I interviewed the school counselor and one teacher who had referred students to special education. At our school special education is a need as we have a large amount of learning disabled students. The school has a referral program place and a Special Education learning support teacher.
During my interview with the boys counselor he talked about how the referral process involved taking into account concerns of teachers or parents. Once the concern has been identified the teacher must complete a referral form. Once the child is referred, the learning support specialist is responsible for the child's progress, but works closely with the counselor, principal and vice principal. The students are then given additional support classes, usually taken from non essential subject times (mostly French language). The counselor mentioned that during this process that parents are involved up until the point of referral, but that they are also often involved in providing additional tutors and shadow teachers.
The teacher that I interviewed described the ways in which struggling students are identified through behavior issues, social/developmental delays, low performance in class, low test scores, the inability to focus, and the inability to follow either written or verbal instruction. The teacher also discussed things to do before referring a student such as observations, differentiated assignments, using individual instruction, and checking for social problems that could be interfering with the student's learning.
The process that the counselor described reminded me of a less involved version of the student Welfare Team used in the Finnish model of education. The student Welfare Team is a committee comprised of Principals, Teachers, and Psychologists that meet regularly to discuss and identify student issues that could pose problems for teaching and learning. At our school there is a similar committee that meets once the student has been referred. However, in the Finnish system the meetings are regular and focused on identifying problems as the emerge, rather than waiting until a child has already been struggling and referred. The preventative nature of the Finnish model is unique. What's more, the Finnish model also makes an intentional shift towards focusing on the general wellness of the students, not merely learning and learning difficulties.
While our school is lacking in the impressive technology of schools like the School of One, it does incorporate individual instruction, varied presentation, involving parents in the referral process, and differentiating instruction. The technological tools of the School of One are incredibly impressive in their functionality. The use of an algorithmic assessment tool to guide student learning of skills is truly impressive. I think implementing it would a fascinating and valuable experience.
During my interview with the boys counselor he talked about how the referral process involved taking into account concerns of teachers or parents. Once the concern has been identified the teacher must complete a referral form. Once the child is referred, the learning support specialist is responsible for the child's progress, but works closely with the counselor, principal and vice principal. The students are then given additional support classes, usually taken from non essential subject times (mostly French language). The counselor mentioned that during this process that parents are involved up until the point of referral, but that they are also often involved in providing additional tutors and shadow teachers.
The teacher that I interviewed described the ways in which struggling students are identified through behavior issues, social/developmental delays, low performance in class, low test scores, the inability to focus, and the inability to follow either written or verbal instruction. The teacher also discussed things to do before referring a student such as observations, differentiated assignments, using individual instruction, and checking for social problems that could be interfering with the student's learning.
The process that the counselor described reminded me of a less involved version of the student Welfare Team used in the Finnish model of education. The student Welfare Team is a committee comprised of Principals, Teachers, and Psychologists that meet regularly to discuss and identify student issues that could pose problems for teaching and learning. At our school there is a similar committee that meets once the student has been referred. However, in the Finnish system the meetings are regular and focused on identifying problems as the emerge, rather than waiting until a child has already been struggling and referred. The preventative nature of the Finnish model is unique. What's more, the Finnish model also makes an intentional shift towards focusing on the general wellness of the students, not merely learning and learning difficulties.
While our school is lacking in the impressive technology of schools like the School of One, it does incorporate individual instruction, varied presentation, involving parents in the referral process, and differentiating instruction. The technological tools of the School of One are incredibly impressive in their functionality. The use of an algorithmic assessment tool to guide student learning of skills is truly impressive. I think implementing it would a fascinating and valuable experience.
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