Changing the Outcome for Special Education Students

Baltimore has a 1-year policy for students with disabilities who have IEPs.  Long overdue, IEPs can be structured so that students with disabilities can achieve educational goals with much more rigor.  Most students can achieve a 1 year's growth with the exception of students with several cognitive disabilties.  This model should be taken to heart by other districts seeking more challenging services. Excellent read for our Title I students with students with disabilities in their groups. They can and they do!.

A Promising Academic Model for Students With Disabilities.  Candance Cortiella and Kalman R.Hettleman.  11.13.13.  Education Week.
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/11/13/12cortiella.h33.html?tkn=LLVFqFMXopNi8aAJhaFQAO89OT7J1vSCbSI1&cmp=ENL-CM-NEWS2

Realities of Adapting CC for Students With Disabilities

Here is another article explaining the difficulty that teachers of students with disabilities with Common Core standards.  Diane M. Browder, a professor of special education at the University of North Carolina and author of books on IEPs and common-core alignment,  offers PD to these teachers.  Margaret J. McLaughlin, a professor in the department of special education in the University of Maryland says that the time and the training to meet the standards in a way that students with special needs can handle.  Other experts offer their opinions. Well worth reading, especially for teachers of students with special needs.  We have some of those students in our Title I classes who have not been tested for a variety of reasons.

Common Core's Promise Collides With IEP Realities - Special education teachers struggle to make sure individualized education programs align with standards.  Christina A. Samuels.  10.30.13.  Education Week
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/10/30/10cc-iep.h33.html?cmp=ENL-EU-MOSTPOP

CC and the Elephant in the Room

What happens to special needs students when implementing common core in the classroom?  Educators are working to design lessons for students with disabilities, English learners, and gifted students.  The latter we don't have, of course, in Title I, but the premise is the same.  Stakes are high because all kinds of students must prove themselves scholastically with the new Common Core tests. Standards-based IEPs are tough to write as well as academic language uniques to each discipline.  These are daunting expectations for students with disabilities and students learning the language.   Challenges are immense; there is no easy answer.

A Common-Core Challenge:  Learners With Special Needs - Adapting the standards for students with disabilities, English-learners, and gifted students is no easy task.  Catherine Gewertz.  10.30.13. Education Week
http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/10/30/10cc-intro.h33.html