction in the LRE
Preschool is individualized
Resources are concentrated – students receive instruction from teachers with special training
Cost effective, efficient

Cons of current continuum of services:

Clustering students outside of their neighborhood school is they need more services
No “model” for moderate students – differs in each location – supported by IAs
EBD & LS – students with differing/conflicting needs are clustered together in self-contained classes
Parents have negative view of EBD & LS classrooms – Label; appearance of like—clustered students (ie. all students in the class have MR)
Staff needs education about students with multiple disabilities
Staff responsibilities flow down à general educator à resource teacher à LS or EBD teacher
EBD at HS has two distinct types of students – those with behavior concerns and those with internalizing mental health issues – How to make it work for all?
General ed teachers think Resource teachers don’t provide enough support
General ed staff feels overwhelmed – They need help to implement programs (ie. behavior team plans)
There is a skewed awareness of special programs among general ed & special ed teachers
Not “best practice” in HS Resource or Life Skills
Higher needs students have more impact on the system
Current model (separate classes) does not take into account the need to practice skills around typically developing peers
EBD & LS have a negative image
Separate schools have a negative image – put separate programs in all neighborhood schools & provide opportunities for integration
Are our current programs effective? How would we know?

- Participation

- Data

- Progress

- Can they transfer skills

- Post-school success

Not enough staff to be flexible
Labeling & isolating students perpetuates the mindset that students need to be “fixed”

Other:

What would full inclusion look like? – Does 1 size fit all?
How can we educate parents & the community that LS or EBD is not a bad thing?
How to label programs without being stigmatizing?
LRE requires access to general ed to the fullest extent possible – LRE depends on student’s needs
Instead of having different district programs, why not add teachers to the schools & reduce caseloads – providing instruction in the LRE - ?
Cab we have “competency” vs “deficit” programs – create a list of descriptors or a range for different skills
Call EBD “Discovery” – include social skills development
Can staff visit EBD & LS programs? – To give a better vision of scope & sequence
It can be more restrictive (isolating) to have a 1:1 IA in general ed than to be in a district program
Language within our school community is a problem – who “owns” the student – Can the student be seen as a general ed student once they are labeled as a special ed student?
We could change the names of programs to describe what the program provides

What is “best practice”?

Not sure – but we know it’s restricted by funding, resource, staffing
SLP strives to provide best practice
Special ed is a service, not a location. Services should be provided in the neighborhood schools & in general education to the fullest extent possible.
There will always be some students who don’t fit in the LRE (example LS)
Should there be a special program just for Autism Spectrum Disorder? – ASD such a wide range of needs – students are so different – some skills training could be clustered
An “ideal” program would:

- Integrate students into their neighborhood schools

- Full-time in general ed is not possible for all, but should be the standard

Best practice = IEP that is meaningful, relevant, possible, dynamic
Ideal = All staff believes that all students are “our” collective responsibility & work to make the IEP a living document