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Introduction

The world of education is changing rapidly. So quickly, in fact, that most of us are
wondering how we will ever keep up. First, technology is shifting in such a swift
manner that todays advances seem obsolete almost as quickly as they are
introduced. We are becoming a digitally minded society whether or not we have the
desire to keep up. Secondly, our country is becoming more diverse. According to
the 2010 census, the United States has seen immense growth in Hispanic and Asian
immigration since 1990. (USAToday.com, 2011) The US has traditionally been
known for its opportunity, especially in the areas of business and education. In
addition, America has the largest refugee resettlement program of all other
countries with resettlement programs combined. (MPI, 2004) A third, and perhaps
most evident change in education is the increase in medical diagnoses in mental
illness and disorders that affect learning. Teachers nation-wide are questioning
how to reach and teach children with special needs.

This project will take into account the ways in which education is changing globally,
whittle it down to a fine point to present a picture of schools in one city, then even
finer to my very own classroom.

A Snapshot of Huntington Elementary

Huntington Elementary is an urban school located at 2900 No. 46th Street in Lincoln,
Nebraska. It is one of 38 elementary schools in the Lincoln Public Schools district.
Enrollment at Huntington is 491 students, with 21% mobility. The socioeconomic
status represented is lower to middle income. The following tables show
Huntingtons diversity in terms of race, gender and students with exceptionalities.

Ethnic/Gender Distribution

Exceptionality Distribution
White 62%

Hispanic 15%
Free
a
nd
R
educed
Lunch 75%
Two or More 12%
Special Education 18%
Black/African American 10%
English Language Learners 5%
American Indian 1%
Gifted 2%
Males 49%

Females 51%


Huntington is a Positive Behavior Intervention School (PBiS) that employs the
Behavior Intervention Support Team (BIST) program to set common school
expectations for learning and behavior. Our positive behavior system uses tickets
that are given to students when they are exhibiting appropriate learning and
behavior in school. At the end of each week tickets are selected for special activities
with a teacher, such as baking cookies for your class, a treat with the principal or fun

projects. At the end of each quarter there is an assembly and tickets are drawn for
larger prizes that promote family togetherness or literacy (i.e., games, gift
certificates or book bags plus other items).

According to the 2011-12 School Improvement profile, Huntington is viewed as a
community school that is committed to offering the best educational opportunities
in addition to being a neighborhood support for the community. (lps.org, 2011)
Huntington is a Community Learning Center site offering before and after school
care. Many children at Huntington attend on a daily basis. Huntington CLC also
offers academic and enrichment after school clubs led by Huntington teachers and
community members.


Current Research on Relevant Educational Topics

As part of this diversity project, I researched several current articles or sources of
information depicting educational diversity that interested me for use in my
development as a master teacher. I chose the topics of positive behavior support,
educating spirited children, Neurodiversity and gifted programs for low-income
students.

Article #1: Research Says/For Positive Behavior, Involve Peers

Summary
This article describes the role of the administrator, teacher and student in managing
student behavior. The authors have suggested that, like a Colorado K-6 elementary
school, the principal, teachers and students are all expected to model and encourage
appropriate behavior.

According to the article, schools that beat-the-oddsmeaning high-
performing/low-incomehad high expectations for learning and behavior.
(Goodwin, 2009) Principals can create consistent school-wide expectations to
reduce behavior problems and increase student achievement. The Teachers role is
to form positive relationships with students, ensure consistency in classroom
behavior expectations, provide appropriate consequences for wrong behavior and
reinforce students who are doing things right. Finally, students have a
responsibility to provide peer support to positively influence appropriate behavior.
This can be done with a token system (for prizes or earned privileges) or cross-age
peer mentoring where high school students mentor elementary or middle school
students. This school in Colorado demonstrated its ability to create and sustain a
culture of high student achievement and appropriate school behavior by allowing
the entire school to work together.

Reflection
As student behaviors that disrupt learning become chronic, we often struggle with
what can be done to remedy the problem. Many times we find ourselves playing the

blaming game. It seems easy to blame the parents for lack of consistency in
discipline at home or the administrator for lack of assistance in times of behavioral
crisis. Administrators and parents may point the finger at teachers for lack of
consistent classroom expectations, lack of experience or ineffective classroom
management techniques. Either way, it can feel nearly impossible to bring the focus
for appropriate student behavior back to the team approach.

At Huntington, we have a clear definition of appropriate behavior expectations
amongst the staff and administration but possibly have not done a good job working
with students and families for help. If students could clearly state behavior and
learning expectations, they might be able to better articulate learning and behavior
goals to their families and assist in holding each other accountable.

Article #2: Educating our Spirited Children

Summary
This article, written by Teresa Gallagher, an environmental scientist and a mother of
a child exhibiting symptoms of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and giftedness,
shines a different light on children that often are characterized as high energy, low
focus students. She uses the term spirited to describe her son and other children
that display these characteristics.

The article asks teachers to reflect upon whether or not they like spirited children
or understand what it means to be gifted. She states, Teachers who are successful
with spirited kids are enthusiastic about teaching them. (Gallagher, 2001) The
challenge to teachers is addressed with many suggestions for classroom
management and instructional approaches, plus a link to a website titled Born To
Explore (www.borntoexplore.org) offering even more suggestions to working with
spirited children.

Reflection
Although this article was written in 2001, I found it refreshing and a good reminder
of what I am already doing right in my classroom in terms of adapting my schedule
and lessons to reach children that I would consider spirited. It also has brought to
light some things that I would like to try in my classroom, as inevitably, I will have
some spirited students on my roster! An idea that I found particularly interesting is
to accommodate the mover in the classroom with as many brain breaks and
movement activities as possible. Because I teach kindergarten, I already have many
movement breaks scheduled throughout the day, but I like the idea of finding new
ideas to meet this need. I also appreciate the reminder that many children that are
labeled ADD or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) are visual learners,
possibly with auditory processing challenges. I intend to increase the amount and
type of visual supports I use in my classroom to reach those students. I believe all
students, since they are young, concrete thinkers, will benefit from these
instructional strategies.

Article #3: Barriers to Participation in Advanced Programs for Low-income High-


Ability Students

Summary
This article is a discussion by participants of a summit on Unlocking Emergent
Talent: Supporting High Achievement of Low-Income, High-Ability Students through
the National Association for Gifted Children. (Olszewski-Kubilius/Clarenbach, 2012)
The main point is identifying challenges in developing and promoting services for
low-income high-ability students. It is suggested here that there are barriers to
identifying the talents of these students. Some programs that are offered as extra-
curricular activities are not available to low-income students who qualify due to
program cost or availability of transportation to these programs. Because children
from low-income environments may be less likely to have access to a challenging
curriculum or a literacy-rich home and community, they may be overlooked or may
not be able to demonstrate their learning potential. A significant barrier in
identifying and challenging low-income, high-ability learners is the misperception of
teachers and administrators about a students capabilities. Many gifted programs
depend on teacher nomination. In low-income schools there may be a lack of
teacher training in what qualities to look for when identifying high-achievers. When
a high-ability student goes to school without having had previous enrichment, they
may quickly catch up but will need a curriculum that proceeds quickly. If they are
not identified, they may not have access to such a curriculum. Furthermore, cultural
diversity may be undervalued. There may be school faculty that view individuals or
members of a different group as inferior because of their culture or language. This
is called deficit thinking. Lack of income should not equal lack of interest.

The answer here is to ensure a rigorous, culturally responsive curriculum and
provide multiple ways to support high achievement. Training teachers to identify
and serve low-income, high-ability learners from cultural and linguistically diverse
backgrounds is suggested. Working with communities to gain access to enrichment
programs and supplemental services that are not tuition based will help.

Reflection
As I looked at the percentage of students that are identified gifted at my school
compared to schools from higher socio-economic areas, I notice what seems to be a
discrepancy. I have heard some of my colleagues say over the years that the
students that are identified as high-ability learners in my school would not be so
identified if they attended a different, non-Title I school in our district. This was the
main reason I chose this article.

I am concerned that teachers in Title I schools are not seeing the high-ability learner
as clearly perhaps because our focus typically stays on bringing low-achieving
students up to grade level. Its as if we simply dont put as much effort into
identifying gifted students. This is something that must change. We need to put
more effort into working with our community to find enrichment activities for these
students so they have a way to demonstrate their potential for learning.

Article #4: Neurodiversity: The New Diversity



This selection is actually the first chapter in a book entitled Neurodiversity In The
Classroom, by Thomas Armstrong (ASCD, 2012). It begins by depicting a
conversation between a teacher and his administrator, as he is concerned with the
number of students in his class that have been identified with special needs. His
principal explains to him that these kids have talents and abilities that will enhance
his classroom, rather than make his job harder. She continues to describe the ways
that the students displayed interests and behaviors that could actually improve his
teaching.

This chapter turns the old thinking upside down, that special needs equal deficits. It
challenges educators to list individual strengths; interests and abilities instead of
thinking these students suffer from a disease or disorder. Students that fit into this
category of neurodiversity are ones that have been identified with learning
disabilities, intellectual disabilities, ADD/ADHD and mood disorders. Children that
are identified on the autism spectrum were also discussed. Children that show
atypical neurological development should not necessarily be considered
problematic or dysfunctional, just neurologically diverse. The chapter is careful to
remind the reader that the term neurodiversity is not meant to cover up or diminish
the distress of those afflicted, but rather a way of acknowledging the complex nature
of the human brain.

The chapter introduces a term called positive niche construction. This is the
practice of differentiating instruction for the neurodiverse brain. There are
examples given of positive and poor niche construction when considering the
following seven components:

! Strength Awareness: the ability to look at what a students strengths are such
as leadership capabilities, enjoying working with his hands or her interest in
music as opposed to focusing on temper tantrums, poor being a
troublemaker or a bully.
! Positive Role Models: Finding examples of adult role models that have
become successful despite their struggles with a disability, such as Olympic
athlete, Michael Phelps, who is diagnosed with ADHD.
! Assistive Technologies and Universal Design for Learning: Providing assistive
technology in the classroom in addition to removing barriers to learning for
kids with disabilities that also enhance everyone elses ability to learn.
! Enhanced Human Resources: This refers to building up a network of people
who support the development of the neurodiverse student. This could be
anyone from the teacher to a social worker or the school nurse and school
volunteers.
! Strengths-Based Learning Strategies: Strategies that reach and enhance the
uniqueness of each student; may or may not be research based.
! Affirmative Career Aspirations: Finding a career path to match strengths.

Environmental Modifications: Finding an environment where students


physical, emotional, social and academic strengths are reinforced.


Reflection
As I was searching for relevant articles I found this introduction to neurodiversity to
be a remarkable match to what I have felt is missing in how many teachers
(including myself) currently practice serving students with special needs. The key
principal of neurodiversity is to recognize and act upon what we know about
students capabilities and strengths in contrast to forming an educational plan based
on what these students cant do. I found particular relevance in the examples given
to illustrate the seven components of positive niche construction. It seems so easy
to react to a students behavior or abilities in a negative way, focusing on the
disability. It will not be easy at first, to think so positively about the neurodiverse
child in the classroom, but all students and teachers involved will benefit from
shifting our educational focus from deficit to strength.


Field Experience: Eastridge Elementary School

Eastridge Elementary School is located at 6245 L Street in Lincoln, NE. Enrollment is
272 students with a low mobility rate of 2%. The following tables show diversity at
Eastridge.

Ethnic/Gender Distribution
Exceptionality Distribution


White 80%
Free and Reduced Lunch 28%
Hispanic 8%
Special Education 23%
Two or More 4%
Gifted 8%
Other 2%
ELL 3%
Males 52%

Females 48%


The socio-economic distribution at Eastridge is mainly middle to high income but
there is a richer blend of socio-economic standard in recent years. The percentage
of families qualifying for free or reduced lunch has risen significantly in the last
decade. As recent as seven to nine years ago, the Free and Reduced Lunch Program
(FRL) rate was at about 3%. Now, it is 28-30%. The Special Education rate is
approximately 28% (more information below). The English Language Learners at
Eastridge speak Vietnamese and Spanish.

Eastridge is a PBiS school that also uses the BIST program for school-wide learning
and behavior expectations. Eastridge has only used the BIST program in the last five
years. Previous programs did not create school-wide parameters for behavior
expectations. For PBiS, their positive behavior system consists of Eastridge tickets,

special Friday dining table, quarterly outstanding citizens, and a weekly Eastridge
Eagle selected from classroom drawings that are announced on the intercom.

Mrs. Deb Dabbert has been the principal at Eastridge for five years. She was most
recently the principal at Belmont Elementary, a very large Title I school. She found
that her hands-on management style was not conducive to a school with an
enrollment of 800 students. When Mrs. Dabbert came to Eastridge, Hawthorne
Elementary School had just closed. Many students from Hawthorne became
students at Eastridge that year. At first, she said it felt like there was a difference
between Hawthorne families and Eastridge families. Now, five years later, the
families identify themselves as Eastridge families.

In her experience, one of the biggest challenges of moving to Eastridge was the lack
of funding. She was accustomed to receiving money from Title I, a federal program
for low-income schools. Because Eastridge is not Title I, they must rely solely on
their district budget without supplemental funds for technology, staff development
or extra staffing. Adequate technology was not present when she arrived. The
Parent/Teacher organization raised approximately $3,000-4,000 each year but that
was not enough to meet the need for technology in each classroom. She has worked
with her PTO and other fundraising efforts to bring each classroom up to a higher
technology standard so all teachers have the necessary tools to deliver the
curriculum and all students have the opportunity to learn using updated and
relevant forms of technology.

Another major challenge Mrs. Dabbert faces as the principal at Eastridge is the
number of students identified in Special Education. The district rate for identified
students is 13-14%. The estimated rate at Eastridge for students identified in
special education at the end of last school year (2012-13) was closer to 30% with an
additional 10% in the Student Assistance Team (SAT) process. Perhaps a hot
button issue for Mrs. Dabbert is this high Special Education rate. Currently,
Eastridge is between 72-85% proficient on NeSA tests in math and reading. The
high number of Special Education students has caused this proficiency rating to
drop in recent years. It is difficult to teach and re-teach students ethically when the
school budget does not allow for extra interventionist or Para-educator support for
these students. Mrs. Dabbert has had to become creative in the ways that she
supports her staff and students with special needs, often times placing students in
her office or with the assistant principal. I want the kids to be learners, she said.

Furthermore, 20% of Eastridge students are receiving services for anxiety,
depression or other mental illness. Eastridge has a Family Service Therapist for two
full days and a Social Worker for one full day per week, an increase compared to
previous years. Mrs. Dabbert stated that a difference between Eastridge and
Belmont in terms of mental illness is that it is more open and discussed in a Title I
school and is more secretive in middle to upper income schools. She has worked
diligently to assist students and families struggling with mental illness. There have

been times when she has had to have hard conversations with parents in order to
establish a good relationship to team together for the benefit of the students.

Eastridge has a high level of parent and family involvement. Mrs. Dabbert estimated
that there are two to three parent or community volunteers for each classroom.
Volunteers help with Friday Folders (a school wide communication folder sent
home on Fridays) or small group enrichment and practice. There has been a focus
shift with the PTO at Eastridge as well. There are still fundraising programs that are
sponsored by the PTO, but the parent group works to promote family events such as
movie nights, fun night/game night, and dine-out nightfundraisers at local
restaurants. She was excited about an adult-only night with a silent auction to
raise funds for Eastridge. This coming year, the PTO is planning an edible car
night where families create a moving car out of healthy snacks, and race them! Her
commitment to the families at Eastridge is evident through this type of activity. She
was unable to plan such events when she was at Belmont. At larger schools, each
grade level is its own community, making it hard to find enough space to host
whole-school events.

Mrs. Dabbert is very committed to building community with her staff as well. She
works hard to get to know her staff members on a both a professional and personal
level. She cares about them as individuals, so she can support them as individuals.
She hosts breakfast at the beginning of the year, holiday get-togethers and an end of
the year FAC to promote staff unity and morale. Her motto is Work hard and play
hard.

Reflection

Although there are differences between Eastridge and Huntington in terms of socio-
economic and ethnic distribution, there are many similarities as well. Mrs. Dabbert
spoke about the changing environment of education. She embraces the diversity of
Eastridges students, families and staff. Mr. Rik Devney, our principal at Huntington
holds the same commitment to diversity in our schools. The staff and
administrators at both schools are able to create and reinforce a rich culture of high
expectations for student learning and behavior. Mrs. Dabbert and Mr. Devney are
respected in their schools and although their leadership styles may differ, their
focus on best practice in education is evident and understood. Huntington seems to
be more data-driven while Eastridge is perhaps more hands-on, experience based.
However, as a staff member at Huntington, I feel like I can speak openly and
honestly with my administrators and I feel supported in my actions as an educator.
After interviewing Mrs. Dabbert, I can see the same qualities in her as an
administrator. Each school plays a pivotal role in the neighborhood in which it is
located.




My Action Plan

To incorporate the information that we have discussed and learned in Critical Issues
class, I have developed an action plan for my school. These goals are arranged in a
top ten fashion.

10. Share information learned with administration and my kindergarten team to
enhance teaching strategies at our grade level. Possible topics may include a book
study on Keeping Black Students out of Special Education, by Jawanza Kunjufu, and
Neurodiversity in the Classroom, by Thomas Armstrong.

9. Work with administration to host a teacher/parent event to set goals for students
in my classroom, a similar format to what we saw in August to June/Bringing Life
to School.

8. Create an enjoyable and safe environment through positive behavior
management techniques, helping to establish and support a consistent and rich
building culture of learning.

7. Become more consistent with high expectations for every student in my
classroom, grade level and school.

6. Provide or create opportunities for student engagement through movement
activities and cooperative learning for spirited children. All students in my
classroom will benefit from these opportunities.

5. Construct a positive niche for differentiating instruction for all learners from
diverse abilities and cultures.

4. Refer to diverse learners in positive terms of strengths and capabilities in
contrast to deficits and disabilities. Hopefully this positivity will become infectious
throughout all areas of our school.

3. Commit to working with colleagues and administrators to provide appropriate
activities and enrichment for high-ability and gifted learners.

2. Provide to parents and guardians a list of resources for low or no cost services to
assist in the enrichment of their childs abilities.

1. Become more aware of my actions and the actions of others (students, families,
staff, administration) that may be considered hurtful to others. I will not tolerate or
use words and activities that might promote other-ism in the learning
environment.

I will implement this action plan first through positive interactions with others in
school and my life. Each day, I will plan and teach lessons with diverse learners as

my focus. I would like to create a plan book that has a section for writing down
differentiated plans to hold myself accountable. This will increase my comfort level
with the process of differentiation for all learners in my classroom. I will be more
mindful of high-ability learners and look for a potential for learning in addition to
artifacts and test scores as evidence of their ability. I hope to gain approval to count
the time spent in preparation and leading book studies in diversity as building flex
for the staff that attends. Finally, as I strive to create a diverse and positive
classroom culture, I will broaden my interactions with families to find out and
include their ideas of what constitutes a successful classroom. I want my classroom
to be an environment that integrates the talents and strengths of the cultures that
are represented in it.


References

USA Today, 2011; Census Tracks 20 Years of Sweeping Change, Haya El Nasser and
Paul Overburg, www.USAToday.com, 8/10/2011.

MPI, 2004; Migration Policy Institute, The US Refugee Resettlement Program, Eric
Patrick; www.migrationinformation.org.

Lincoln Public Schools (2012); Annual Statistical Handbook, 2012-2013 Student
Section, http://docushare.lps.org/docushare/dsweb/View/Collection-64171.

Goodwin/Miller, 2012; Research Says/For Positive Behavior, Involve Peers,
Students Who Challenge Us, pages 82-83, Bryan Goodwin and Kristen Miller,
October 2012, Volume 70, Number 2;
http://www/ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/oct12.

Goodwin, B., 2009; Culture: The secret sauce of school improvement. Changing
Schools, 60, 1-2.

Gallagher, 2001; Educating Our Spirited Children, Teresa Gallagher, November
2001, volume 5, number 3; http://ascd.org/publications/classroom-
leadership/nov2001.

Born To Explore Website, Teresa Gallagher, http://www.borntoexplore.org.

Olszewski-Kubilius/Clarenbach, 2012; Unlocking Emergent Talent: Supporting High
Achievement of Low-Income, High-Ability Students, Paula Olszewski-Kubilius Ph.D.
and Jane Clarenbach, J.D., 2012, National Association for Gifted Children,
Washington D.C., www.nagc.org

ASCD, 2012; Neurodiversity in the Classroom, Thomas Armstrong, Chapter 1: The
New Diversity, Alexandria, VA, www.ascd.org

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Community Resources

Services for low-income families in Lincoln/Lancaster County:

Center for People in Need
3901 North 27th St. Unit 1
Lincoln, NE 68521
www.centerforpeopleinneed.org
402-467-4357


Dial 2-1-1, listing of available services and resources for a variety of needs
www.ne211.org


Department of Health and Human Services
402-471-7000


Community Action Partnership
210 O Street
402-471-4515


One Stop Cooperative Computer Lab
Workforce Development
1050 N
402-441-4924


Family Service of Lincoln
501 S. 7th St.
Lincoln, NE 68508
www.familyservicelincoln.org
402-441-7949


Child Advocacy Center
5025 Garland St.
Lincoln, NE 68504
www.smvoices.org/resources
402-476-3200




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Community Resources, continued



Services for Gifted/Mentoring/Enrichment

Lincoln Public Schools
Gifted Education
Supervisor: Dr. Joan Jacobs (jjacobs@lps.org)
www.lps.org/gifted/
402-436-1822


Northeast Family Center
6220 Logan St.
402-471-3700
Provides tutor/mentor programs, dance studio, piano lessons for school-aged children,
teen homework assistance and other family support programs


Indian Center
1100 Military Rd.
Lincoln, NE 68506
402-438-5231
http://indiancenterinc.org/
For Native Americans who need mentors, other family assistance and programs


Head Start/Early Head Start
Opportunities for children to socialize and experience success, variety of learning
experiences

Lincoln Public Schools


Community Action Partnership of
402-436-1995



Lancaster and Saunders Counties






210 O Street






402-471-4515


Lincoln Childrens Museum
Have a Heart Program
www.lincolnchildrensmuseum.org
402-477-4000
An income based program, Pay $5.00 for entire family for unlimited visits throughout
the whole year.




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Lincoln City Libraries


Bennett Martin Library
136 S. 14th St.
402-441-8500
www.lincolnlibraries.org



Youth Education and Support Service
1010 N St.
402-441-4920



Heartland Big Brothers Big Sisters
6201 Havelock Ave.
402-464-2227



Nebraska ChildFind
3901 N. 27th St. Ste. 5
402-471-2447
Provides information to parents, school personnel and service providers on child
development and Special Education for children from birth to age 21. Also helps
parents access information on rights and resources to help them advocate for an
appropriate education for their child.



















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