EDUC-605
Inclusion of Students with Special Needs
Holly A. Larson
I have worked in the Sparta Area School District for 20 years. Over that time, I have seen many changes to the educational system.
However, one constant has been the inclusion of students with special needs. I feel our district strives to place students in the least restrictive environment as possible.
Our school, Lawrence-Lawson Elementary, is a K-3 building with around 280 students. We service regular education students, as well as
English Language Learners (ELL), Emotional and Behaviorally Disabled
(EBD) students, Learning Disabled (LD) students, high functioning autistic spectrum students, Speech and Language students, and students with
504s. To meet the needs of our students, our staff consists of 15 classroom teachers and 1 para, 2 special education teachers and 2 ½ paras, 1 (60%)
ELL teacher, 1 (80%) Title 1 teacher and 1 ½ paras, 1 RtI/PBIS/Instructional
Coach, 1 (50%) speech pathologist, 1 guidance counselor, and 1 (30%) school psychologist.
All children with special needs are placed in regular education classrooms. Everyone participates in morning meetings, music, art, phy ed, library, tech time, lunch and recess. There is a minimum amount of pull-out instruction, the majority of which occurs outside of core curriculum teaching blocks. We strive to push-in, co-teach and use para and peer supports.

Strengths:
 Differentiation on a daily basis (PIE time/RtI blocks)
 Substantial amount of technology (3-6 iPads per classroom; 40 iPads for whole class checkout; 22 iPods for checkout; computer lab;
SMARTBoards in every room; laptops in every classroom)
 Supportive principal
 Cohesive and strong PLCs
 PBIS well established
 Sufficient para support
 SAGE school (smaller class sizes)
 School of Recognition 5 consecutive years (high poverty/high achieving)
Weaknesses:
 Segregated elementary buildings (each houses specific disabilities to streamline resources/funds)
 Not all staff is open/supportive of inclusion
 Limited adaptive resources
 Consistent plan for non-identified students that need removing due to safety
 Smooth transition from 3 rd grade to 4 th grade
 High transient population
 Low parent involvement
 Scheduling is tricky due to staff members shared between buildings

Opportunities:
 Co-teaching/team teaching
 Placement in the least restrictive environments
 Professional development/conference/workshop opportunities
 Strong and positive relationship with Pre-K staff
 316 certification cohort
 Camp Sparta (summer school)
 Dia de los Ninos (Diversity Day)
 Numerous grant opportunities
Threats:
 Staff turnover
 Government funding and initiatives
 Staff morale
 Community support
 Lack of substitute teachers
 Inconsistent/problems with data
 Teacher overload with new initiatives
 Number of students not participating in early childhood and preschool programs
Stakeholders:
 All students with special needs
 All students without special needs
 All parents of children with special needs
 All parents of children without special needs
 All certified staff

o Kindergarten Team (3 teachers) o 1 st Grade Team (3 teachers) o 2 nd Grade Team (4 teachers) o 3 rd Grade Team (5 teachers) o Special Education Team (2 teachers) o Title 1 teacher o Instructional Coach o ELL teacher o MAPE Team (4 teachers) o Additional Staff:
 Speech Pathologist
 School Psychologist
 Guidance Counselor
 OT/PT/Adaptive PE
 CLC Coordinator
 All Classified Staff o Special Education Paras (3 people) o Title 1 paras (2 people) o ELL para o Building Para o CLC Staff (6-10 people)
 Administration o Lawrence-Lawson Elementary Building Principal o Sparta Area School District Superintendent o Sparta Area School District Director of Pupil Services

o Sparta Area School District Director of Curriculum and
Instruction o Sparta Area School District Board of Education (7 members)
 Sparta Area Community
Goals:
Goal 1:
Activities
Current %
Goal %
Materials &
Resources
To increase the amount of co-teaching at Lawrence-
Lawson Elementary School
1.
Conduct Book Studies about co-teaching
2.
Provide professional development time to create schedules and planning time for co-teachers
3.
Implement co-teaching at the conclusion of the book studies and professional development meetings
There is currently 1/15 classrooms that co-teach (6%)
To increase co-teaching to at least 4/15 classrooms that team teach (27%) which is 1 classroom per grade level
Planning time
Assistance with creating schedule
2 Book Study Books:
Who will implement
Target date for implementation
Evaluation
Classroom teachers, special education teachers and instructional coach
To be implemented in the fall of 2016-17 school year

Goal 2:
Activities
Current %
Goal %
Materials &
Resources
Who will implement
Target date for implementation
Evaluation
To develop a bridge/orientation program between elementary buildings and intermediate school
1.
Meet with staff from MVI, 3 rd grade teachers and special education staff to discuss details and schedule of visits
2.
Conduct visits with students
3.
Hold parent informational meeting about the transition to MVI
There is currently 1 visit per school to the intermediate school (Meadowview Intermediate School –MVI) lasting about 2 hours during the school year, as well as an Open House prior to the school year beginning.
These are for ALL students.
To increase the amount of school year visits to MVI for students with special needs to 5 visits
Planning time
Transportation to and from school visits
3 rd Grade teachers
4 th Grade teachers
Special Education Staff
To be implemented in the spring of the 2015-16 school year

Goal 3:
Activities
Current %
Goal %
Materials &
Resources
Who will implement
Target date for implementation
Evaluation
To increase the number of interventions used with struggling students
1.
Investigate research based interventions that will support students in need of extra math and reading help
2.
Pilot interventions to determine effectiveness and applicability
3.
Meet with staff to determine which interventions to proceed with
4.
Train all staff in the implementation of interventions
Currently using 4 reading Tier 2 intervention and 2 math
Tier 2 interventions
To increase the amount of reading interventions to 6 and math interventions to 4
Time to research interventions
Funds to purchase interventions
Professional development time to train all staff in the use of the new interventions
1 classroom teacher per grade level
Special education teachers
Instructional coach
Title 1 teacher
To be implemented in the fall of the 2015-16 school year
Reflection:
Co-teaching is a wonderful opportunity for a more cohesive bond between regular education and special education. It will increase the amount of inclusion time in the classroom, and offer all students different teaching styles and strategies that best fit their own learning needs.

Increasing the amount of visits to the intermediate school will help alleviate many of the anxieties that our students face with unknown situations. It will also increase the 4 th grade teachers’ knowledge of incoming students and give them the opportunity to ask questions plan and prepare for the following school year.
Having multiple interventions available to struggling students will help decrease the current achievement gaps. By offering a variety of interventions teachers will be able to find one that complements students’ individual learning styles and offer more than 1 intervention to students in need.
These goals will require a significant amount of time to research and implement. Teachers will need to split the work so they are not overloaded with yet another initiative. However, if we can accomplish these goal, all of our students will benefit, not just those with special needs.
I also feel that by working toward these goals, our staff will become more intertwined and PLCs with become even stronger.