Teach Effectively!

Cheryl Lecesse of The Lincoln Journal (MA, US) reported that a local education agency has launched a parent-administrator committee to promote communication about the LEA’s special education programs. When I saw the story and the talk about open communication and empowering parents, I thought, “Wooohooo! A chance for parents to request effective teaching!” Of course, I quickly regained my composure.

[Director of special education Teresa] Watts Watts said better communication with parents on all grade levels, including preschool, is a main goal, and the CEC is looking for options for parents to influence program development.

Often when there is discussion of special education between educators and parents of students with disabilities, the focus is on the processes (e.g., communication about services, eligibility, etc.). Those are good ideas. But, I hope someone does ask the important questions about teaching practices and students’ outcomes.

Link.

Ed Kame’enui, who will be able to promote research on effective teaching, has new contact information:

Edward J. Kame’enui, Ph. D., Commissioner
National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER)
Institute of Education Sciences (IES)
U.S. Department of Education
555 New Jersey Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20208

Phone: 202/219-1385
Fax: 202/219-1466
Assistant to Commissioner, Jeff Pattison: 202/219-2234
email: Edward.Kame’enui@ed.gov

According to Michael Barber of the Herald Today (Bradenton, FL, US), the Florida area has many children from ethnic minority groups who score poorly on the statewide test of achievement.

MANATEE – Before they can come up with a solution, school and community leaders are striving to find out why many African American students in Manatee County continue to perform poorly on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test.

Recent FCAT results revealed 72 percent of local African American students scored below grade level and 71 percent tested below grade level in math. Those scores are lower than any other ethnic or socioeconomic group in the county.

Mr. Barber continued, “School and community leaders cited poverty, ineffective teaching methods, societal factors and problems with the FCAT itself to explain the low scores” (my emphasis). Fortunately, he found someone who mentioned the unmentionable. To be sure, SES is highly correlated with school outcomes, but it doesn’t have to be that way. There are examples (see Houston, Baltimore) where schools in poverty areas are pulling ahead of their advantage counterparts, so it can be done. It may not be possible to do it everywhere, but putting effective practices into place would be a great way to eliminate that particular explanation for low scores…and give some kids the skills they need to escape poverty!

Link to Mr. Barber’s extensive story. If you read the whole piece, you can see who gave Mr. Barber the tip.

Tristan Schweiger of Daily Times via delmarvanow.com:

SALISBURY — It was a teacher’s aide who happened to be working one-on-one with an autistic child who first alerted Art Federspill to the fact that his youngest daughter is autistic.

That child is currently a special education student at Wicomico Middle School, and Federspill was one of several parents who spoke at a Wicomico County Board of Education public hearing Tuesday night to advocate for better programs for children with special needs. The board is currently debating how to allocate its Fiscal Year 2005-2006 budget.

“The training of teachers and aides is so very, very important,” Federspill told board members.

The Wicomico County Council added $800K to the school budget. Any bets on whether, say, 10% of that will go to staff development on using effective practices?

Link.

The private venture to which Reid Lyon will be moving is gaining press momentum (see entry in LDBlog). It includes an effort to provide teacher education and Lyon is quoted in stories on the matter.

Lyon has strongly criticized teacher education in the past, saying that few schools and colleges of education adequately prepare people to teach effectively. The critical question, of course, is whether this effort will be any better than others at preparing teachers to use evidence-based instructional pratices. I hope so.

Link to Scott Jaschik’s story from Inside Higher Ed.

Henri E. Cauvin of the Washington Post (DC, US) reported about efforts to provide alternative schooling opportunities for children in the Washington, DC, area. Cauvin focused on the case of a 15-year old boy who has CP and mental retardation, but the story is one often encountered elsewhere by others, too. It reflects the tension between school funding and the educational needs of individuals with disabilities.

For years, the D.C. school system has defended its special-education programs and gone to great lengths to keep Shawn and students like him, rather than send them off to outside schools, at the city’s expense. On the other side, some parents and advocates have contended that the public schools were unable to handle some of the most demanding cases.

The boy, identified as Shawn, apparently has made some progress since enrolling in a special school following a court finding that he had been denied appropriate services. One has to wonder whether the DC schools knew what they could do for Shawn, what evidence-based practices they might employ when he was under their care. One has to wonder whether the school folks now know about those practices, too.

Link to Cauvin’s story.

The British press is reporting on changes in the direction of special education in Great Britain. Mary Warnock, the individual most responsible for promoting inclusionary policies and practices in Britain, has said that the effort to include students with disabilities in mainstream schools has “Has gone too far. It was a sort of bright idea of the 1970s but by now it has become a kind of mantra and it really isn’t working.”

The architect of England’s special needs education system has condemned the way it works, it was reported today. Baroness Warnock reiterated her view that moves to include children with special needs in mainstream schools had proved to be a mistake.

Speaking 20 years after she produced a report which began the drive towards greater inclusion, Lady Warnock said it caused “confusion of which children are the casualties”.

The reversal of directions by Baroness Warnock comes in the context of political pressure on the current (Labor Party) government to end closing of special schools. According to Mike Baker of the BBC:

First, we had the unusual sight of special needs education becoming an election issue. Tony Blair was tackled by a mother who felt her son’s special school was under threat from a government policy, which was tilted in favour of educating children in mainstream schools.

Then the Conservatives picked up the issue of the closure of special schools and have kept pushing it since the election.

Mantra: The important question, in my view, is whether the educational services students are receiving—regardless of where they are receiving them—are effective.

Links to coverage by the Times Educational Supplement, by the Telegraph, and by the BBC:

• Times: Special needs ‘inclusion’ a mistake – Warnock
• BBC: Special needs’ education queried
• Telegraph: Warnock U-turn on special schools
• BBC: Turning point for special needs?

A few days ago I posted an entry about a relatively new parent organization. The same individuals involved in developing that organziation also have a companion site aimed at teachers. Here’s a quote from the president’s message:

The concept of NASET was first initiated when Dr. George Giuliani (Vice President of NASET) and I were looking to join a national organization dedicated solely to the professional growth and development of special education teachers throughout the United States. As full-time university graduate professors in special education departments, we wanted our students to be able to keep up to date with the most current events, legislation, commentaries, etc. affecting special education teachers. To our amazement, we found no organization throughout the United States that was a professional organization dedicated solely to special education teachers. After discussing it with many colleagues in the field, Dr. Giuliani and I felt that the establishment of The National Association of Special Education Teachers needed to be commenced. The feedback we received on developing NASET was been overwhelmingly positive, and it set the ball in motion for great things to come for this organization.

I have only skimmed the site. It’s membership organization and, understandably, only members can gain access to some aspects of the site. There’s a lot of material, though little of it appears to focus on effectiveness or improving students’ outcomes.

I noticed that there are awards (certificates) for teachers who have been nominated by their local education agencies. The awards (certificates) do not appear to emphasize effectiveness. Indeed, they appear to be available for the cost of submitting the document (along with one’s e-mail address). “This is not a competition—Any special education teacher or inclusion classroom teacher that a school or district administrator inform [sic] NASET of as worthy of receiving this award will receive it.”

Link to the site.