Title: Principal Leadership in Inclusive and Effective Schools
1Principal Leadership in Inclusive andEffective
Schools
- Chriss Walther-Thomas, Ph.D.
- Professor and Chair
- KU Special Education Department
- chrisswt_at_ku.edu
- 785-864-0545
2 Session Objectives
- Participants will consider ways in which
effective principals develop effective special
education programs.
3Reynolds and Birch (1977)
- The whole history of education for exceptional
children can be told in terms of one steady trend
that can be described as progressive inclusion
(p. 22).
4Special Education Facts
- About 6 million students receive special
education services 9.1 of the total school-age
population. - Almost all students with disabilities (96) are
educated in regular schools. - USDOE 2007
5- More than 8 in 10 general educators have special
education students in their classes. - Half of all students with disabilities (49.9
percent) spend most of their time in general ed.
classrooms. - 90 spend some time in these settings.
6- Almost 34 drop out before graduating.
- Secondary students with emotional disturbance are
more likely to be male, black and live in
poverty. - More than half of all students with disabilities
graduate with regular high school diplomas. - Every year more go on to college.
7Minority Misrepresentation
SOURCE Education Week analysis of U.S.
Department of Education, Office of Special
Education Programs, Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act Data, 2002-03
8- Approximately 50 of all new teachers leave the
field within five years. - Almost half of all special educators leave or
transfer to gen education within three years. - Principals are leaving at a faster rate than new
ones are being hired.
9Teacher Employment and Turnover 1987-2000
National Commission on Teaching and Americas
Future NCTAF, 2003
10Cumulative BeginningTeacher Attrition
National Commission on Teaching and Americas
Future NCTAF, 2003
11NCLB- IDEA Challenges
- High Performance Expectations for All
- Early-Career Teacher Attrition
- Lack of Emerging Leaders
- Complex and Diverse Learning Needs
- Increasing Personnel Shortages
- High Need Area Teacher Qualifications
12Leadership for Special Education
- School leadership is the most critical factor in
the successor failureof inclusive special
education. - DiPaolo, Tschannen-Moran,
- Walther-Thomas, 2003
13Principals Role in Facilitating School Progress
- Champion Core Values
- Ensure Evidence-based Practices and Continuous
Progress Monitoring - Share a Common Visionand A Plan
- Build and Enhance Networks at All Levels
- Use Collaborative Decision Making and Shared
Leadership - Respect, Protect, and Promote Quality Work
- Emphasize Mentoring Faculty Development
-
14- SIX Ways Principals
- Ensure Effective Special Education
151 Create Conditions for Effective Special
Education
- Communicate special education is a servicenot a
place - Good general education instruction may not be
enough - Use Multi-tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)
16Conditions
- Implement School-wide Positive Behavior Support
- Ensure flexible and collaborative learning
environments - Multiple ways for teacher collaboration
- Ongoing professional development
- Shared responsibility and accountability
17Shifts in Thinking How Schools Respond
(Dan Reschly, 2004)
18Kansas Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS)
- Student centered planning
- Customized function-based interventions
- Frequent progress monitoring to guide
intervention design
Academics
Behavior
- More intense supplemental targeted skill
interventions - Customized interventions
- Frequent progress monitoring to guide
intervention design
- Supplemental targeted skill interventions
- Small groups
- Frequent progress monitoring to guide
intervention design
- Supplemental targeted function-based
interventions - Small groups or individual support
- Frequent progress monitoring to guide
intervention design
- All students, All settings
- Positive behavioral expectations
- explicitly taught and reinforced
- Consistent approach to discipline
- Assessment system and data-based decision making
- All students
- Evidence-based core curriculum instruction
- Assessment system and data-based decision making
KSDE - July 2007 Draft
19- 2 Develop Effective
- Roles Responsibilities
- Distribute Leadership
- Build Strong Teams
- Create Manageable Caseloads
- Balance Classroom Rosters
203 Facilitate GENUINE Collaboration
- Ensure Collaborators Have Skills They Need
- Problem Solving
- Evidence-based Instructional Skills
- Co-teaching
- Consultation
- Provide Scheduled Common Planning Time
214 Ensure Meaningful IEPs
- Provide Engaged Admin. Leadership
- Ensure NCLB and IDEA Alignment
- Promote Cutting-edge Thinking
- Monitor Child and Team Progress
22Standards Driven IEP Framework
Postsecondary Goals
?Education ? Employment ? Independent Living
Content Standards
Local Curriculum
23Education Related Settings
Community Based Instruction (Store, Bank,
Library, Public Transportation, etc.)
The IEP
Extra Curricular Activities
Non Academic Settings
School sponsored activities such as Clubs,
Sports teams and events, Dances, Plays, Concerts,
etc.
Playground, School Cafeteria, School Bus,
Assembly, Job Site, etc.
24(No Transcript)
255 Support Novice Teachers
- Ensure Ongoing
- Needed Classroom Resources
- Professional Development
- Moral Support
- Engage Effective Mentors
- Monitor Progress
266 Be Their Schools Best Special Education
Advocate
- Serve as a model and a mentorhelp colleagues
develop their potential and take responsibility
for their own development - Attend to each individuals needs for growth and
achievement
27Leaderships Example
- Develop learning opportunities within a
supportive climate - Recognize and accept individual differences in
needs and values - Model effective two-way communication
28Building-Level Leadership Challenges
- Creating Clock-Building Commitment
- Preserving Core Values WHILE Stimulating Progress
29Team ThinkingTime Telling vs. Clock Building
- Great Ideas
- Charismatic Leaders
- Innovative Thinking
- Product Emphasis
- Openness to New Ideas
- Visionary Organization
- Cult-like Commitment
- Process Emphasis
30Clock-building Organizations
31Creating Cult-like Commitment to the Core
- Provide Distributive and Principled Leadership
- Ensure Quality Education for All
- Model Mutual Trust and Ongoing Collaboration
- Show Respect for All
- Provide Exemplary Professional Preparation
- Quality Outcomes for Students and Families
32- Change is a process, not an event.
-
- Gene Hall, 1977
33QUESTIONS
34NCLB-IDEA Resources
- USDOE Office of Special Education
- http//www.osepideasthatwork.org/toolkit/index.asp
- KU Department of Special Education
- http//soe.ku.edu/sped/
35More Resources..
- NCLB Access Center
- http//www.k8accesscenter.org/index.php
- KSDE Resources
- http//www.kansped.org/ksde/resources/resources.ht
ml
36More Resources
- KSDE MTSS
- http//www.kansped.org/ksde/advisory/MTSS
- The IRIS Center
- http//iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/index.html