I am an employee at the New Brookhaven School. I am an educational consultant for English language learners (ELL) and students with disabilities. My primary role in this position is to ensure that the school environment is educationally sound for English language learners and students with disabilities. My position involves working with teachers who have taught in the New Haven school for 4- 5 years. Each teacher has their mind and approach toward tasks and issues related to the school.
The test score for the average neighborhood students ranges from average to above average. Because most of these kids speak English as their second language, average to an above-average test score indicates how well the school is doing regarding knowledge impact. However, there are still many challenges both students and teachers face that hamper the race toward achieving goals. Therefore, we intend to work together by troubleshooting these problems and finding solutions that successfully address these issues.
We face challenges at various levels within the school, affecting the quality of our children’s learning environment. The first challenge is that our special needs students are excluded from some of the standardized testing and classroom activities. The exclusion becomes a necessity because their needs are not similar to the other kids. This pauses a challenge because most of our teachers are not trained to be educators for special needs children. Their pace of learning is relatively lower, making it illogical for them to be in a similar learning environment as the other kids. Undeniably, however, these kids must learn at their own pace in a much friendlier classroom environment. On top of that, they should be evaluated on their level like the other kids.
Parents of these special kids feel the school has overlooked and, at its worst, downplayed this situation. This should not be the case. This issue has to be addressed, leaving only two options for the school, including employing special needs teachers and adopting a friendly curriculum for our special needs students.
The program offers an immigrant program that ensures the inclusivity of diverse students. Recently, we have had immigrant students coming into our school. Therefore, their parents do not speak English and need an interpreter for easy communication. Parents need to understand fully what the program entails. They are to be updated on their kids’ progress once they have been admitted into our program. We initially found ourselves at a disadvantage since the school lacked an interpreter. Arrangements have been made, and the school has added an interpreter to ease communications.
Recently, two of our ELL students have exhibited aggressive behavior in class. Some special needs students’ Behavioral intervention plans (BIP) have fallen behind. The behavioral outburst exhibited by these students destabilizes the typical learning environment. We have assessed this scenario, and plans to update the BIP are underway.
The school has limited technology funding, which has greatly hampered the adaptation of tech-aided learning within the school. Research has shown that technology-assisted learning can improve learners’ quality of education life, especially those with disabilities (Alghazo & Al-Oltaibi, 2016). We are sourcing the funds needed to implement this technology by applying for grants from the education board. We also intend to request more funds from school donors.
Integrating and Establishing Programs for Students with Disability and English Language Learners
Special Need Students
In South Western Community College vs. Davis 442 U.S 297. The case revolved around a nursing student denied college admission due to hearing impairment. The school stated that the applicant did not meet the entire requirement listed for the program and thus rejected the application. When requested, the school was unwilling to waive the clinical requirement that the applicant could not meet due to the disability. They were also unwilling to provide aid to enable her to operate in a clinical environment (Rose, 2013). When the case was taken to court, the school was able to get off the ledge. The main reason is that under Section 504, the school was not obligated to admit the student.
As an education consultant at Brookhaven High School, I intend to apply pull-out and push-in techniques to special needs students. The Pullout method removes special needs students from the regular classroom setting. It is a method only implemented when the education needs of a special needs student are not being met in a standard setting (Barton, 2016). This will allow us to care for these kids’ needs without affecting the other students’ environment. It will also allow the separated kids to get the best of it by meeting them at the exact point where attention is needed. Since most of the teachers in Brookhaven have no in-depth knowledge of the extreme special needs cases, I will hire a new teacher to guide the pull-out procedure. I will also determine whether each student needs extra attention and draft a plan for how they will be handled.
The inclusion method involves allowing students to be part of the typical education program. According to Barton (2016), Inclusion allows students to belong in a system and support each other mentally, emotionally, and physically through the educational journey. I will ensure the remaining students’ environment is friendly and free of aggressive and distressing tendencies. I will also work with the assistant to update the curriculum to include BIP.
English Language Learners
Lau vs. Nicole focused on Equal Education Opportunities for Education opportunities for ELLs (Wright, 2010). This case revolved around Chinese American students in San Francisco who were put in mainstream classes even though they lacked English language proficiency. They were left to grasp what they could with the little they knew. In making her case, the district argued that these students were treated fairly by giving them equal opportunities as American-born and raised students. In defense of the Chinese American students, the judge said that equal opportunity did not only include the provision of kids with facilities, textbooks, and teachers but also provided these students with the capability of understanding what they are being taught.
As an educational consultant at Brookhaven High School, I will look at the English language-learning program while considering the first language of the learner. For the beginners, I will be keen to ensure the learners are assigned to teachers familiar with the first language. This will ensure that the program’s content is relatable and meaningful. In the beginning, learners will be free to use their native language. However, as the program progresses, there will be a need to see the progressive improvement of learners’ language ability.
Resources and Public School Funding
In Abbot vs. Burke’s case, it was argued that the existing funding system left a huge gap between poor urban and wealthy suburban schools (School Funding, 2020). The disparity came because of the difference in expenditure. While suburban schools had a lot of funding, poor urban schools could not sufficiently meet their students’ basic educational needs. The New Jersey Supreme Court agreed to this argument (OECD iLibrary, 2020). It further directed that the state was to ensure that all the students within the public system received education per the New Jersey constitution without any inequalities.
As the education consultant of Brookhaven High School, I plan to include as much tech as possible according to the needs of the students. The tech will involve the provision of iPads within the classes to aid learning. The iPads will allow for installing programs such as language apps that assist ELL students in translating back and forth from their native language. These apps could also assist in the correct pronunciation of words.
For the students with disabilities, I will install tech that will allow for the execution of essential classroom tasks that would otherwise be slower in a regular classroom setup. This will be inclusive of the STAR math and I-read program.
Behavioral Infractions
Infractions will be classified into Minor, major, and special. Minor infractions will include inappropriate language and disruption of class. The teachers at the classroom level will deal with this kind of issue. Major infractions include students interrupting class with disruptive behavior without cause, such as special needs cases. The school administration will deal with this kind of problem. Special fractures are the kind caused by students resulting directly from their disability needs. This will be dealt with by determining the needs of such a student and trying to address them.
The focus of the school is the prevention of these fractures rather than interventions. Therefore, students will be made aware of school policies and the repercussions of breaking them. I will ensure that the Behavior Intervention Program is up to date-and functioning.
Freedom and Safety of Students and Teachers
When looking at the freedom and safety of teachers and students, I will not only focus on physical safety but also the mental and emotional safety of both students and teachers. By upgrading the Behavior Intervention Program to some degree, we will increase the safety of both learners and instructors. The pullout method for aggressive special needs students will also be implemented. There have been cases where special needs children have been sexually assaulted. This affects the emotional health of these kids. For this reason, I will ensure that teachers and other employees within the school are appropriately vetted before being welcomed as part of the community. Any reported case will be taken with the utmost importance, and necessary measures will be taken against the perpetrator. Regarding freedom, my main goal is to create a positive environment where learners can gain knowledge without feeling judged or less of themselves. This will be achieved by allowing students to participate in the programs fully.
Plan ELL Students, Students with Disabilities, and Their Parents.
English Language Learners
Our main goal at Brookhaven is to ensure that learners get to learn about the English language. This, however, is not to replace their first language and part of their heritage and culture. To reinforce this, we will have annual cultural events where learners will represent their culture through clothing, cultural dances, songs, food, and creative arts. The curriculum will be up to date. Learning classes will include technology, allowing students to learn English effectively.
Parents
To ensure no more complaints come from the parents, we will ensure every student’s learning needs are met. We will have an interpreter for an immigrant parent to ease the communication process. We would want our parents to be kept up to date with the student’s progress, so we will have student academic days. Besides, our line will always be open for any parent’s inquiry concerning their children.
Special Need Kids
Our program ensures that every special needs student is afforded equal opportunity as normal kids. We will create an environment where learners can freely interact with their teachers. The teaching will be purposefully interactive to ensure learners successfully participate in the classes and boost their sense of self-worth and acceptance equally.
The program will integrate both inclusive and pull-out methods to cover all the varied needs of kids within the school.
Fund Acquisition
Funds will be needed at the implementation stage for our plans for the technological upgrade to be successful. We have formally requested for grand from the board of education. We have also requested more funds from our donors. Lastly, we seek funds from organizations keen on helping kids with special needs.
Potential Challenges
- Lack of adequate funds.
There exists a chance that the funds we have requested may not be readily available to us. To reduce this risk, we have increased the avenues of sourcing money. We are still seeking other alternatives for raising much-needed money.
- Inadequate technical personnel.
I plan to have a new teacher for students with additional needs. However, without adequate funds, this action will not be possible. We still have an alternative to providing the teachers with a chance to upgrade their skills at the expense of school. This will not only upgrade their skill but also act as their motivation.
- Lack of unity among existing teachers.
While most of the staff I work with have the best intentions at heart, it has been quite a hustle for me to work with the teachers because they never agree on anything. To address this, I have created a coffee time program for every teacher to attend. It happens every Friday. In each 2-hour session, the teachers must complete a task in groups. This will tremendously help to improve their ability to work together.
With special needs kids, it is, to some degree, a trial and error process. The plan integrates a series of strategies to widen the scope of success. My proposed plan includes widely researched strategies, but most importantly, it will put the students’ needs first. All children deserve a right to education; they deserve to be with individuals who believe in that right and are willing to go the extra mile to see it happen.
References
Alghazo, A., & Al-Otaibi, B. (2016). Using technology to promote academic success for students with learning disabilities. Journal of Studies in Education, 6(3), 62.
Barton, K. (2016). Pull-out or push-in? Impact on students with special needs social, emotional, and academic success (master’s thesis).
OECD iLibrary | The Funding of School Education: Connecting Resources and Learning. Oecd-ilibrary.org. (2020). Retrieved 1 November 2020, from https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/education/the-funding-of-school-education_9789264276147-en.
Rose, B. (2013). Nine cases that have shaped disability services in higher education. Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey.
School Funding | Education Law Center. Edlawcenter.org. (2020). Retrieved 1 November 2020, from https://edlawcenter.org/issues/school-funding.html.
Wright, W. E. (2010). Landmark court rulings regarding English language learners. Colorín Colorado Website.
