How would it work in my
school?
Our discussion of ISD is an example of exemplary leadership practice.
When faced with such examples, school leaders often wonder
whether these praiseworthy programs would work in their own schools.
Here we attempt to address some of these issues of local context
that could prevent or enable the design of ISD in your context.
Teachers of my school oppose
[article]
Misperceptions About Inclusive Schools
Staff resistance in
this case
[book]
Leading in a Culture of Change, Michael Fullan
[book]
Shaping School Culture, Terrence Deal and Kent Peterson
Misperceptions about Inclusive Schools, produced by the National
Institute for Urban School Improvement, tells about ten misperceptions
that school staff might have and bring up as reasons for opposing
inclusive education. The responses to the ten misperceptions
would be helpful for administrators who need to persuade school
community in order to implement an ISD-like system.
Resisting a shift to ISD may have more to do with the prevailing
school culture of change than on the specific issues of service
delivery. Deb Hoffman dealt with resistance by capitalizing
on staff expertise and directly addressing criticism. In her
discussions with staff, she attempted to help staff realize
the costs to student learning of traditional service delivery,
and emphasized the importance of student learning. Fullan
and Deal & Peterson offer rich examples of how to shift
school culture.
Parents in my school oppose changing service delivery
Parent resistance in
this case
Family
involvement in education
Even poorly designed processes have their fans. Parents who
had ESL students in Franklin School were afraid that the school
would draw on the resources and teachers who had been dedicated
to their kids and used for their children. School leaders
who propose to change valued services need to communicate
the rationale for the changes clearly in multiple ways. Leaders
need to invite community members to participate in the design
process and to identify parent leaders to let other parents
know what is going on in the school.
Parents of nondisabled or non-ESL students may wonder if
their children's learning will suffer because of inclusion.
The first article by Debbie Staub explains why an inclusive
education can positively effect all students.
We don't have the human resources for ISD
Building
Capacity for Educational Reform
UNI professional development
Developing staff capacity for change requires a thoughtful
approach to professional development. The first two links
describe characteristics of effective teacher learning programs.
The next two links provide a number of professional development
handbooks or manuals by various topics. For example, if your
school needs to deal with students with severe disabilities
enrolled in general education classes, click Instruction for
Students with Severe Disabilities in General Education Settings
section, and if you need some staff development for paraprofessionals,
visit The Paraprofessional's Guide to the Inclusive Classroom.
We lack the financial resources for ISD
Title 1 waiver in this case
SAGE
Creating
School Finance Policies That Facilitate New Goals
ISD required Deb Hoffman to provide significant resources
beyond her school budget. The
Title I waiver was an innovative way for the Franklin
school to secure financial resources. Comprehensive
School Reform program provided another significant resource.
Those sections shows how the school leader, Deb Hoffman worked
through the process. After these two grants terminated, SAGE
became the next source of financial assistance for the Franklin
school.
Without additional funds, schools must make hard decisions
about reallocating resources to improve learning for all students.
Reallocating resources means considering how your school currently
spends and considering how it might spend. The final link
discusses strategies to raise and resolve these issues.
I am in a middle school
[article]
The case of Kepner Middle School in Denver, Colorado
[article]
Restructuring for Inclusion: Changing Teaching Practices
[book]
Inclusive Middle Schools. Craig H. Kennedy and Douglas Fisher.
Paul H. Brookes
Meeting the Needs of Students of ALL Abilities : How Leaders
Go Beyond Inclusion
Kepner Middle School is a case study of a how a
middle school restructured to provide inclusive education.
This case provides a window of how an urban failing middle
school made efforts in order to change the school system and
what challenges they faced. Restructuring for Inclusion: Changing
Teaching Practices is tells of how middle school teachers'
change their practices for inclusive education. Inclusive
Middle Schools is a comprehensive information for middle schools
which want to seek to change to inclusive learning environments;
see especially part II - Inclusive Middle School Curriculum
which contains many practical tips for teachers.
I am in a high school
[video]High School Inclusion Equity and Excellence in an Inclusive
Community of Learners
[book] Inclusive high schools: learning from contemporary
classrooms. Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co.
[website]
The web spot for exploring Inclusive education
High School Inclusion Equity and Excellence in an Inclusive
Community of Learners is a video that might effectively
be used for the starting point of discussion for high school
staff development. The video is made to give viewers an inside
perspective on how to make inclusive education work. Inclusive
High Schools provides a overview of the issues involved
in building ISD-like programs in high schools. The web
spot for exploring Inclusive education contains a comprehensive
list of resources for educators, administrators, and parents
who are working to provide an inclusive education.
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