Leaderships is a major responsibility

Working in leaderships is a major responsibility. A leader in an educational establishment is responsible for the well-being of staff, the school community, scholars, and their families. Along with managing, responding, and supporting different personalities, concerns, grows and glows of the school. Effective leadership is pivotal to the vitality of an educational establishment. Leaders are the gatekeepers of quality. However, the fields of early intervention, early childhood, and special education continues to struggle with the challenges of being overlooked and unsupervised when something just does not seem right (Movahedazarhouligh, 2021). History tells us that as a society, we have contributed to the stigmatization and prejudicial treatment of individuals with disabilities (Hughley & Larwin, 2021).

DeMatthews and Knight (2019) demonstrates the climate and the pressure of being a leader where being ethical and unethical collided. If I was placed into this position, my boss always use to say “it is easier to ask forgiveness than it is to get permission.” The proportion of alternates in a custom curriculum is a reflection on the head (DeMatthews & Kinght, 2018). My first approach would be education for staff withing the Sorenson Elementary School. There will be multiple and mandatory professional development on what special education laws entails and the right due to ALL scholars. Having all staff members being privy to the special education mandates and laws will give a better understanding of what needs to proactively happen. Legislatives created mandates for free, appropriate public education for students with disabilities and the requirement in U.S. law for special education services to be provided in the least restrictive environment (Wehmeyer & et al., 2021). I will also make it very clear that having a high number of SPED scholars does not reflect on how one teaches, delivers instruction and it is not a personal thing.

Nonetheless, once that is in place and I have vetted and have a good sense of all educators. Next, will be to circle back to all scholars who are represented, declassified and who were denied special education services. I will then ask all educators to re-evaluate all scholars with and without IEP’s. Through this I would have a clear sense on the correct percentage of SPED within the Sorenson Elementary School. Through this approach I am handling all my affairs internally. So that data is collected, education is being delivered, conversations are being had and I am using my knowledge of why I was hired in the first space to turn this school around. A school is a community, and we owe our scholars the opportunities they deserve to gain the necessary tools to prepare them for the real world. Now that I have a clear understanding of the percentage my school has, I will then compartmentalize the different units of scholars who have IEP’s, intervention groups, RTI’s and behavior issues. Through this we will be able to tackle each support and different services for scholars given; along with, what we can do to give tiered services so that scholars are progressing and not digressing. I will also hold parent groups seminars and individual meetings so that parents are clear of their child’s services and what needs to happen going forward so that we all can work together. Lastly, in-house we will no longer say to parents, or to other colleagues, or anyone in the school building that “the district does not allow it”. All scholars will receive appropriate support for their wellbeing. Now that we are all on the same page in-house, I will then fight the big beast, which is the district. I will have proof, data, and the support of my staff and families. We will fight to present the higher number, to showcase that they are high now, but will lower because the services that are given are appropriate, fair and it is equity for all scholars.

Reference

DeMatthews, D. E., & Knight, D. S. (2019). Denying special education to students in need: A case of accountability, compliance, and fear in a Texas elementary school. Journal of Cases in Educational Leadership, 22(1), 55-72. doi:10.1177/1555458918786988

Hughley, K. S., & Larwin, K. H. (2021). Is There a Disproportionate Representation of African American Males in Special Education? A Causal-Comparative Investigation. Journal of Organizational and Educational Leadership, 7(1), 1.

Movahedazarhouligh, S. (2021). A Scoping Review of the Knowledge Base, Landscape, and Trends in Leadership Literature in Early Intervention, Early Childhood, and Early Childhood Special Education. Infants and Young Children, 34(3), 159–177.

Wehmeyer, M. L., Shogren, K. A., & Kurth, J. (2021). The State of Inclusion With Students With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in the United States. Journal of Policy & Practice in Intellectual Disabilities, 18(1), 36–43. https://doi-org.lopes.idm.oclc.org/10.1111/jppi.12332