Will Obama Help Rhee?

President Obama has set aside $54 billion to be invested in education. "His reform agenda, say some experts, resembles that of D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee. That may give Rhee a boost at the negotiating table." - nbcwashingtonnews.com

Here's the radio spot.

My Inclusive Classroom

I have started a new blog called "My Inclusive Classroom" that will focus on teaching strategies. I want this blog, Inclusion in the Classroom, to focus on the topic of inclusion in general and educating children in DCPS. The new blog can be found at this link: "My Inclusive Classroom."

Being Poor Can Keep You From Learning

This is an exciting story in the Washington Post. Research shows that children who grow up in poverty have serious problems remembering information.

Guess what. Remembering information is crucial to academic success. So, there is research proving that many of our DC children may be failing in school because of the poverty they live in.

Read the story here.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/05/AR2009040501719.html?nav=hcmodule

Multiple service providers in the classroom

Someone asked a few weeks ago, what can be done if there are 3 different service providers in the room trying to work on the same student at one time?

First, the inclusion model is meant to benefit all children, not just SPED kids. Service providers may try broadening their views on how they can assist in the class. For example, I saw one occupational therapist go into a first grade classroom and pull aside a group of children to work on fine motor skills during choice time. Only one of the children in the group was a SPED kid.

If there are multiple service providers in the room at one time, that signifies a scheduling conflict. The service providers and teacher(s) should meet to determine when each service provider will be most beneficial in the classroom. Maybe the occupational therapist can be most helpful during writing time, and maybe the social worker needs to come in during transitions or group discussions. The child may have problems that manifest themselves throughout the day (as in the case of many ED children), but the service provider should look for a good starting point.

Some people don't believe children should ever be taken from class for any reason. I don't subscribe to that view. I believe children CAN still be taken out for individual or small group therapy AT TIMES. However, many times or most of the time children can be served in the regular classroom, and that's what inclusion aims to make happen.

What is DCTF about?

DC Teaching Fellows is an alternative certification program. That means if you did not get a degree in education BEFORE you began teaching, you can study for one while you teach.

There are major differences between DCTF and Teach for America. DCTF seeks people who are interested in a career as teachers, while TFA looks for people who want to make a difference for two years. DCTF requires participants to attend classes and earn a masters in education from a designated university in DC. TFA does not require participants to earn a degree.

I am writing this blog because I myself am a DC Teaching Fellow, and when I researched the program I searched online to see what people's experiences were. There were only a few websites that had information that I thought was really useful.

I don't always write about day to day teaching life, because, I didn't want this blog to be just a journal of my experiences. I wanted it to be a reliable source people can come to for ideas about how to include special needs students (especially learning disabled students) in the classroom more.

So, from time to time you'll see a post about DCTF and some of the ideas that it trains its teachers in. Right now, the month is April, so if you applied to the program in January and were accepted, congratulations! I'll try to add posts that can help prepare you for the intense, but eye-opening summer program ahead of you.

NPR's segment on New Teachers

This morning on NPR was a segment about new teachers in alternative certification programs in DC. They highlighted two first-year teachers at Shaw-Garnet-Patterson. One is having a great year, and the other admitted not having classroom control. He even calls parents during the lesson at times, which he knows is a big no-no. The segment stated that Rhee does not have a lot of patience, so the second teacher does not have a lot of time to get it together.

The segment ended by saying that older teachers are necessary to help younger teachers develop.

There was one part of the segment that needs to be clarified. The effective first-year teacher that they highlighted teaches 6th grade and all of her students tested proficient in reading so far this year. That statement was misleading. Because the segment focused on her, those outside the field of eduation might automatically think the students learned to read because of this teacher. However, if 6th GRADERS are proficient in reading, they've had several years of good teaching. They didn't just learn how to read because of this first-year teacher.

One Teacher's Measure of Inclusion "Appropriateness"

Thank you, Melodie, for letter me use this article which you posted on the website "Teachers Helping Teachers."

FULL INCLUSION MAINSTREAMING
GRADES 1-12

Today's popular catch phrase for special education students is "full inclusion." What no one seems to address is that some students are ready to attend regular education classes and some students need more individual attention to prepare them for entry, or reentry to the regular program.

"Full inclusion" assumes that with minimal assistance, a special education student will be successful in a regular classroom. This is true for SOME students, but certainly not all!
When thinking about moving a student back to the regular program, many issues must be considered when determining the most appropriate placement:

Is the student on grade level, or near grade level, for everything? If so, and the student's behavior is appropriate, full inclusion could be the best answer.

Is the student on grade level for one or two subjects? If so, mainstreaming for only those subjects would be most appropriate, is the student's behavior is not an issue.

Is the student below grade level but able to help much younger children? If so, allowing the student to be a peer tutor will not only raise his/her self-esteem, it will also reinforce the basics for the student.

Is the child so far below grade level that he/she can not tutor, however, the student's behavior is good? If this is the case, this student can be mainstreamed for recess/nutrition, lunch, art, music and PE.

Is the student's behavior such a problem that it is extremely disruptive to others? If so, then this student may not be ready to mainstream, or may need to "earn" mainstream situations in his/her favorite area.

Whatever you choose to do with your students, be sure that you choose whatever is appropriate for each individual--DO NOT simply choose a system because it is the current "thing" to do! The 1970's law, PL-91-142 has a statement about "least restrictive environment as appropriate to the student." We must remember this when making decisions to help our students.

MELODIE BITTER
LORNE STREET SCHOOL
LOS ANGELES, CA