Students at Work: This month our schools, staff, and students are settling into powerful teaching and learning. Special Education directors, supervisors, and consulting teachers conduct weekly learning walks to see evidence of a) ALL students having access to high-level curriculum (both materials and instructional practices), b) High Leverage teaching moves, c) differentiated instruction--instruction that is personalized to provide optimal learning for each student, and d) evidence of change leadership throughout the school.
At Hamilton Middle School, students are learning to be powerful readers and writers with the Readers and Writers Workshop models fully in place. All students are learning to be active, engaged, fluent, graceful readers! Here are some reading logs kept by students (a high leverage teaching move!) in a Hamilton classroom:
Community Partnerships: We also know that strong family/school partnerships are key to student success. This Saturday October 17th the Seattle Special Education PTSA and Seattle Public Schools co-sponsored a full day workshop titled Best Practices For Inclusive Schools. Families, teachers, community partners, and school leaders all attended and participated in this event.
Keynote speaker Dr. Elise Frattura speaks below about the history and future of schools, with a focus on the delivery of special education services:
Principal Henterson Carlisle talks about his school's approach to inclusive learning:
Many thanks to all who presented, and to our PTSA who worked tirelessly to make this a wonderful event!
Emotional/Behavior Services Project Launch: We are pleased to announce the launch of our review and restructuring of our services that support students with emotional and behavioral disabilities. This project is at the heart of our work. Read the external review of our services here. We will keep you updated on our progress.
Thank you for sharing the vision of Seattle Public Schools!
