When It Comes to Improving Academics Hope is Not a Strategy
Did you know that 62% of students with disabilities spend 80% of their school day in general education classes (OSEP, 2015)? This doesnā€™t even take into consideration the at-risk students who didnā€™t qualify for services. They of course spend 100% of their day in general education.
How about the complete other side of the spectrum; your academically gifted students, or your twice exceptional students. They too are in those same classes.
So, my question for you is: How much professional development, feedback and training during the school year are you providing your general education teachers on how to effectively lead students who are disabled, at-risk and/or academically gifted?
Before you go questioning whether or not you should be leading the school realize that you are not alone here. The first two years I spent as a principal our school was great for 50% of our population, good for 35% and the other 15% we did our best with. Our strategy for the last 15% was more hope than str...
