Stephanie Kibler Different School Models September 23, 2013 School A Type of School K-8 School B Alternative Setting

for students with Emotional and Behavioral Disorders (EBD). Special Education Facility serving students from K to 21 years of age. Differences/Similarities identified between schools. Points to consider. Both schools are a part of the SavannahChatham School System and use the curriculum provided. School A is a high performing school set in a fairly upscale neighborhood, with a well maintained school plant. School B is housed in a former vocational school. The building is approximately 60 years old. This school serves two counties and all students are considered special education. School A mirrors the demographics and racial profile of Savannah, while school B has issues of disproportionality. Disproportionality is a system-wide issue. Due to this issue School B has to make sure that students in their program are being served appropriately and in their Least Restrictive Environment.

Total The school is Population/Demographics located in south Chatham County and has approximately 700 students. Racial composition: 37 % African American, 42 % white and 9 % Multiracial, 7% Hispanic, 5% Asian/Pacific Islander. .

This school is located in west Chatham County and has approximately 189 students. Racial composition 60% African American, 36 % white and 4% Other.

Student to Teacher Ratio

Classes contain an average of 25 students. With a 25 to 1 ratio.

Key Issues Facing

Due to the population of this school (military families) attendance is one of the key issues. As a part of the schools accountability plan, attendance is addressed, social workers follow up with parents and teachers provide onsite tutoring and make up work.

This school has approximately 22 classes with a lead teacher and a paraprofessional in each classroom. Classes contain an average of 10 students with 10 to 1 ratio. School B is a part of a network of schools in Georgia serving students with EBD. In speaking with the administrator there I was told that students with EBD struggle more in school than any other group, both academically and socially. On average, these students perform 1.22 grade levels behind their peers while in elementary school. This gap only widens as these students move into upper grades. This school is responsible for the same academic standards as other schools even though their students may be delayed in many academic areas. Reading is an area of deficiency. This issue is one of the key issues their site must cope with. The school uses leveled SRA reading kits and the A-Z Reading Program; this is a computer program which also includes leveled readers. The special education department has generated staff development

Due to the unique nature of the problems in School B, class sizes are kept as low as possible and each class is mandated to have two teachers, a lead teacher and a paraprofessional. The key issues are similar. Attendance issues can affect student performance. However, due to academic delays School B has to differentiate instruction more than is the case for School A. School A is a high performing school and consistently does well on mandated testing; while, School B struggles with poor test outcomes.

Role of Technology

opportunities for the teaching of reading to students with special needs. All teachers at this site have been trained or will be trained on a program called the Explicit Reading Program: Alternative Strategies, Teaching Reading to Students with Reading Difficulties. Technology is Due to size and funding, this used in all facets school does not have a media of this school. The center. They have adapted a school has three corridor outside of office area to computer labs and serve as a media center/library. In a well equipped addition, they have limited media center. Each resources in technology and classroom has hardware, subsequently; they from at least three access and many free technology to five student opportunities as possible. The computers. school has a part-time instructional specialist and she pulls together web 2.0 tools and free technology tools for student use. Instructional Specialist (Ms. Campbell) has an official website for the school and another she has designed for enrichment. She allowed me to share the latter: http://www.campbellfun.com/thelibrary.html

School A has all the earmarking of a 21st century school. The school has a wonderful hum to it as students learn in a technology rich environment. It would seem that learners and teachers take advantage of digital technology and all it has to offer. On the other hand, in School B it is not immediately evident that technology has a big role in the school's educational plan. Each classroom does have teacher computer, however, the few classes with computers for students were obsolete. But this does not mean that technology was not utilized. Technology was not as advanced as it is in some setting but the staff used free web 2.0 tools and their access to the internet to augment learning. These tools span the gamut from computers to student response systems to interactive white boards. However, regardless of the level of technology; technology can provide support and organization to students who need scaffolding and enrichment in order to navigate the general curriculum.

Introduction: Without really trying I selected two schools with vastly different profiles. I am acquainted with the administration at both of these schools and was able to access their facility easily. School A is located in an upper middle class, racially diverse neighborhood with strong community support. They have a very active PTA and provide incentives for staff and students. On the other hand, School B is located in a predominately African-American community and since the students come from many different communities the school does not have a sense of cohesiveness. The commonality for these schools is that they both are a part of the SavannahChatham School System and practice Positive Behavior and Interventions and Support (PBIS). PBIS is described as a comprehensive, 3-tiered approach to implementing positive and consistent student discipline systems in schools and preschools. Unlike other approaches to student discipline, PBIS encourages a positive climate school wide. One of the main tenets of PBIS is the fact that teachers and staff actively try to find instances where students are being good and reward the good behavior. In very different ways this system has been utilized to improve school climate for staff and students. In both schools, teachers act more as a facilitators and students are expected to have some ownership in their own success. Unfortunately, for some of the students in School B their success is blunted by obstacles outside of their realm of control. School A: The school is a high performing K-8 school. Up unto three years ago, the school catered to K-5 students. The school is near a local army base and draws at least half of its population from this facility. One of the problems associated with a military presence is

problems with attendance due the somewhat transitory nature of military life. The school is located in south Chatham County and has approximately 700 students. 400 of the current students are eligible for free or reduced lunch. Racial composition: 39 % African American, 36 % white and 17 % Hispanic. For the purpose of this activity, we have created an advanced organizer for a fifth grade class in the area of literature. School B: School B is a part of the Georgia Network for Educational and Therapeutic Supports. The mission of this network is to provide comprehensive, community-based services to students with severe emotional and behavioral disorders and students with autism. The state of Georgia has twenty-four centers and has the distinction of being a model program. The center at Coastal Georgia Comprehensive Academy (CGCA) in Savannah is part of the local school system. This school serves students in Chatham and Effingham Counties. The site is considered a separate school setting and all of the students are self-contained. The current enrollment is 189 students at our main site with approximately ten students at their satellite classroom, located in a local high school. Each of the 20 classrooms at the main site has a two person team, consisting of the lead teacher and the support teacher (paraprofessional). The school has a four person administrative team, consisting of the principal/director and three program managers/assistant principals. They also have four social workers, a full-time psychologist and a full time nurse and a part-time speech pathologist. In addition, their students have access to an occupational therapist on limited basis. She serves students on a monthly rotation. One of the social workers functions as a transition specialist and attempts to find job opportunities for high school students. This school has only tenuous ties to the community since they are not considered a community school; however, two members of the surrounding

community serve on the steering team. The school is a universal free breakfast site, due to the number of students on the free lunch program. Technically, the school is not a Title I school; however, demographics indicate that the major of the students served are from low performing schools with low economic levels. Demographics are 60% African-American, 36 % white and 4% other. Summary: In living with a special educator for last 25 years, I am always concerned about students with special needs. Subsequently, it was eye opening to view a school where special needs students are in the minority. However, it was gratifying to see that these students with special circumstances are treated with the same level of care and concern as the students in at my mothers site. The educators in both school felt that the education from even then years ago is no longer appropriate for preparing todays learner for a global market. The outcomes for a typical student in School A and a typical student in School B is quite different. Both schools utilize their resources, small and great, to impact student achievement and learning. Both schools felt that students need to possess flexibility, the ability to communicate in a variety of methods; problem solving skills, self-management, and systems-thinking in order to be successful in the 21st century workplace. In my philosophy of education, I stated that, As a teacher I want to create a learning environment in which students feel comfortable, where opportunity and rules are consistent and clear. I feel that in both of these setting, students felt comfortable and a part of the fabric of the school. Each school, in varying degrees, exemplified the standards expected of effective teachers, working in an increasingly global world.