Special Education Administrator Interview David Hollatz

EDU- 723 Teaching and Learning in Inclusion Settings April 20, 2013 University of New England

Earlier this month I meet with one of my teaching colleagues T. Kelsey, the Learning Resource Teacher (LRT) for Salmon Arm Secondary (SAS) - Jackson Campus and we discussed inclusion topics such as the mandate of school based team meetings, the components of IEPs for special education students and the overwhelming case load of special education administrators within our school district. Ms. Kelsey was open, honest and knowledgeable with her answers to my specific questions concerning inclusion.

The goal of this meeting was to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the roles and responsibilities that LRTs have with students, staff and parents so that everyone in the school is working towards an environment where students feel included in the group, know they have influence in how the community functions, and trust they can be open with their feelings, abilities, and opinions (Obenchain & Abernathy, 2003).

In British Columbia, the formal problem solving of many student issues starts at the School Based Team (SBT) meetings that are chaired by either the principal, or vice and supported by the LRT, counselors (school and drug & alcohol) and other groups such as First Nation Support Workers (FNSW), and youth & mental health workers. Students with emotional, academic or behavioural issues are referred to the SBT from parents, teaching staff, or outside agencies such as the Ministry of Children and Family Development (MCFD) and are then discussed at the next SBT meeting which at our school happens weekly at lunch. When a student issue is brought forth for discussion a democratic voting procedure is enacting and we then discuss what will be the next step.

For example, when a grade 8 special education student is transitioning from the middle school to the high school there might be three to five separate SBT meetings required to identify

and solve then specific concerns as that students moves away from one school to another school. One meeting at the middle school to make sure that all grades and other assessments are complete another that would happen at the high school to make sure that the school has the resources available for the incoming student and finally another meeting that connects both LRTs and teachers with counselors to make sure that the transition for the student is complete.

If the child is needing special services such as a student that is Category (A) Physically Dependent or (B) Deal/Blind then, more meetings and more complex resources will be required that could involve the parents and others such as paraprofessionals like Certified Education Assistants (CEAs). These students that are coming into the high school might either require resources such as: a new, or updated testing such as a WIAT (Wechsler Individual Achievement Test), a BASC (Behavioural Assessment for Children) or an Adaptive Behavioural Assessment System (ABAS) that will be done first by the LRT who has a masters degree in level B assessment and later (if needed) by one of the two district psychologists.

The process of the SBT is meant to be complete and through so that students leaving the middle school have all the best possibilities when they start high school next year. However, this year I have been on these transition meetings (from middle to high school) for students that are categorized as either (R) Moderate Behaviour Support & Mental Illness or (H) Intensive Behaviour Interventions & Serious Mental Illness and 50% of the students have been put in the wrong alternative education program. Unfortunately, for those students that need to most accurate placement may in fact get the least care and this could mean that for those behavior students that five to ten years from now they will require the most of the provincial or federal social programs (welfare, hospitalization, or prison).

The Individual Education Plan, (IEP) process in our school district is that the student must be diagnosed by a professional (medical doctor), or (academic) ranging from a teacher in consultation with learning resource teachers and counselors to a school psychologist, or psychiatrist. The IEP must be updated or reviewed once per school year and has to include meaningful consultation by the school staff and the parents of the student identified by the document. For the IEP to be valid, the case manager (who chairs the SBT meeting) is also required to sign off on the plan to make sure that it is correct and it then given to the LRT, counselors and administration (T. Kelsey, personal communication, April 12, 2013). The case manager would then decide what level (1, 2, or 3) of support is required for the IEP student based on checklists (see attached documents). A level 1 student needs a fully modified program and adult support for door to door, whereas a level 3 student might only require monitoring or varied school structures (CEA support) infrequently to encourage positive behaviours or academic plans (T. Kelsey, personal communication, April 12, 2013).

When special education administrators have identified the importance for an IEP, the parents can be the best or worst advocates for their son or daughter. For example, some parents are proactive in the transition from one school to the next, whereas others are reactive, hostile and argumentative (T. Kelsey, personal communication, April 12, 2013). We have a dual campus high school with both campuses separated by approx. 2 km. Each campus has nearly 600 students with one LRT per campus. Of those students, about 10% of the student body population will need varying levels of support through the year, which means that these special education administrators will be meeting with somewhere between 60 and 120 parents each year. As a result, I have found that our LRTs have to be respectful, extremely knowledgeable and often very direct in their explanations to those adults or students that they communicate with on a daily

basis. The simple reason for this is that they constantly have to navigate all the meetings, paperwork and conversations they continually have with parents, principals and senior board office staff.

My interview with my local LRT was informative to me because I simply did not know how diverse yet challenging this education role is. A person who can chair a SBT, deliver the best learning aids (with shrinking funding) to children with academic, behaviour or emotional concerns and meet with people that range from confrontational parents to analytical superintendents have won my vote for most demanding job in the school.

References Obenchain, K. M., & Abernathy, T. V. (2003). 20 ways to build community and empower students. (2003). Intervention of School and Clinic, 39(1), 55-60. Retrieved March 12, 2013 from http://elearn.une.edu/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_group=courses&url=/webapps/blac kboard/execute/displayLearningUnit?course_id=_20405_1&content_id=_617730_1&fra mesetWrapped=true