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Monday Message
10/1/2018 WLWV Student Services
...........................................LEADING FOR ALL............................................
Improving Instructional Practices, Creating Inclusive Cultures, Increasing Student Voice
Focusing on Equity
- A coherent instructional system
- On-going professional capacity building
- Strong parent-community-school ties
- A student-centered learning culture
- And shared leadership to drive change
These are the key elements needed to interrupt the system of racial disparity and injustice in schools. And, these are the same key elements needed to create schools that are inclusive in terms of learning differences.
Every example of a school that Dr. Noguero shared that had defied the odds in terms of outcomes for students of color, also had an inclusive approach to special education. We understand that, as we bring forward tools such as the 5Ds Instructional Framework, and the Inclusive and Equitable Classrooms Framework. The important questions that drive change resonate with us: How can we get our students excited about learning? How do we prepare our students to be independent learners? What will they need to know to be successful in life? How will I make what I teacher relevant and meaningful to students?
It is so encouraging to know that these are SHARED goals in our district, that inclusive and equitable schools are at the heart of our mission, and that we are truly leading for all.
Counselors Learning: Trauma-Informed Care & Our Frameworks
- Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) are common for school-aged children, and can children physically, in relationships, and in emotional regulation.
- The impact of ACEs can be greatly reduced by educators building relationships, providing consistency, and teaching skills
- Having a Trauma-Informed Mindset helps us to understand that how WE interact with a student and manage our our own emotions is very important
- Behaviors students exhibit serve a function for them, and the more we understand that function, the better we can support the child in finding other choices that will work for them
- The hand model of the brain (see below) can help students and educators understand the fight or flight response, and how things like Zones of Regulation, mindfulness, or other strategies can help us move back into the thinking part of our brain.
Our Counselors also cross-walked the best practices in Trauma Informed Care with the practices outlined in our Inclusive and Equitable Classrooms Framework, identifying that most practices are the same. These really helps us continue to understand why having relationships with strong expectations, effective physical spaces, rituals/routines, etc are such very high leverage practices for all teachers to invest in. The counselors then looked at these practices in comparison to Zaretta Hammond's Ready for Rigor Framework in Culturally Responsive Teaching and the brain, and found strong commonalities there too.
Persistence...
And Partnership...
Pays Off!
Don't Forget...For every new initial IEP or move-in, please provide the family with a WELCOME FOLDER and get Medicaid Consent!
Learning Specialists Cycles of Inquiry
We are excited to see what new learning comes from the Cycles of Inquiry this fall, with this more topic based exploration based on feedback from learning specialists last year.
Upcoming Events
- Tuesday, October 2, MOTOR TEAM, 7:30 am DO
- Monday, October 8, ADULT TRANSITION TEAM, 7:45 am Art Tech
- Monday, October 15, PARENT DISTRICT COLLABORATION GROUP, 5:00 pm DO
- Wednesday, October 17, SUICIDE PREVENTION WORKGROUP, 8:00 am DO
- EVAL TEAM (scheduled for Thursday 18...Can we move it to Wednesday 17th at 11?)
- Thursday, October 18, PROCEDURAL GUIDANCE ACADEMY, 4:00 pm DO
- Friday, October 19, SPEECH LANGUAGE PATHOLOGISTS, 7:30 am DO
- Friday, October 19, EARLY CHILDHOOD TEAM, 10:30 am Stafford Annex
- Friday, October 19, HEALTH TEAM, 2:45 pm DO
- Monday, October 22, YOUTH TRANSITION TEAM, 7:45 am DO
- Tuesday, October 23, INCLUSIVE CLASSROOMS WORKSHOP PLANNING, 4:00 pm DO
- Wednesday, October 24, SCHOOL COUNSELORS, 7:30 am DO
- Friday, October 26, INCLUSIVE SCHOOLS LEADERSHIP, 12:30 pm DO