For our course of EDU 509: WHOLE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT APPROACH: HOW CAN WE MAKE IT WORK? we visited a ngo school of Dhaka and did a qualitative research. We interviewed students and teachers as well as observed the classes and activities to finalize our report. The results were presented via this presentation.
For our course of EDU 509: WHOLE SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT APPROACH: HOW CAN WE MAKE IT WORK? we visited a ngo school of Dhaka and did a qualitative research. We interviewed students and teachers as well as observed the classes and activities to finalize our report. The results were presented via this presentation.
“It is during the middle grades that students either launch toward achievement and attainment, or slide off track toward a direction of frustration, failure, and ultimately early exit from the only secure path to adult success.” (Balfanz, R. 2007)
Schools that pay attention to transition and have an intentional transition plan see more success in increasing achievement and reducing retentions. Having an effective transition program contributes to developing a positive learning environment. Both sending and receiving schools need to work collaboratively with each other, and with families to provide ongoing support for students as they experience the transition to the middle grades.
2.1 Placement of Students in Special EducationAs discussed in Ch.docxfelicidaddinwoodie
2.1 Placement of Students in Special Education
As discussed in Chapter 1, public schools must provide special education services to students in what the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team determines to be the least restrictive environment (LRE) based on student progress each year. For most students with disabilities, this means receiving instruction in the general education classroom, a practice often referred to as inclusion.
The IEP team has a variety of placement options, and the team makes decisions about placement based on the individual student, not based on the student's disability. The team considers the student's strengths and needs and places the student in the settings that can provide the best possible instruction. (See Figure 2.2).
The team may decide to place the student in his or her local public school, where the setting might be a general classroom, resource classroom, or self-contained classroom. Some students are placed outside the local school, in a separate school, residential facility, private school, correctional facility, or home or hospital.
Figure 2.2: Placement Options of Special Education Students
A student's IEP team can choose from many placement options. The team, however, must always try to place the student in the least restrictive environment (LRE)
The Concept of Inclusion
IDEA 2004 mandates that unless the IEP team decides that another placement would be more appropriate, students with disabilities should receive their education in the same school they would attend if they did not have a disability. The student's educational program should be as similar to the educational program of students without disabilities as is reasonable.
In an inclusion setting, students with disabilities are instructed alongside peers without disabilities for some or all of the school day. In some classrooms, a general education and special education teacher teach together (i.e., they are co-teaching). In other classrooms, a special education teacher may "push in" at various points during the school day to help provide instruction with the general education teacher. This is often referred to as a push-in arrangement. Another option is to "pull out" the student with a disability to provide instruction in a resource setting. This is referred to as a pull-out model.
Whether the school uses co-teaching, push-in, or pull-out models, all require strong communication and collaboration between the general education and special education teachers, as well as with any other teachers for the student. Constant progress monitoring toward meeting the student's IEP goals is also required.
Inclusion can provide valuable opportunities for students to access and benefit from being in a general education environment (Florian, 2010). However, this arrangement is not appropriate for all students with disabilities. Some students who would benefit from small group instruction and intensive support may need to receive instruction outside the g ...
Occupational Outlook: High School TeachersHub.Careers
Considering a career as a high school teacher? These professionals educate adolescent students, teaching them the skills and knowledge they need for higher education or the job market. This guide provides all the necessary information and resources to get started. Find out everything you need to know about this occupation, including qualifications, pay and standard duties.
Discipline of students with disabilities -2 fundamentals, 3 special rules, an...David Garner
Got a student with disabilities who is in hot water? Avoid getting in hot water yourself by knowing the ins and outs of discipline under the IDEA—and how it differs from the standard procedures applied to students without disabilities. In this presentation, Dave Garner breaks down the nuances of discipline under the IDEA, and provides practical guidance on issues such as: Can a student with disabilities be expelled? Does a suspension constitute a change in placement? What if the misconduct is a direct manifestation of the student’s disability? What if the student claims to be disabled, but only after being “caught”? What are my options if the student presents a risk of danger to him/herself or others but has not yet acted out? Going beyond a mere summary of the IDEA regulations, Dave separates out "two fundamentals" that every busy administrator/practitioner should know by heart, and then dives into the "three special rules" of sped discipline, and helps practitioners in the trenches raise a red flag when a stickier issue requires closer attention.
Technology can be the great equalizer in a classroom with diverse learners. Whereas teachers can find it difficult to differentiate instruction for 30+ students in one class, all with different needs and abilities, “assistive technology” (devices and software to assist students with disabilities) can often help teachers personalize lessons and skills enhancement to each child. Children with learning disabilities often have better technology skills than their teachers and are drawn to computers and other gadgets, so using them in the classroom makes perfect sense. For children with physical disabilities, technology can give access to learning opportunities previously closed to them. E-readers help students turn book pages without applying dexterity, and voice adaptive software can help students answer questions without needing to write. Computers are engaging and more advanced than the typical modified lesson allows. The widely-used teacher education textbook Educating Exceptional Children has a special section in each chapter focused on assistive technology explaining how it is used with exceptionalities ranging from giftedness to autism.
Multi agency statutory_guidance_on_fgm__-_finalJulia Skinner
The issue of FGM is one that many of our schools has to deal with. This guidance from a multi-agency group sets out the key areas to consider and suggestions for supporting staff and pupils.
Phase 2 informal consultation Trading with Schools
Guidance on authorised absence in schools october 2014
1. Guidance on authorised absence in schools (October 2014)
Guidance on authorised absence in schools
There is some debate about what ‘exceptional circumstances’ means when deciding whether to grant absence for students during term time. We believe it is valuable to have some guiding principles to back schools in their decisions and provide consistency. This guidance has no statutory authority and is not imposed upon schools.
1. The decision to authorise absence is at the head teacher’s discretion based on their assessment of the situation. Circumstances vary from school to school and so there can be no absolute rules on this subject.
2. Term times are for education. This is the priority. Children and families have 175 days off school to spend time together, including weekends and school holidays. Heads will rightly prioritise attendance. The default school policy should be that absences will not be granted during term time and will only be authorised in exceptional circumstances.
3. If an event can reasonably be scheduled outside of term time then it would not be normal to authorise absence.
4. Absence during term time for holidays/vacations is therefore not considered an exceptional circumstance.
5. Absences to visit family members are also not normally granted during term time if they could be scheduled for holiday periods or outside school hours. Children may however need time to visit seriously ill relatives.
6. Absence for a bereavement of a close family member is usually considered an exceptional circumstance but for the funeral service only, not extended leave.
7. Absences for important religious observances are often taken into account but only for the ceremony and travelling time, not extended leave. This is intended for one off situations rather than regular or recurring events.
8. Schools may wish to take the needs of the families of service personnel into account if they are returning from long operational tours that prevent contact during scheduled holiday time.
9. Schools have a duty to make reasonable adjustments for students with special educational needs or disabilities.
10. Families may need time together to recover from trauma or crisis.
2. Guidance on authorised absence in schools (October 2014)
11. It is acceptable to take a student’s previous record of attendance into account when making decisions.
12. It is important to note that head teachers can determine the length of the authorised absence as well as whether absence is authorised at all.
Any examples provided are illustrative rather than exhaustive. The fundamental principles for defining ‘exceptional’ are rare, significant, unavoidable and short. And by 'unavoidable' we mean an event that could not reasonably be scheduled at another time.
Background
The education (pupil registration) (England) (amendment) regulations 2013, which came into force on 1 September 2013, removed references to family holidays and extended leave as well as the notional threshold of ten school days. The amendments made clear that head teachers may not grant any leave of absence during term time unless ‘exceptional circumstances’ exist. The regulations also stated that head teachers should determine the number of school days a child can be away from school if leave is granted for ‘exceptional circumstances’.
The DfE advice on school attendance (November 2013) should also be considered and read in conjunction with the 2013 regulations.
We believe the guidelines in this document to be compatible with the above policy. They clarify the definition of external circumstances; they do not change it.
Ofsted have confirmed that their focus is on whether recurrent absence is being addressed; only if there is an issue with this will they look more deeply into why the school has authorised absence. Concern about inspection should not govern schools’ decisions in this area. Head teachers are under pressure to meet overall absence thresholds however.
Variations to term time
Where schools serve communities whose patterns of work create a regular barrier to attendance and family life schools could consider changes to term times. Where this involves changes to compulsory terms, we strongly recommend this is co-ordinated across schools and local authorities in an area.
Some schools have adopted flexible term patterns, with the same overall number of days of study but some discretion to families under certain conditions.
