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FOCUS ON INCLUSION ACCELERATED LEARNING FOR ALL STUDENTS
Authors: Swanson J.D.; Finnan C.
Source: Reading and Writing Quarterly, Volume 19, Number 3, July-September 2003 , pp. 317-320(4)
Abstract:
Jamie is a bright fifth-grade student at Northpoint Elementary School. He has been diagnosed as having a learning disability that causes him to struggle with reading and writing. He works daily with a teacher certified in learning disabilities who "pushes in" to his class during the scheduled language arts segment of daily instruction and co-teaches with his language arts teacher. Jamie loves science, particularly anything to do with natural science. He has been a collector since the age of five and has a rock and mineral collection, a seashell collection, a small collection of fossils, and the beginning of an insect collection. His LD teacher has worked with Jamie since they discovered he had a learning disability in second grade, and she draws on his passion for science to build his skills in reading and writing. In their daily work together, they read nonfiction related to Jamie's collections. At this point, his writing development focuses on descriptive writing related to his reading. Jamie's mother and father have been pleased with his progress since second grade. His first-grade year was difficult because Jamie became frustrated and angry, was "acting out," was placed in the low reading group, and, in general, was miserable. His first-grade teacher blamed him for his difficult with reading and thought he was "lazy." At the end of first grade, Jamie's parents switched him to Northpoint because they had heard that Northpoint was a school that did not separate students by ability and used a consulting model in working inclusively with special needs students. They noticed the Northpoint students who lived in their neighborhood had a distinctively positive attitude about school and an excitement about learning not seen for quite some time with their son. Northpoint Elementary has a diverse student population: approximately 65% of the students are African American, 10% are Hispanic, and 25% are Caucasian. Seventy percent of the students receive free- or reduced-price lunch. One out of four students has special educational needs. When the school population began to change a few years ago, Northpoint's faculty and administration recognized that teaching differently was necessary if they were to provide a high level of education for their increasingly diverse student population. After investigating a number of options, they joined the Accelerated School Project, a school reform project conceived by Dr. Henry M. Levin that helps to create schools where all students are taught as if they were gifted. The faculty bought in to the idea that all students are able to learn at high levels, and the faculty has worked to develop their instruction so that learning for all students is accelerated. The special needs students in the school are all mainstreamed. The classroom teachers work regularly with the special education teachers using a consultation model and co-teaching. The teachers meet by team at least once per week to check special needs students' progress on their individualized education plans and strategize on how to build on students' strengths and interests to develop their skills and knowledge.Document Type: Research article
Affiliations: 1: College of Charleston, Charleston, South Carolina
Publication date: 2003-07-01
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