- How does your school provide inclusive opportunities for students?
- How does your school support teachers (i.e. co-teaching; common planning time, etc)?
- How are related services provided to students (e.g. pull-out or push-in)?
- How do you find the time to work with teachers and other support staff?
- Do you feel the students' days are fragmented due to many related services that they receive? How do you accommodate for that?
- Do you feel valued, or fulfilled? Why or why not?
Friday, September 14, 2012
INTERVIEWS.
Post your interview responses here. Remember, these questions are a guide for you... use some, all, or none.
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Interview
Valerie Conklin
September 15, 2012
Managing Inclusive Enviornments
Background information:
I interviewed a speech therapist who works in an urban school setting. The school is very large with over 2,000 elementary students. The population of the school is about 98 percent Spanish, 50 percent of these students receive ESL and 250 students receive speech and language services.
How does your school provide inclusive opportunities for students?
Our school has many ways of providing inclusive opportunities for students.
We have two ICT (integrated co-teaching) classes per grade. What this means is that we have co-teaching classes that have a general education and a special education teacher. The class has both special needs and mainstream students. The special education teacher is responsible for the students with disabilities which includes the IEP's, grading of work, small group instruction and whole group instruction. The regular education teacher has all of the usual responsibilities plus lesson planning with the co-teacher. To make this successful the two teachers usually decide together how to manage the classroom and divide up instruction. They also speak to parents and administrators as a team and assist each other with ideas and differentiation.
Many of the self-contained student will mainstream for specific subjects such as math, and less frequently reading and writing.
Special Education classes work collaboratively to plan lessons and grouping. The teachers will sometimes plan lessons and divide them up so that they can group the students based on ability. One teacher might take math and teach it to her first group while the other teacher gives a science lesson, then they switch groups and teach the same lesson tweaking it to meet the needs of the group.
How does your school support teachers?
My school has many ways of supporting the teachers on staff. We have the usual staff development like every other school as well as the following:
First, we have five schools within the school to make it more manageable. Each floor is a school within the school with an AP for each floor. This means that the teachers have an administrator to turn to at all times. Additionally the school has a common floor prep, which means that once per week all of the teachers on that floor can meet as a team.
Secondly, we have math and literacy specialists who map out the curriculum for each grade level on a monthly basis. This gives both general education and special education teachers a guide has to what goals and plans need to be made.
Thirdly, we have a mentoring program for all new teachers. The mentor meets with the new teacher once per week to discuss any issues that the new teacher might be facing or to help with lesson planning.
How are related services provided to students?
Services are provided as both push-in and pull out. The related services teachers are usually flexible and willing to work with the teacher. For example, the speech and OT will push in to give lessons on phonemic awareness, handwriting or language skills to the whole class. Furthermore, they will sit in the class with a child during a related lesson and provide assistance to the student instead of pulling them out for 40 minutes if the teacher feels that the student might miss out on something important.
How do you find time to work with teachers and other support staff?
A great deal of our interaction is done during common preps, or on our own time. We also do a lot of emailing.
Interview
Valerie Conklin
September 15, 2012
Managing Inclusive Enviornment
PART 2
Do you feel the students' days are fragmented due to many related services that they receive? How do you accommodate for that?
Unfortunately, the days can be a little fragmented for the student. We do our best to try and avoid this when ever possible. Some things that we try to do are pulling students during mass preps and auditorium. We also try to avoid pulling kids out on the same day. The related service teachers try to collaborate when the schedules are made to make it as stress free for the child as possible.
Do you feel valued, or fulfilled? Why or why not?
I love my job. I see the growth in my students, they don't stay stagnant. The staff and administration definitely value and appreciate us. The teachers come to us for help and assistance, I feel like they realize that we are an important part of the team. I know some schools don't have this overall feeling, I am so happy to be where I am.
Leonell Santos
Managing Inclusive Environments
Prof. Smith
Interview:
Background information:
My interview was in a High School. The population of this school is 50% African American, and 50% Hispanic. They have one resource teacher, five inclusion teachers, one 15-1 teacher, one 9-1-2 teacher, and the lead teacher.
How does your school provide inclusive opportunities for students?
Inclusion program is covered from 9th to 12th grade. They monitor all the academic work of the students throughout the day and they meet every other day for resource.
How does your school support teachers (i.e. co-teaching; common planning time, etc)?
We work together with the in teacher to supply the need of each student.
How are related services provided to students (e.g. pull-out or push-in)?
We work on Pull out.
How do you find the time to work with teachers and other support staff?
We have to make they own time, we meet afterschool.
Do you feel the students' days are fragmented due to many related services that they receive? How do you accommodate for that?
No, everything fluent with the day, we have to know who they are. One of the most positive things in our school is that we are like a big family that supports each other.
Do you feel valued, or fulfilled? Why or why not?
Absolutely yeah, you have to know them like your own kids. They know if you really care or not. They really appreciate your help and that make me happy that I can influenced in a positive way.
Which strategy you use to motivate them?
I treat them like Adults.
Karen Lang
Managing Inclusive Environments
Prof. Smith
I interviewed the lead teacher for the special department in a Long Island high school. In lieu of department chairs the district implements lead teachers. Her responsibilities in the district include being a transition teacher and alternate assessment coordinator. The school is comprised of an approximately 60/40 split of African American and Latino students respectively. The overall population is slightly over 1000 students. Besides the lead teacher, there are 12 special education teachers in the school; five inclusion teachers,(two for 9th grade and one for each of the other grades 10-12), one resource room teacher, five 15-1 teachers and one 9-1-2 teacher.
How does your school provide inclusive opportunities for students?
Our school has an inclusion program where one teacher follows the inclusion class the entire day to all of their academic subjects and then meets with them in resource room for additional help in the work provided by the teachers throughout the day. Due to block scheduling they meet every other day for resource room instead of everyday like it was in previous years.
How does your school support teachers?
There are various staff developments provided to the department but not much more support than that.
How are related services provided to students?
Students are provided special services such as speech and reading by a pull out method. We attempt to pull out during times that will least interfere with the students instruction. On some rare occasions push in services can be provided. That is handled on a case by case basis but we do not have many students that require PT or OT.
How do you find time to work with teachers and other support staff?
This year there is a 9th period when extra help time is available that meets after the students are dismissed from school. We tend to take advantage of this time when we can. We do not have any common periods off to meet so we use that time or make our own time to plan.
Do you feel the students' days are fragmented due to many related services that they receive? How do you accommodate for that?
No I don’t due to the model we have in place. The day flows for them being that their support teacher is with them in every class. This creates a family like bond between the students and teacher and aids in the success of our program. The inclusion teachers remain in the same grade from year to year which makes them well versed in the classes that they will be working in each year.
Do you feel valued, or fulfilled? Why or why not?
Absolutely. No doubt about it. As I said we are very close with our students. We spend an entire school year with them for the majority of the day. We really get to know our kids and even the others since we all share classrooms. I am part of the transition process to help the kids get ready for their next step in life after high school. I have kids come back all the time and it is so rewarding. They may not necessarily outright say thank you but they know I am there for them and care for them and in turn I receive their love and trust.
Kristy M. Cimaglia
EEC 560: MANAGING INCLUSIVE ENVIRONMENTS
FALL 2012, Course: 0810-560-002
Interview:
I had the opportunity to interview an elementary school Special Education Teacher that teaches at a large Long Island, suburban school district. It is predominately an upper middle class district, Caucasian demographic. There are over 11,000students within the whole district, with nine elementary schools, three middle schools and two high schools. The inclusive classes for elementary school are all located and situated in one elementary school within the district.
•How does your school provide inclusive opportunities for students?
Our school district provides inclusive opportunities for students by having inclusive classes in one elementary school within the district. The students that are already attending this school can be placed in these classrooms regardless if they have a disability or not. Bus transportation is provided by mini-bus for students with disabilities that will be part of an inclusive environment with parents’ consent that would not normally attend this elementary school. It is the parents’ choice. The special education teacher is placed in the classroom with the inclusive teacher or the general education teacher. They work together to teach the students inclusively. They also provide regular classes within the other elementary schools. This comes along with resource room, with special education capabilities and academic intervention where the child is pulled out of class or the special education/special subjects teacher go into the classrooms and place students into groups for group learning.
•How does your school support teachers (i.e. co-teaching; common planning time, etc)?
The school supports teachers by co-teaching (Math, Reading, English, ESL, Computers, etc.) They provide special resources including the Smart-boards, visual aides, blocks, coins, number lines, etc. They also provide teacher aides, and assistance often. One special subjects teacher will pull students out of the classroom and will try hard to follow the classroom schedule, but sometimes the child misses the material, which can be a an issue. They have reading groups with the reading teachers, sometimes within the classroom and sometimes pulled out. They also have teaching assistants that work together with the regular classroom teacher so they do not miss classroom time. At times this can be a big problem because the child will miss important classroom time. Sometimes the schedule is not followed consistently but we do the absolute best so that the child is not missing important lessons within the classroom.
•How are related services provided to students (e.g. pull-out or push-in)?
These related services are provided to students through push-in/academic intervention, where teachers will come to the classroom. This is very difficult though at times but the students concentrate better and the regular teacher can see what’s going on and how the child is doing. They also pull-out students for resource room and for the reading specialist to intervene.
Kristy M. Cimaglia
Interview-continued- Part 2
•How do you find the time to work with teachers and other support staff?
We are at meetings before school and after school, during lunch breaks, or on the side, sometimes out of school even. The school does provide time outside the classroom as well.
•Do you feel the students' days are fragmented due to many related services that they receive? How do you accommodate for that?
Yes, most of the time the student’s days are fragmented, especially when the child is pulled-out of the classroom. We go over what was missed in the classroom and sometimes even the other students will tell them what was missed. We really do the best we can but sometimes, unfortunately things fall through the cracks. We try to work very hard with the special education department and also the per-diem substitute teachers. It is difficult at times but we definitely do the best we can so that the child gets everything, including all material and the best assistance to help him/her.
•Do you feel valued, or fulfilled? Why or why not?
Yes, I feel extremely valued! Working with children with special needs is very fulfilling and highly rewarding. It is especially satisfying if they accomplish their goals or respond to me. It can be very sad if they do not. I really try to make it so that they achieve their goals. I will not stop and will continue with all my passion until they do! Our responsibility is to provide every child with an equal opportunity to learn. We believe all children can learn given the right tools and support. All the special education teachers & staff here are well trained, caring, dedicated professionals where the best interest lies within the children’s learning process.
As you read each others interviews, pay attention to the differences. They are very telling.
As you read each others interviews, pay attention to the differences. They are very telling.
I decided to perform my interview on the additional services the schools have to offer to students. Being I have a background in working in a physical/occupational out patient clinic, I decided to interview an occupational therapist.
How long have you been an occupational therapist? I’ve been an occupational therapist since 1988, hence 24 years.
How long have you been working with the board of education? I’ve been working with the board of education for 4 years now.
What made you become an occupational therapist? At the time, I saw a there was a need for occupational therapist and that is how I decided to embrace a profession. I have had the pleasure of working with all different age groups, from infancy traveling through elderly. A major asset of being an occupational therapist is that you have the opportunity of improving so many lives in so many ways in the palm of your hands. Physical therapists have the ability to train their patients how to improve their posture, strength, endurance, balance, range of motion and overall functional limitations of the body. Being able to improve an individual’s life is one of the greatest feelings you can ever imagine. I strongly believe this is a great profession and definitely a high need for it at the schools. Not to mentioned, you get to make your own schedule.
How does your school provide inclusive environments opportunities for students? The school is very efficient in accommodating students, having accommodating space and isolated rooms to provide individual treatment. The school really enforces the New York State Special Education Standards.
How does your services support teacher? Occupational therapy help students with their hand coordinating and cognitive skills. I help students improve their penmanship, develop social skills and manage behavioral.
How are related services provided to students? Depending on the days, I provide services Tuesday thru Fridays, 8 sessions per day, which is approximately 40 minutes.
How do you find time to work with teacher? I definitely interact with the teachers and we tend to have a “working system,” where if I need to pull out a student from a class the teachers don’t mind. We like to work together.
Do you feel valued? Yes I do. How so? I know my job is very valuable, and I always receive positive reinforcements from my students. I am treated very well with all the staff members in the building.
Is there anything else you would like to add? I just wanted to reiterate that being an occupational therapist like teachers area very rewarding jobs. I highly encourage my students to pursuit a career within this field.
Elisa Passarella
The person I interviewed is a certified special education and secondary math teacher and is currently employed as a teacher’s aide in a middle school on Long Island. She is a 3:1 teacher’s aide, meaning she is responsible for three students per classroom period. The school population is mixed, having white, Hispanic, and ESL students enrolled.
1) How does your school provide inclusive opportunities for students?
The students get to choose the type of class they want. There is a small class, which is usually about eight students, a regular class, and an honors class for each core subject. Most special needs students gravitate towards he smaller classes. The school does not employ co-teaching, however there can be two adults in the room if stated on the IEP. The school has found that inclusion does not really work for them, but they do have a lot of TAs in the classrooms as an alternative. There can be up to four TAs in one class at one time.
2) Is it difficult to conduct a class with some many professionals in the room?
Having so many TAs in the room does not really get in the way of instruction. It is sometimes difficult to get around the room physically, but otherwise it isn’t really a problem. But, it is up to the teacher: some like having the extra help of the TAs in the room, and some don’t like it as much.
3) How does your school support teachers (i.e. co-teaching; common planning time, etc)?
There is no co-teaching, but the resource room teachers are constantly in contact with the classroom teachers. The teachers have meetings once a day, in teams (one teacher per subject in a team). It is at these meeting teachers can help one another and share ideas, as well as plan together. The TAs are also discussed in regards to how they help the classroom, etc.
3) How are related services provided to students (e.g. pull-out or push-in)?
Both push-in and pull-out methods of related services are used in the school. The TAs are there to help students in the classrooms (push-in). They help special needs students with notes, clarifying instructions, etc. The school also uses the pull-out method of the resource room. This is not during a class period, but it is a designated period for special needs students. They also have a specific English class, Read 180, which tries to improve reading skills while teaching normal English class material.
4) How do you find the time to work with teachers and other support staff?
She does not really meet with teachers to work with them. She met with the teachers the first day to introduce herself and to relate how she can help, but that was the only meeting. Teachers ask the TAs for help on a need by need basis in the classroom.
Elisa Passarella Part II
5) Do you feel the students' days are fragmented due to many related services that they receive? How do you accommodate for that?
No, the students’ days are not fragmented. Students with special needs have specific schedules: core subjects, lunch, resource room, and gym ninth period. Each subject has its own place and they go to classes just like all other students. Within the classroom, the TAs do not get in the way. Most students like their presence in the classroom. The TAs end up helping all the students, not just the ones with IEPs so every student benefits.
6) Do you feel valued, or fulfilled? Why or why not?
Yes, she definitely feels fulfilled. The students like her presence in the classroom and feel comfortable with her. They always ask her specifically for help. It is also very rewarding to see her students succeed.
7) Are there students with and without IEPs in every type of classroom?
Yes, there are. Many students prefer certain sizes of classes and really do not notice or mind if there are students with special needs in the classroom. One student was recommended for honors, but she preferred the small classroom environment, so that is the type of class she chose.
8) How do students without IEPs feel in an inclusion classroom?
The students don’t mind being in an inclusive environment. No one makes fun of students for leaving the classroom for testing. In one of her classes, out of twelve students, only two actually remain in the classroom for testing. The students do not really notice or care.
Marisa Filardo
Prof. Smith
Oct. 2012
Interview of a Special Education Teacher at Locust Valley High School.
Participant:
Jennifer Masa
Credentials:
Duel certification in special education and social studies at Locust Valley high school grades 9, 10, 11, 12.
Most of my experience is in U.S and Global history and resource room.
Student/ School info:
Most of my students have the classifications of OHI, ADHD and LD.
The Ratio is usually 5:1 In resource room and 15:1 general education inclusion setting.
How does your school provide inclusive opportunities for students?
Locust Valley has few self- contained, mainly all inclusion classes with support from ACE(academic support in specific content area) classes.
How does your school support teachers? (ie:co-teaching, common planning time, etc)
Locust Valley does try to offer the same preparation time however it does not always work out. When it doesn’t we email, meet after school or usually before. It is impossible to co teach without having prep time before.
How are related services provided to students?
We use to push-in model with the resource room program scheduled as one of the classes for a student in their 9 period day. There is no good reason to pull a kid out of a lesson for services because it only does an injustice to them.
How do you find the time to work with teachers and other support staff?
It is not too difficult I have four free periods a day and therefore plenty of time to coordinate lessons and prep. Also before school if need be.
Do you feel the students' days are fragmented due to many related services that they receive? How do you accommodate for that? No I don’t feel that their day is fragmented with the model that we use in Locust Valley with that being a co-teaching, push-in model. .
Do you feel valued, or fulfilled? Why or Why not?
Yes, administration is extremely supportive and appreciative. I feel fulfilled with every child I work with on each of their different abilities. I love my job and I feel privelaged to work with such amazing kids every day.
Part I
Background Information:
Patricia Weber
Nationally Certified Sign Language Interpreter (ASL and Signed English)
Eighteen Years Experience
What levels of education have you worked in?
I have worked with Kindergarden to College level.
Are there any specific certifications for working in a school as a Sign Language Interpreter?
There are no additional certifications besides the ASL and Signed English Certifications.
When working in a school twelfth grade and below, how long do you work with a specific student?
Typically depending on the IEP I will be assigned to a specific student for the entire school year. Based on if the have colloquial implants, if they have hearing aids, or if they only use sign language which you would be with them all the time, but sometimes there are classes where the goal is for them to be able to listen and understand on their own. So depending on the age and the amount of time they have had the implant or aid but typically the school district will hire you for the entire year.
Are you typically in an inclusive environment when interpreting in for the student?
I would say my experience has been two-thirds inclusive with mainstream hearing students and one-third in a separate contained classroom. It’s more common in mainstream but there are still a lot of self contained classrooms as well.
Was there any soft of planning that went along with the teachers?
Yes, often times before a specific lesson would begin I would have a discussion with the teacher about what the ultimate goal of the lesson would be. What [the teacher] hoped to achieve by the end of the week or whatever time frame the lesson was so that when I was translating one language to another I would be sure to use certain target words or target concepts because when you translate from one language to another without what specific point is being made, you can still convey the meaning without giving the exact English word the teacher is looking for. We do a lot of conferencing just so I know what [the teacher’s] ultimate goal is.
Part II
Is that something you would have to plan with the teacher prior to the lessons?
If possible, I mean it’s ideal to have planning time but with time being so limited and also interpreters are not in every single class. Sometimes it’s just a quick conference five minutes before the class. Tend to have meetings on the fly.
Were these meetings something you personally had to schedule or did the teacher initiate them?
I would ask the teacher if they had anytime available so that I could have an idea of where [the teacher] was going. I knew that I needed it, [the teacher] didn’t know that I needed it. So it would be my request to her, because if you’re not familiar with signing a language you don’t know the difficulties involved, so [the teacher] would assume that I would just sit down and do it. It was always on me to make it happen. Not that [the teacher] wasn’t willing but it’s just it was never a concern, she had thirty other children to be concerned with.
Do you feel the students’ days are fragmented due to many relative services that they receive?
Yes, often times a child with a hearing impairment will be pulled out for speech therapy or special tutoring and it does kind of separate them from the crowd cause they have to leave the classroom pretty often and I can’t see how it can be avoided but yes I do feel their days are fragmented.
Did you feel valued?
Extremely, initially the teacher would be nervous that I was in their room and wonder what my role was. Almost every single person I ever worked with would come up and say: “most days aren’t like this. Normally the classroom runs more smoothly.” I would explain that my role was to support them and be their partner not in any way to take notes or judge, and after a while we would develop over the course of the school year an extremely close working relationship and not just with the child and the teacher but also with the other teachers that came into the classroom, the mother, the school phycologist, the social worker, the nurse and I felt very much a part of a valued team. Very good experience.
I decided to interview the occupational therapist of the school because I have had experience within the field and was excited to see how it was provided at the school. When I arrived to the empty white room, there was a student sitting in the corner at a semi circle table writing a story. As I waited for my interviewee, I noticed the walls were completely bare, there were no type of hand coordination objects such as puzzles, blocks, plastic bottles, calk board, toys, games, etc. I wonder perhaps everything was put away in an organized closet, but I was wrong. Apparently OT services only involve working on penmanship is nothing else; well at least at this school. I have to say I am very disappointed to realize that the students are not receiving the appropriate OT services they should be receiving. Students are being pulled out from their classes to sit in an empty white room all alone to write stories. Occupational therapy is suppose to be interactive, engaging, creative in working to build on independent daily life skills; it’s definitely more than just writing stories. Why use an occupational therapist, when there are English teachers to teach students how to write at a lower pay rate? If I were a parent, and my child needed the services I would take my child to a private OT clinic and make sure he/she is receiving the appropriate services.
Laura Zurlo
Managing Inclusive Environments
Professor Smith
The teacher I interviewed is currently the special education for the 8th grade inclusion class. She follows these students to Math, Language Arts, Science and Social Studies. In this Queens middle school (grade 6-8), the 6th grade classes are beginning to be more integrated as of this year. Since this is a lot to handle for the school, they are taking it step by step. They haven't yet fully integrated 7th and 8th grade, but plan to do so by next year. However, there is one 7th grade inclusion class and one 8th grade inclusion class. It is made up of about 30 students where about 12 of them have special needs.
The school has workshops to help support the teachers. This past week, this teacher had to attend a workshop with other special education teachers. The workshop was held during the last few periods of the school day so the general education classes all had substitute teachers filling in for the special education teachers. This workshop offered a powerpoint describing different techniques (such as co-teaching, one teach one assist, etc.) the teachers could use in their classes.
The teacher I interviewed said that she supplies a list of the special education students to their general education teachers. She lets them know what disability each of them has and what sort of techniques work best with them in the classroom. She will meet with other teachers about twice a week either during lunch or during breaks in the day to discuss anything they feel is necessary. Most of the teachers have similar breaks so this works good.
She says that related services at the school are both pull out and push in. Sometimes the students will be pulled out for counseling, speech therapy, etc. I did not get a good grasp on what exactly happens for push in though.
This particular teacher does not worry too much about the students' days being fragmented due to the related services they receive. This is because the students are only pulled out in other classes such as physical education, art, Spanish, etc. Since this teacher focuses on the four main subjects in school, it does not affect her day.
Also, this is the first year that she is working with an inclusive class. The years before she had been a Language Arts special education teacher. She is still getting into the flow of things. She feels that the administration appreciates her and her efforts. I can back this up because the head of the special education department has had such good things to say about her to me. As for her students, she doesn't feel like she is valued while she is in the class with them. However, when she is absent, she thinks they start to realize that they could use her help. Currently, this teacher does not feel fulfilled and this is only because it is her first year. She feels overwhelmed at the moment, but thinks things will get much better by December when she is used to the swing of things.
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