Quality Teacher & Education Act
Impact & Innovation Awards 2013
INNOVATIVE PRACTICE
Rationale /
Priority (250
words)
The innovation practice described here is the implementation of co-teach as an instructional strategy in
general education environment as a means of redressing disproportionality of African American
students in special education and the underutilization of para-professionals and resource staff. In
connection with our long term vision of building a non-behavioral RTI model which creates tier two
academic interventions within the general education setting, Grattan piloted and subsequently
implemented a site-wide model of co-teach. The target population included around 20 students
currently receiving specialized academic instruction in math and ela through inclusive practices and
around 10 students whom do not have qualifying conditions but require affirmative interventions to
increase their access to and achievement with the core curriculum.
The simplest expression of our vision of co-teach at Grattan is: two or more adults equally sharing
responsibility for the students within a classroom. There are various ways of configuring adults into
classrooms. Co-teach allows for two qualified adults to share the responsibilities within the classroom
by replacing remedial pullout services with a new paradigm of delivering specialized academic
instruction within the general education setting. This year for the first time, we have utilized our class
wide SST data and an analysis of every student’s IEP services and Specialized Academic Instruction (SAI)
minutes by content area and used this as the first lens for creating our class rosters. Focal students
who do not receive specialized academic instruction but require affirmative interventions to access the
curriculum are co-horted with students receiving services. (We are very mindful of proportionality
within any given classroom to ensure we do not have tracking.) The RSP teachers schedule is then built
around when classes need SAI. Next, all additional services (OT, PT, Speech, VI, literacy support, ELD
schedules, etc., are each scheduled to maximize co-teach opportunities. Lastly we schedule enrichment
and electives.
This is a massive paradigm shift. Historically, the enrichment schedule was created based on teacher
preferences and other adult needs.
Our site piloting of co-teach began with a research grant through PACtin by a lead team of our RSP,
Principal and two general education teachers. Early successes were measured with academic
achievement data, student interviews, staff surveys and observation visits with Anne Benninhoff (coteach guru and author). Results of the pilot were shared as part of the EdTalks at the Administrators’
Institute in August.
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Quality Teacher & Education Act
Impact & Innovation Awards 2013
Strategies
that were
Implemented
(250 words)
For two years the co-teach lead team conducted research, attended conferences and presented
findings with fellow researchers through a large PACTin grant. The creation of the IEP services matrix
in collaboration with Stetson and Associates last year was our first implementaiton accomplishment.
Simultaneously there were a series of professional development experiences that ranged from
explaining the what how and why of co-teach with teachers, para-professionals and families. In the
beginning, it was clear that the idea was compelling to teachers and staff yet the reality of the
implementation required new mental maps of what teacher’s and other adults’ roles are within the
classroom. There has been a lot of micro-political work done to sustain the commitment of all
stakeholders. The building and maintaining of relational trust and explicit understanding of the
interdependence of diverse adult roles was a conversation we have had and continue to have regularly.
Implementation factors:
# people:
# hours:
The
leadership Preparations of the
team included 3 master schedule: ~20
grant writers, 4 hours. PD sessions for
classroom teachers, teachers staff and
4 paras, and 20 families: ~ 100 hours.
SPED and GenEd Peer Support Groups:
students.
~20 hours.
Demonstrated
Application &
Measurable
Outcomes
(400 words)
Cost estimate:
Other(s):
Grant
costs
for Time was a huge
conferences, Site Visits, resource with this work.
release time, research Grant funds, extended
paper presentation and hours from the site
prep were about $20,000 budget and the general
Additional
resources fund all contributed to
unaccountable
include eliminating lack of time
access to Stetson & from preventing the
Associates and the hours work from happening.
and hours of planning
time for teachers grant
team and staff.
Our efforts were targeted at: students with IEPs in general education settings and focal students who
required affirmative intervention but did not quality for special education. Within this second group is
included a cohort of African American students who are not reaching proficiency with the standardized
assessments.
A parallel target group were the adults engaged with a shifting definition of roles within the classroom.
Results from staff interviews indicate a consistent deepening over time of the benefits of this paradigm
shift.
As a direct result of the implementation of co-teach, we have increased the inclusive practices reaching
all SPED students by delivering a majority of SAI and Speech services, and much of the PT, OT, and
other related services within the general education setting. This also benefits the gen ed students
within the classroom as well.
The results of the co-teach strategy included; increased on task time for focal students, better preteach and re-teach opportunities in small groups, more authentic formative assessment data collection
due to the specialized skills of the RSP, and better collaboration and communication between the
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Quality Teacher & Education Act
Impact & Innovation Awards 2013
special education and general education practitioners leading to improved professional practices for
all.
Our success with closing the achievement gap for African American students at Grattan is a result of
the deconstruction of barriers between general education and special education services. Having a
second adult in the
Sharing Best
Practice (250
words)
These successes have been conveyed to the community through the PTA, SSC and Principal’s
communications. The understanding of the broad impact of co-teach and inclusion on the learning of
all students promotes the SFUSD’s goal of making social justice a reality.
Co-teach should be a viable option for every school in SFUSD where ever a resource teacher, service
provider, para-professional, trained parent volunteer enters a classroom setting to work with any child.
Co-teach can be a meaningful experience for a single pair of educators trying to change of pattern of
results with a small set of students or it can be more systemically utilized as a way of elevating the
respect and roles of support staff within a whole school.
The grant team (Myself, Sheila Adams (Elementary SPED Supervisor) and Catherine Walter (classroom
teacher) has a variety of PD opportunities prepared and are available to any and all whom are
interested in exploring how co-teach might shift practice at their site.
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