Blog Post #5 - Early Intervention. What Services Hold Promise? - Dr MKDove

Blog Post #5: Early Intervention.  What Services Hold Promise? 

Early intervention represents a consortium of services, not just educational assistance but also physical health care, mental health care, social services, family supports, and other benefits (speech therapy, occupational therapy, etc).  The aim of early intervention is to affect positively the overall development of the student-his or her social, emotional, physical, and intellectual well-being.  Many experts believe that incorporating a "whole child" approach is necessary because all of these elements are interrelated and dependent on one another.  Given your respective professional backgrounds and experiences, what specific early intervention services to you believe hold promise for both young children, elementary children, middle school students, as well as high school adolescents?

Understand that the term early intervention is not simply applied to young children – but any students –elementary children, middle school students – or high school adolescents that are in need of intervention.

Participate:  SPED 6900 Blog first entry on or before Wednesday, 11/13/13 – 5 P.M. [EST] and make two additional entries to other candidates on or before Friday, 11/15/13 - 5 P.M. [EST].

Make sure for your Module 6 response to the Discussion Board/SPED 6900 Blog that you connect your initial post to course readings, course materials, and professional and/or field experiences.  Rubric is posted on the SPED 6900 Wiki Navigation Bar - Rubrics.  

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Blog #4 by Courtney Cruz

            Disproportionate representation in special education was a new topic for me.  I was intrigued by the topic in this module.  After learning what disproportionate representation was, I thought to myself “being a minority cannot be the reason so many of these students are placed into special education”.  Obviously, what I read in chapter 5 in Education For All, was much different from what I thought.  Many of the points the authors made really struck home with me. 

            Due to being so intrigued by this topic, I thought I would further my research.  I read an article from the Harvard Graduate School of Education about this debate on disproportionate representation in special education.  According to the Civil Rights Project at Harvard University they “believe(s) that special education programs need to be reassessed by researchers, policy makers, advocates, and educators in terms of the positive and negative implications for minority students. In commissioning this new research and bringing it to the attention of policy makers on the federal level, the Civil Rights Project hopes to contribute sound research to the current debates surrounding education reform and federal oversight.” (http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news_events/features/2001/speced03022001.html).  Their findings “offer(s) new understanding and insights about how regular and special education together must be improved to better serve all children in this country”.

            Where does our attention need to be focused?  I would say one of the first steps is in our undergrad education programs.  Throughout my own experience in urban settings, I couldn't  agree more with the statement. “schools with higher concentrations of low-income, minority children are more likely to have teachers who are less experienced and less well trained” (p.142).  Teachers need to have more experience in classrooms instead of in books.  I was very privileged to have a variety of teaching experiences in a variety of settings.  And no, I am not referring to observations.  We are great at observing and critiquing what teachers do, but it seems that some education programs wait until student teaching to have education students truly experience the teaching field. 

            I also think that if we are going to have inclusive classrooms in our schools then our education programs need to have inclusive education.  It seems that once we hit college courses in education, everything is segregated.  We isolate early, middle, and high school educators from the special educators, and then we wonder why teachers aren't prepared to teach in inclusive classrooms or work with ELN students.  Special education is no longer its own domain.  Identifying ELN students is a huge part of the general educator’s responsibility now.  Of course, the special ed. educators have to write the IEPs and complete the evaluations, but it’s imperative for the general educator to have a clear understanding of the process.  This can’t happen with just one class or by reading one book.  General educators need to be able to follow the framework in implementing culturally responsive practices and the 3 tiers of response to intervention models (RTI) as explained on pages 148 and 149 of Education For All, before they recommend a student for special education. 

            In our undergrad education programs I would love to see more guest speakers from the special education department, from parents of all races and ethnicities, and from experienced teachers (all races and genders).  Discussions amongst those who have “been there” would allow for more openness and could help upcoming teachers get a “true” understanding of the field.  Let’s teach teachers in training how to network so that when they get out into field they aren't afraid to tell someone they don’t know what they are doing or throw their hands up and give up.  I really feel that this would benefit the teachers in training to have a broader perspective on education and perhaps, enter the field more able to adapt to their surroundings.  

Disproportionate Representation - Blog Post #4 - Ray Marks

Disproportionate Representation in Special Education. What Are Some Promising Solutions?

In an earlier module, I reviewed an article in Education Week, in which the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled against an African American student's claim for redress under IDEA. The student had claimed, and the court had found, that she had been placed erroneously in the special education system. I mention this, not to dispute the Court's findings, but to highlight the fact that minorities are still over-represented in special education classes, despite our best efforts.

Our country has what I would call a strange dichotomy regarding race: on one hand, our cultural diversity is regarded as a strength, we accept immigrants from all nations and backgrounds, incorporating facets of their culture into our own. On the other, racial tensions are still palpable - on a given day, I will be exposed to implicit and explicit racism from many different sources, including, and I hate to say it, my own family.

According to Rueda, Klingner, Sager, and Velasco(p. 132), race is at the heart of the conversation regarding over-representation in special education. They quote "For over fifty years, Americans have fought for equal rights within both general and special education." (Bullivant, 1993). This is not hyperbole. Since before Brown v. Topeka Board of Education, people of color have done what they could to provide their children with the best opportunities they could, including in education. When the Supreme Court declared 'separate but equal' to be not so, education opportunities were expanded, at least on paper. As with any new law or ruling that upsets the status quo, there was resistance, sometimes violent. Because African American students did not have all the opportunities afforded white students, many students of color were not performing to the levels of ehite students and were relegated to special classrooms, which was a way to continue segregation, yet keep up appearances.

We can still see this kind of institutional racism in play to this day. Students of color, especially those in urban environments, tend to come from the lower socioeconomic strata. At Mooney, many of our African American students, for example, live right around the school, which is in a declining neighborhood, in a city hard hit by the current recession. Twenty percent of our students receive free or reduced lunch. In many cases, these students don't always get the support they need at home, either academically or behaviorally, and this comes out in school as academic issues or behavior problems, which can be "fixed" by placing that student in the special program, keeping them from disrupting the classroom.  But this seriously curtails any prospects the student of color might have to enroll in higher level elective courses, all because that student was pigeonholed as a "special needs" student, often with little empirical evidence.

So, how can this issue be truly fixed? We cannot merely mandate that racism be over - it doesn't work like that. We need to be aware of how a students social or cultural upbringing influences the choices they make in the classroom, and apply best practices to the challenges these students face and work with them to help them succeed. We also need to find ways to ensure that parents (and/or guardians) are involved and informed as to teacher's concerns about the student, and to build trust between the student, their family, and the school district. Teachers must also be provided the opportunity for Professional Development in order to be better prepared for the challenges presented in the classroom as we continually strive to best serve our students.

Catherine Valantasis Blog Post 4

     It is hard to believe that in the twenty-first century, we have to worry about racism affecting the education of children in our schools. It is sad to see children who are perfectly typical being forced into special education when, in reality, they should be in the general education classroom. According to our textbook, Education For All, there are a few factors that contribute to the problem of Disproportionate Representation.

     The first factor mentioned to contribute to this problem was the effect of poverty. Our textbook talks about how children who live in poverty are exposed to harmful toxins in the early stages of development and do not have access to nutritious foods. Children who come from low income homes do not have the opportunity to adequately grow in the areas of cognitive and emotional development. Our textbook also mentioned that families of color are more susceptible to these issues. This automatically puts  children of different minorities at a disadvantage when starting to school. Due to this problem, children who come from low income homes will fall behind their peers.

     The second factor that was mentioned was the different school factors that influence a child's education. Our textbook stated that when there is a large group of low-income, minority children in one school, that there are teachers who have less experience and not well-trained. Schools with this issue are less likely to offer advanced placement classes; therefore, this leaves the students at a disadvantage.

     The third factor surrounds the issue of bias in the referral and assessment process. Since teachers are the ones who make referrals, their bias against a certain race or culture may influence where they recommend a student should be placed.

     I think it is important for teachers not to label children from the start. As special educators, we say that you view the child as a child first, not the disability. It should be the same with race, color, or ethnicity. Educators should always remember that they are going to be a major part of a child's life and what they learn. Even though we only have these children in our care for eight hours a day, we still leave a huge mark on them, whether we realize it or not.

     One strategy that I think works well is Response-to-Intervention (RTI). I really think that this model works well because it gives the child the opportunity to participate in the general education classroom to see how he/she does. The second tier of RTI involves a more intense intervention for children to did not make adequate progress in the first tier. The third tier of RTI often involves a recommendation to special education. Children are only moved to the third tier when they have not made enough progress in the second tier. The fact that this model does not require a child to be labeled right away helps reduce any chance of a child being placed in special education when it is not the appropriate placement.

Disproportianate Representation by Karen Pavlansky

     The primary goal of special education programs is to offer students with disabilities a fair chance to receive an effective educational experience and an opportunity to achieve, as other “mainstream” students, regardless of race, ethnicity or cultural diversity. 

    Overrepresentation/disproportionate representation of racial and ethnic minorities and culturally and linguistic students in special education is a highly debated issue and what we are ultimately trying to resolve. 

    Historically racism (seeded in early American history and culture) targeted; African Americans, white ethnic immigrants, Chicano/Latinos, American Indians, and Asian Americans.  White America excluded these minorities from formal education and went as far as sterilizing, incarcerating, and euthanizing these minorities.  Unbelievable!  These practices limited educational access, equity and social mobility for all students (disabled or not).

     Placing students with disabilities in the general education classroom is a goal for optimizing their education outcomes.  This creates a non-restrictive environment and gives access to the same expectations and curriculum as mainstream students without outcast labels.  This challenges general education teachers to be responsible for evaluating and deciding which students need special attention or assessments, especially at the K-3, early childhood level.  The solutions are the Response to Intervention (RTI) and Culturally Responsive Instruction (CRI) or teaching, in response to intervention.  My personal opinion, is if implemented properly, it is a solution for alleviating some of the issues of placement that are happening in schools today.

     Let me introduce you to Student X. When I first met her at the start of this school year 2013-14, her parents were expressing great concerns with her behavior, lack of academic and social skills.  Student X had issues of biting, physical aggressiveness, defiance with adults and combativeness with everyone. The parents shared that she hadn’t been in pre-school for the past ten months.  She was in the process of being tested at the T-Cap preschool where she was attending, but they moved and she was placed on a waiting list but never got in.   She scored a 3 out of 27 on the Kindergarten Readiness Assessment of Learning (KRA-L).  Her speech and language skills were often babbling, difficult in understanding and unrelated to the conversation.  Student X would fight with the other students.  She was defiant with all of the adults she came in contact with during the day.  She would yell and scream “No” when ask to do anything.  The assistant Principal nicknamed her the “She Devil”.  Her special (gym, art, music, computers) teachers would come to me, complaining about her behavior and asking what was wrong with her.  I was having concerns that there might be a serious problem and possible disability.  I started RTI almost immediately.  I met with the building IAT coach.  Intervention Central became my favorite website.  Little progress was being made, while more complaints were being made.  The parents, Step-Dad and Mom met with the principal requesting to have Student X tested.  Even the school nurse came to me when she couldn’t complete the hearing and vision screening because of communication skills.  About five weeks into school, (our regular routines and procedures had been established) I stated to notice positive changes in her behaviors.  She would sit and listen during story time.  She started responding to questions related to activities we were engaged in.  She enjoyed having jobs and responsibilities.  I was able to use that to help motivate her to complete little tasks.  I had a scheduled meeting with the IAT coach to begin paperwork for testing.  While reviewing the contextual factors of this child, our thoughts turned towards contextual factors that might be the “cause” of some of the behaviors and skill deficits.  Student X comes from a low-income family.  Mom works at a convenient store and step-dad, who acknowledged has a learning disability, struggled throughout school.  He didn’t want Student X to endure the same, is the primary care taker and unemployed.  She hadn’t been in a social setting for almost a year.  With no siblings and when ask how their time was spent, “we watch tv” was the response.  This child hadn’t experienced any of the normal developing social activities, let alone any academics.  The RTI would now take a different focus with more emphasis on socialization and proper communication.  Having the assistance of an IAT professional made a huge difference for the teacher and the student.  RTI requires a lot of creative planning and research but is extremely effective.  Seven weeks into school, there have been huge improvements with this child.  She is receiving Title I and speech services. She is starting to make friends and participating more in academic activities.  She has only said “no” once in the past few days.  RTI and collaboration with staff is working for this child. 

     Implementing the ideas of RTI and CRI programs is a “best practice” and IDEA solution for disproportionate representation, inappropriate placement and misclassification of minority students.  It works, but takes work.   Communication between administrators, the special education department and general educators is the key.  Together, the conflict of the “who, what, when and how” can be achieved. 

      Why isn’t it being achieved?  There are many limitations and concerns pointed out in our text book and readings, but here are some of the issues that I have encountered.   The administrators faced with budget issues, per student dollars, and state/federal funding limitations pressure the special education department to conserve costs while the sped in turn point to general educators not doing enough to properly implement practices to best serve the students diverse needs.  The General educators in turn are feeling inadequately served and prepared because of the lack of information and preparation by the special education department.  All entities are blaming each other for failure to carry out valid plans and solutions such as RTI and CRI.  Instead of getting things done and collaborating to service these students they point fingers and try and blame someone else. The bottom line is it only hurts the students.

Sandra Zeman-Blog Post 4

The concept of disproportionality of minorities being represented in special education was not something that was discussed or even touched upon when I was going through undergraduate school.  I was not aware of this issue or even what it was until I was in the field.  I recently took two undergraduate special education courses and it was discussed in detail.  I am glad that it is becoming more common knowledge for educators.  I work in a urban school district that is extremely diverse.  This is not an issue that has really been addressed or argued over.  We have such a wide range of learners that I feel that we are able to see past their ethnic or racial backgrounds and see them all as learners.

One great way to help alleviate this problem is the RTI model.  This gives educators certain tiers that they have to follow when providing interventions to students.  It also is data driven so teachers are accountable for their decisions and can't move forward with the referral process before having adequate evidence of a true problem.

The one area where I feel that there is a struggle even in my diverse community is ESL learners.  They are often mistaken as having a learning problem rather than a language barrier.  Even when an educator sees that it a language barrier, they are not sure what to do to better assist the child and feel that they may be better served in a self contained classroom where they move at a slower pace.  It has even been suggested that they have ESL units where there are only students that have English as a second language enrolled in them.  This totally goes against the research that shows that immersing these students in the general classroom being surrounded by English speaking students is best practice.

I feel that a solution to this problem is to provide ample Professional Development to educators which gives them strategies to use in order to help these learners.  There is an ESL coordinator which works for the district and also provided ESL services to students.  She offered a workshop to teachers which focused on teaching them how to translate worksheets, tests and Power Points into other languages.   Our book discussed "Diana V. California Board of Education" on page 137.  It is now so easy to translate documents to other languages, there is no reason why students should be dealing with this issue.  She also talked about the benefits of giving these students a buddy that they may sit by that is fluent in both English and their native language.  These were some easy and helpful tips to help students better succeed that may be perfectly capable of learning but may be struggling with the language being used in the classroom.

Disproportionate Representation in Special Education- blog 4- Jim IHnat

   Having worked in urban school districts my entire career, I haven't noticed this problem.  Having attended Poland High School, our school was entirely white, so again no problem.  The only time I can really think of as seeing this in action was when I taught in Florida in the West Palm Beach School District.  My class was very diverse.  I had students that came from foreign countries.  I had one student that was Spanish, her family were migrant workers, traveling for work.  This particular student spoke very little, if no English.  obviously I couldn't help her seeing I speak no Spanish. She was placed into Special Education, but I can't remember if it was for an actual learning disability or because she couldn't communicate with me and other teachers.
   Since I spent my career teaching in Youngstown, and even where I work with my client in Farrell, I have taught predominantly black students.  I wasn't nervous about trying to connect with them, I grew up in Campbell, still spend some of my time there, attended Poland High School, went to YSU, taught in Florida and Youngstown.  To say the least, I did not lead a sheltered life.  I even hung out with a guy that was in the Crips, he was a nice guy even though you hear nothing good about gang members.  The problem I had, was connecting to their language and slang. I had to have them explain words to me very often, needless to say, I know about a half dozen terms for "making fun of".  because of my surroundings, I never noticed that only the black students were being pulled for special education because that's what the majority of the population was.
   I suppose that, yes, Disproportionate Representation could be a major factor if you taught at Canfield or Poland that is predominately white and the students who were being pulled or placed in Special Education were only the black ones because the teachers didn't want them in the classroom.  However, If you taught in Youngstown and black students were being pulled for Special Education, is there Disproportionate Representation going on for minorities? 
   Having diversity in the classroom makes for a great learning environment and one could pull from a wealth of experiences while teaching.  I think the only way to combat Disproportionate Representation is to allow minority students into the classroom with open arms. Forcing teachers to accept the fact that they can't only have the "good" white kids.  Our country was and still is a melting pot of cultures and people.  We are in a profession that has to service them all

Blog Post #4: Disproportionate Representation in Special Education by Danielle Hackett

The phrase “Disproportionate Representation in Special Education” is one I never heard of before.  The best way to describe it is the over- or under representation in special education of students who are a minority.  These minorities mainly have racial and ethnic backgrounds, but can also include those from lower income families or have limited English proficiency and other minority populations.  In some cases it has been found to be another form of segregation.  If a minority is in a predominately white school, there may be situations where it is assumed they need special education and placed in that setting rather than receiving their education in the same manner as the white students.  However, they truly don’t need special education; they just need educators that are attuned to the complexities of diversity in America today.  

In Chapter 5 of our text Education for All, the author says, “The design, content, and assumptions on which American schooling are based continue to validate the goals of white Americans, sometimes at a cost to students of color.”  I feel this statement can be applied across the board to all minorities in this country.  I don’t believe the curriculum should be changed to accommodate diversity, but I feel the educators themselves need better training in and an understanding of what diversity is and how to effectively instruct and relate to the minorities in their schools.

In the schools I have been in I have not noticed any inequalities relating to students in the special education programs.  However, I am absolutely sure it happens in schools in this area and may even be higher in predominately white, higher income population schools.  So what should be done?  If there are special education classes with the majority of students being a minority, the program and placement in that program should be evaluated.  Also, with our country become more diverse as each day passes, there needs to be diversity training for teachers.  This training should be mandated and paid for by the federal government as the diversity in this country is because we are the land of opportunity and is why immigration is accepted and allowed.  I believe diversity is a wonderful thing and is a strength for students in the classroom and would welcome and appreciate training in that area.

Searching for answers

Having a career in an urban district that is comprised of students of different racial and socioeconomic backgrounds meant that I was not the least bit surprised by what I was reading and viewing in this module of study.  I began to question the solutions presented as a way to address the problem.  In our text the Office of Civil Rights along with the Department of Education stated they have been concerned with this problem since 1965.  The problem is real but the solution may not be that easy.

RTI or Response to Intervention has become a means for addressing the problem.  The system relies on a number of factors aligning in order to be effective.  This is where as a professional I have seen the break down first hand.  The first step is solid classroom instruction.  The classroom teacher is responsible for differentiating within apply interventions and tracking their success.  I am not sure that all teachers are able to do this effectively.  The process is time consuming and requires that you do not teach whole group, that you have met each student where they are.  Last year teaching 4th grade I had a class where almost all of my students read below grade level.  I ran 5 reading groups, 4 spelling groups, 5 math group, and differentiated for science and social studies because I had inclusion students as well.  The time I spent naming, assessing, analyzing, and working was not measurable.  I had students that waited months to be discussed at an SST (Student Support Team) meeting.  The need in our school was just that great that it took years for students to have real action taken.

Additional support for students in the Tiers has been an issue in every school I have worked in.  Often times an administrator is telling a classroom teacher that they need to supply the addition 30 minutes of reading instruction to students, which is not possible because it is to come in addition to their regular reading instruction.  We have tried to add instruction time without adding time to the school day.  The steps to this process seem to be modeled for what a district can provide and what they can pat for and that is not the intention of RTI.  When changes are made to the process results will be compromised as well.

I feel like my role as a Literacy Coach has brought me also to the role of teacher advocate.  I worked with so many educators who wanted training, and knew they needed it.  They felt like they were not doing enough for their students.  They felt uneducated and ill prepared for all the demands and mandates.  I wish that I had more answers.  Moving to the state of TN where they are just beginning the RTI process I seem the same issues occurring again.  Highly trained teachers, skilled professionals, solid professional development systems are discussed when talking about RTI, but I feel that this conversation needs to be expanded and not just mentioned.  What do these programs look and feel like for teachers.  Sitting in a day of professional development may not be the answer.  In the end I think a number of issues falls back to funding of education.  The resources and staff needed often just are not in a district's budget.  Here is where I find the business of education does not meet the needs of the clients.

John Bacak-Disproportionate Representation

Growing up in a smaller town that is predominantly white, I never noticed racial or ethnic disproportion in the classroom. While growing up, I never paid attention or even knew what special education was or who was considered to be “special”. The only thing I ever noticed was some specific students would leave class with another teacher during testing, but they were always there during the other classes with the regular general education teacher. I was always exposed to being around mostly white students and very few African-American students, Latino, or someone of Asian descent. So when students were segregated for whatever reasons it never dawned on me why.

 After working in the schools I attended I noticed that there have been some changes but not many. The overall demographics of the school system are mostly Caucasian with less than 5% including minorities (African-American, Latino, Asian, etc.) Now being an educator and continuing my education at a higher level, I have noticed some reasoning and traits for special education in the school system. For starters, because the school is overly represented by Caucasians, most of the students in special education is exactly that. The reasons range from having serious health problems, emotional behavior problems, mobility problems, to just having a specific learning disability. What I have noticed as well is that some of the students who are considered to have a learning disability are more towards the minority side, are learning in an inclusion setting, and sometimes are isolated or labeled as “trouble makers” or “uncooperative”.

 I think when it comes to placement, you have to start with finding out the strengths of the child. For example, if a child is labeled as having speech impairment we must first figure out if English is the child’s first language. Some teachers want to label the child as having a disability because he is unable to work in a classroom where Spanish or Chinese or whatever their first language is. If you present work into their native language and they are able to complete the work, why does the child have a disability? Sure he they might understand English just yet, but if they are trying to learn it why isolate or label them?

 When I attended the University of Akron, I took a course entitled Multicultural Foundations in Education. The class did not discuss much of students with disabilities, but rather different cultures in education and what was the norm for in different school systems, other countries education systems, comparing them to American school systems, and how can American school systems accommodate foreign born or students with different races and backgrounds. It was interesting to discuss with students, half from different parts of the country, their schooling and their practices. One topic that came to mind was how to communicate and relate material to students who are not Caucasian or American in the classroom. Teachers must take into consideration all aspects of a child’s life and background. All students can learn the material if it presented in a way to where all students can understand it. Creating a universal design for learning can be a critical to reaching all students.

Disproportionate Representation By Nicole Yozwiak

  SPED Blog Post #4:  Disproportionate Representation in Special Education.  What Are Some Promising Solutions? 

By: Nicole Yozwiak

 

      When reading our book, I came across the definition of over representation which refers to the unequal; proportions of culturally diverse students in special education programs.  When you continue reading it states that the reference to the representation of comparison groups is mostly to white students.  I feel like this kind of judgment is incorrect in the United States today because the society is becoming more and more diverse and there are more experiences with different cultures within the classrooms.  Also, I think that teachers should have more training on how to enrich their classroom with culturally diversity.  With having these students, it can provide a learning experience for all children, if they are placed correctly and the student and teacher can work together. 

            It is important for teacher to understand how they can implement cultural into their teaching and the students learning.  One way in which our book talked about was the three types of practices that provide a framework for implementing culturally responsive instructional practices.  The three frameworks include accommodations, adaptations, and incorporation. The teachers should learn how to accommodate the material presented in class to the students cultural norms and communication styles.  This would be important because if a child cannot relate it to their own life, they are not going to be motivate to learn the material especially if it is difficult for them to begin with.  Next, the adaptation is for the families to help their children learn the new community and gain new experiences through their social, linguistic, and cultural experiences.  Finally, incorporation means that the teachers not only understand the diverse cultures but also acknowledge the certain community practices that are given by different ethnic groups.  

            From some past experience, while working in Lexington, Kentucky at a speech clinic, I remember doing an evaluation for a language delay.  The school sent the child to our facility to do an assessment on this child’s language development.  The only problem was that English was his second language and in order to do a proper assessment, the child had to be given the test in his first language, Spanish.  The problem with this situation was that our facility could only administrate the assessment in English.  Therefore, I feel like the schools should have been aware of this and should have sent him to a facility that could have given the Spanish assessment.   Even though the child may seem like they have a language delay since the class in taught in their second language, does not actually mean that they need special accommodations.  This case can be related to the Diana vs. California State board of Education that was discussed in our book, “Education for All: Critical Issues in the Education of Children and Youth with Disabilities.

            Another solution is what the Athens local school district did in Athens, Ohio.  While volunteering in the elementary schools during my undergrad, I noticed that they had a classroom which consisted of all sorts of ethnic groups and none of the children in that specific classroom had English as their first language.  I feel like this would enhance the children learning abilities within the classroom, because the teacher would be more willing to assist the children in not only learning the academics, but also learning English.  Even though these children may be getting special accommodations, it is specific to their ability and they are not being placed in the special education classrooms or being diagnosed or mislead to having a disability.   

DISPROPORTIONATE REPRESENTATION IN SPECIAL EDUCATION-WHAT ARE SOME PROMISING SOLUTION?

 

Growing up in a middle income, bedroom community this was a concept I was completely unaware of in education. I can honestly say in my observations it has been the exact opposite, I believe many children especially ones with behavioral and emotional disorders are pushed through the system of general education.  It is much easier to label a student as disobedient than to deal with the real issues.

I believe there is a fine line and the community expects educators to be the cure all.  I have spent most of my life in special education as a care giver or spectator.  I have seen many children that function socially, physically and in the streets much better than typical children.  This is a product of their environment; they are left to take of themselves, even though they have "a disability".  Therefore, when these children are placed in the special education environment they expose lower functioning children to inappropriate behaviors. As a result of the things that I have observed the continual question in my head is "who should be responsible"?  I can never seem to find the answer but from what I have read, it seems to be the educational system!  How about let’s start with the family, then maybe the extended family and then the community.  My argument is that it can be easy to misrepresent a child.  The system is skewed, the responsibility should not completely fall on the educational system-but it does.

That being said I believe that the best solution is early intervention. The county Head Start and Find a Child programs are two that I am currently aware of.  They have great intentions but economic support is less the adequate for effective results. In major cities where the student to teacher ratio is overwhelming I can easily see how easily a child can be misplaced.  So another solution would be to invest more in our education systems where socioeconomic-status is low. It is easy say and I believe funding is always an issue.  I have never understood why people have children and do not want them to have the "best education" available. I believe when a school levy is up for vote, they should remind the community that these are the children who will be taking care of us when we are old.  There has to be a way to get the community to see how investing in their local education system, will directly influence their livelihood.  The system works both ways best possible education, needs to be a priority which means FUNDING needs to be a priority.  

 

Another issue addressed was racism, which is very hard for me to see in today society.  In my profession I deal with a huge eastern European population, many of the older people speak very little English.  I can easily see how it would be to confuse communication and culture with disability, but again who's responsible?  The United States is still truly a melting pot and in some areas it such as Washington D.C. there is every imaginable ethnicity, I wonder how or if special education suffers with disproportionate representation there? Communication and cultural differences must be a nightmare for educators.  Let us also address the Deaf community, for years they suffered at the hand of discrimination, the result they developed a voice. Again, communication is a huge factor that needed address.  In my family, I have two nephews that where adopted; one from Guatemala and the other from Puerto Rico, my brother has Down's syndrome and my nephew (who lives in Washington D.C.) is autistic.  All of them are educated in the best case scenario.  Racism I cannot see, communication and parent-teacher collaboration would seem to be more of the concern. 

In the end, I believe that first making the parents just as responsible as the teachers is necessary.  Also early intervention, communication/cultural education   (accommodation/incorporation/adaptation) and making our educational system a priority; funding, funding, funding, is the most efficient way to deal with disproportionate representation in special education.

Disproportionate Representation by Dianne Flak

Our country thrives on diversity. The United States is a synthesis of the many races, religions, and cultures of the world. In today's day and age, no one group can call themselves any more "American" than another. However, the struggle of minorities to integrate into the "melting pot" of our society has been a battle which is still being fought today. Despite the many changes in the field of education, the issue of disproportionate representation in special education needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. One of the first areas that needs to be improved is the development of standardized tests. Testing companies employ a variety of people, whose areas of expertise contribute to the actual construction of the tests.These companies need to make an increased effort to match the test authors to the testing recipients, in terms of racial make-up, culture and backgrounds. I believe that there should be a wider variety of tests for educators to use to assess students of diverse backgrounds. The example that comes to my mind is the class I had while teaching in an inner city Youngstown elementary school. I had 19 students; 2 girls and 17 boys. The students all had to wear uniforms, navy pants and light blue golf shirts. Before I continue let me preface this by saying that I'm not prejudice in any way. I was a new teacher, from a white middle class background. I was in culture shock. How was I to teach these children when I didn't understand them, their backgrounds or any part of their culture? To make matters worse, I could not tell the boys apart and had a difficult time pronouncing their names let alone remembering them. I noticed very early on how much better the minority teachers related to their classes. Although this was no fault of my own, I realized at that time how important the issue of cultural awareness is. As a result of this experience, I feel it is imperative that test authors be immersed in the culture that they are assessing. The same principle holds true for those students who do not speak English or speak English as a second language. After having read page 137 in our text regarding "Diana V. California Board of Education", I couldn't help but ask myself," How can anyone expect them to successfully take a test in English when they don't speak English? " I speak a minimal amount of Spanish although I took it for three years in high school. If I were asked to take a standardized test in Spanish, I would fail it miserably. The thought of this can be compared to a bad dream. Yet, we as educators do this everyday. The result is an inflated special education population. Several years ago I observed an ESL (English as a Second Language) classroom. The program was run something like a special education resource room where the students come for one period per day for one on one help, and also received support in the English language. The remainder of the day the students were in general education classes with support from the ESL teacher and paraprofessional. To conclude, we as educators need to recognize our own limitations. Not everyone has the background, skills and knowledge to successfully teach a diverse population. There are many inservice opportunities available to educate staff on other backgrounds and cultures. Everyone in the field needs to develop a sense of cultural sensitivity. Just as we recognize the diverse needs of our special education students, we need to start recognizing the needs of our minority students as they continue their quest to assimilate into American society.