On a personal note, I must admit that as a teacher for many years my focus was on teaching. The last ten years, my focus has completely changed to focusing on learning. This requires a shift in thinking and a shift in almost everything I do on a daily basis as a teacher. Gone are the days of "teach, test, and hope for the best" , as well as teachers being the "sage on the stage". The focus must be on learning and that means that educators must change their mindset and the way they do things. We have adopted the philosophy that failure is not even an option. Learning is priority one. We will not allow failure. Learning can and will occur. I think it is making a difference in kids' lives, but is also a shift in their thinking as well.

Lastly, I wanted to talk about page 214 in the text. For years I have struggled with where exactly resource room support should be written on an IEP. Over the years, I have written it in the special education section. Then we were told to change, and for years we have now written it in the supplementary aids and services section of the IEP. I think the most powerful statement on page 214 that we need to keep in mind is that "special educatio is not a place, but a set of services" . I have heard this before, but it seems I need to be reminded when writing IEPs. Our discussion last week in class reinforced that statement. I'm afraid that too often over the years, the high school schedule has driven the IEP writing, when the IEP writing should have been driven by what the services were that the student needed. Sometimes I have thought the a separate person should write the IEP, (like a perscription) that has no obligation to provide the services. i think that this might make for greater accountability.

In my current placement, the special education leadership team is focusing on the idea of a growth mindset to shift the culture in buildings. We are utilizing the book, The Principal's Handbook for Leading Inclusive Schools by Julie Causton and George Theoharis, to help shift the mindset of district leaders so that all principals are explicitly instilling the belief around all students can and will achieve in the regular education setting. One primary aspect of the book includes the improving the communication between the regular and special education staff. At MTSD, there is a noticeable disconnect between the regular and special education staff communication and approach toward learning for students with special needs. In my own experiences, one of the best ways to achieve a truly inclusive setting that benefits all students is developing a school-wide focus that brings everyone together. In my previous district, that focus was co-teaching. Through co-teaching, special education teachers became an integral part of the regular education curricular discussion and provided their expertise around differentiation. Rather quickly, the mindsets of regular education teachers shifted to finding any way to differentiate for all students in their classes so that they were experiencing more heightened levels of success.

Rita, I agree with the statement that special education should not be a place, but a list of services.  One of the struggles I have is working with some of the more seasoned teachers to help facilitate learning in the general education classrooms through inclusion.  Older teachers have a hard time with this since the model is relatively new to them, but newer teachers are given this training at school as part of their initial certification.  I understand that it is difficult for teachers to change a way of teaching years into your practice, and the analogy I use in conversation is how SPED teachers are usually expected to change to meet the styles of the general education classroom…while the student now has to meet BOTH (styles).   

I always reference the resource room (at our school it is the Academic Resource Center or ARC) in all program summaries to let the student know that the option is there, but is not necessary at times when they are caught up with their work or understands a concept.  I state that the student has “access” to the ARC, but others that I have assigned there will have “assigned to the ARC for one class period per day.” This is written into the students program summary and explains to the parents and student exactly how the resource should be used.