Time for Change: Examining Data Relating to Student Performance and Implementing a Plan to Improve Student Outcomes Glenna Gallo Director of Special Education

Beliefs Regarding Utah’s Students with Disabilities

What do we want for Utah’s students? College and Career Ready Each student should have education and career goals that will prepare them to experience fulfilling lives, actively participate as educated citizens, and thrive in a particularly competitive and global marketplace.

What don’t we want for Utah’s students? Disengagement Leaving K-12 education unprepared for life, without: Academic proficiency Social skills Civic responsibility “Good enough” attitude Perpetuating inequities

How is that different for Utah’s students with disabilities?

Vision of Leadership State, LEA, School, and IEP Team Levels

Stakeholder Review and Feedback The usual stakeholders, who either pay for, provide, receive, participate in, or collaborate on IDEA services and issues, and/or provide expertise, plus… Special Education staff of other State Educational Agencies (SEAs) Other LEA staff, as invited by the Special Education Director (e.g., Superintendent, Asst. Superintendent, Directors, and Title I Directors) Utah Parent Teacher Association (PTA) Utah Assessment Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) Institutes of Higher Education (IHEs) teacher preparation, leadership, and math departments Broader stakeholder group needed as many of the identified improvement needs impact the greater educational and business community, not just students with disabilities. Stakeholders deferred providing input to other individuals perceived as having special knowledge and expertise regarding students with disabilities, rather than considering how the needs of all students align with and support the needs of students with disabilities who access Tier I Core instruction in addition to their specialized instruction. These behaviors unintentionally contributed to the current state of wide-spread separate and reduced expectations for students with disabilities in comparison with non-disabled peers in Utah, especially in regards to IEP team decisions concerning the supports needed for students with disabilities to access and progress in the grade-level state mathematics standards.

Utah Students with Disability Data

A Collective Responsibility The problem human beings face is not that we aim too high and fail, but that we aim too low and succeed. Michelangelo

Systems Change for Students with Disabilities Previous Silos Replace general education with special education Teams with specialties IEP content driven by special educator and parents Off-grade-level instruction and assessments Current Collaboration Tier 1 Instruction for all with additional tiered support, as needed PLCs and cross-disciplinary teams IEP content driven by informed team, based on data On-grade-level instruction and assessment

Complete document may be found at

What do we do WITH each other, instead of TO each other, to improve student outcomes? Educators Leadership Parents

Strategies & Lessons Learned

Strategy 1 : Align State-Level Improvement Plans and Efforts State Systemic Improvement Plans (SSIP) ESEA Flexibility Waiver Education Excellence (Equity) Plan Professional Learning Coaching Fiscal Preservice Preparation Identified: Root causes of current performance Areas of alignment across USOE personnel Repurposing USOE activities to comprehensively address all root causes, regardless of section Determine beliefs of Utah stakeholders regarding students with disabilities Common PD with support added from Special Education, Title I

Root Causes

Strategy 2 : Remind LEAs of Existing Professional Standards (Which Support Plans) Utah Educational Leadership Standards Utah Effective Teaching Standards Advocate for students Continuous evidence-based improvement Eliminate barriers to learning Every student learning/hold high expectations for students Recognize personal and professional biases Create appropriate and challenging learning experiences Know and uses the Core in planning and instruction Use data to determine educational impact and adjust instruction

In addition to being responsible for Utah Teaching Standards, special educators are also responsible for CEC Professional Standards Maintaining challenging expectations to develop the highest possible learning outcomes Exercising professional judgement to benefit students with disabilities Promoting meaningful inclusion Using evidence, data, research, and professional knowledge to inform practice/

Strategy 3 : Review, Discuss, and Act on the Data Extensive review of state data by subgroup and placement LEA data drills, examining state trends and LEA results by subgroup Ongoing follow-up and analysis of LEA data Include parents and families in the conversations and utilize parent meetings effectively Then: Make decisions that target the area of need Change processes and procedures as a result of the data and feedback Follow up, collect data, and ensure change impacted as

Have you ever heard this? “Students with disabilities spend the majority of the school day in the general education classroom.”

Environments – Ages 3-5

Access to General Education – By Grade

6-8 th Grade Math Proficiency Non- students with Disabilities SY 2014

6-8 th Grade Math Proficiency Students with Disabilities SY 2014

The Purpose of IDEA To ensure that all students with disabilities have available to them a free appropriate public education that emphasizes special education and related services designed to meet their unique needs and prepare them for further education, employment, and independent living. IEP & State/Alternate Standards Regular Diploma or Certificate of Completion College and Career Ready Strategy 4 : Consider the Interconnectedness of College and Career for All Students

Strategy 5 : Don’t Reinvent; Repurpose IEP Team PLC Student Support Team Teacher Assistance Team Leadership Team Parent/Teacher Team School Community Council School Improvement Plan LEA Improvement Plan Equity Plan State Systemic Improvement Plan

Lessons Learned When feeling overwhelmed or unknowledgeable, people revert back to what is know and comfortable. Who will carry the charge for change?

Time to Reflect? Do you, and your stakeholders, believe that each and every student can be ready for college and career? Are your policies and actions reflecting this belief? Have you considered how to leverage the interconnectedness of your stakeholder groups?