Leadership Institute: Highly
Effective Inclusive Schools
Dr. Thomas Hehir
Professor of Practice
Harvard Graduate School of Education
DSAC General/Special Education Collaboration Institute
October 2011
Copyright © 2011 by Dr. Thomas Hehir, Harvard Graduate School of Education
The Role of Education
The concept of ableism:
Schools often reflect the attitudes of the broader
society in which disability is devalued and persons
with disabilities do not enjoy equality of rights and
opportunity
Should schools:
• Serve the role of reinforcing the status quo?
• Be a vehicle for promoting equality and societal
progress?
• Take an active role in eliminating ableism?
Ableism and…
• Deaf students
• Students with blindness and vision
impairment
• Students with LD
• Students with emotional disturbance
Role of Education
1. Minimize Impact of Disability
2. Maximize Opportunity to Participate
Universal Design for Learning
(UDL)
• Multiple means of representation
• Multiple means of expression
• Flexible means of engagement
Toward Ending Ableism in Education
The Promise of Universal Design
• Universal design for learning
• Universally designed support for positive
behavior
• Universal design & school organization
Implementing UDL: Lessons
from Three Schools
The O’Hearn School
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A small and diverse learning community committed to helping all children
learn and succeed.
235 students representing a range of ethnic, linguistic, and ability backgrounds.
56 staff members, interns, and other volunteers collaborate to create a caring
and challenging learning environment in which children can perform at
their highest possible levels.
An inclusive school. Students involved in general education; students with mild,
moderate, and significant disabilities; and students considered talented and
gifted learn together and from each other.
All O’Hearn students participate in visual arts, dance, music, and hands-on
science classes. O’Hearn students and staff have gained widespread
recognition for their outstanding performances.
Strong family leadership and involvement. O’Hearn parents have been
active as decision-makers and coordinators of many endeavors including after
school activities, curriculum related workshops, focus groups, assistive
technology, family outreach, and special activities.
Adapted from the Patrick O’Hearn Elementary School website: http://www.boston.k12.ma.us/ohearn/
Samuel Mason School
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An Effective Practice Pilot School where students are taught in fully inclusive
classrooms.
Teachers are dual-certified in regular and special education with extensive
training in literacy, math investigations and character education.
Through creative allocation of funding and commitment of caring partners,
each classroom is staffed by two or more adults, resulting in a very low student
teacher ratio.
Business and community partnerships have a strong presence in the school,
including the Boston YMCA, NewMarket Business Association and John Hancock
Services.
Parents as partners. Active members of the school's governance board and
Instructional Leadership Team. Parent-designed center staffed by community
liaisons, Home Reading Coordinator and Mason parent leaders, provides
workshops and training for assisting children in literacy, math and home reading
strategies, bridging the gap between home and school.
Children at the Mason School are taught to be independent.
Top 50 Elementary Schools in Massachusetts during 2005 and also winning the
Vanguard Award in 2003 for Mass Insight Education.
Adapted from the Samuel Mason Elementary School website: http://masonpilot.blogspot.com/
Boston Arts Academy
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Urban school founded on the conviction that academics and the arts are
equally important to student development and achievement.
The arts are integrated throughout the academic curriculum motivating
students with a variety of learning styles to succeed in high school and
pursue higher education.
BAA’s 405 students reflect the diversity of the seventeen Boston
neighborhoods from which they come: 49% are African American, 29%
Latino, 17% Caucasian, 3% Asian, and 2% self-identified as Other.
Nearly 60% come from low-income households. Because of its success
with urban students, BAA is a recognized leader in public education reform
movement.
Innovative use of the arts as a strategy for improving teaching and
learning has attracted national and international attention. Through the
school’s Center for Arts in Education, BAA’s best practices are
documented and shared with educators, administrators and policymakers
worldwide.
Adapted from the Boston Arts Academy website: http://www.bostonartsacademy.org/Pages/index
The Four Frames of Leadership
(Bolman and Deal)
• Symbolic Frame
(Value and culture matter)
• Structural Frame
(Organization, resources, policies, etc.)
• Political Frame
(How an organization deals with issues of power)
• Human Resource Frame
(How the individuals within the organization
are treated, supported and developed)
Symbolic Frame
(Values and culture matter)
• Strong mission orientation
• Leaders tell the story of the school and it’s
students
• School leaders believe they are involved in
a larger change effort to remake schooling
to be more equitable and inclusive
• Ceremonies celebrating success and
promoting mission are common
Structural Frame
(Organization, resources, policies, etc.)
• All resources in one basket
• The leaders are exceptionally entrepreneurial
• Collaborative teaching and problem solving
opportunities
• Extended time
• Integration of community resources
• UDL utilizing both high and low tech is ubiquitous
• Strong integration of the arts
Political Frame
(How an organization deals with issues of power)
• Opinion leaders are essential elements of promoting
change (Skrtic)
• Principals actively seek political support to secure
necessary resources
• Principals actively seek both vertical and horizontal
support within their school
• Principals actively seek community support
• Principals engage in a delicate dance of being both
insiders and countercultural change agents
• Implementers and clients matter
Human Resource Frame
(How the individuals within the organization
are treated, supported and developed)
• All persons working within the schools are connected to
the mission
• Leadership is distributed
• Teacher leadership is encouraged and valued
• Collaborative problem solving is the norm
• A recognition that specialized expertise is necessary
• Teachers and other staff evidence high morale
• Significant resources are available for staff development
• Clear expectations that all need to constantly improve
their ability to address the needs of diverse learners
Biggest Take Aways
• All of these schools have moved from “egg
crate” performance organizations to
collaborative problem solving
organizations
• Kids at the margins have driven this
organizational change