Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Schools for All

I want to share a difficult topic with you.  I say this not to scare you but to advocate for young people in my school.  Please read on, and thank you--in advance.


In my opinion, public schools are the foundation of our great society.  It's no secret I believe in public schools.  I went through public schools.  I work in a public school system, and our daughters are in public schools.  Public schools welcome all students.  In collaboration with our families and community, we teach individual students, and we also teach groups of students to become active and responsible members of their communities and our world.

For a moment, please consider what these statements mean.

What does it mean that we welcome all students?  What does it mean that we teach individual students?  What does it mean that we teach groups of students?

One way to consider these statements is to think about what they don't mean.

Obviously, we don't just teach kids who are a certain ethnicity.  We don't just teach boys or just girls.  We don't just teach kids of a certain socioeconomic status.  And we don't just teach students who behave one way or who may or may not be impaired.

If a student doesn't know how to read, we teach them to read.
If a student doesn't understand math, we teach them more about math.
If a student doesn't know how to behave independently or in a group, we teach them how to behave.

...even if that student has a disability or struggles.

Where I am principal, we have a school filled with "all" students.  We are fortunate to have many students who are remarkable with their reading or their math or who are amazingly intuitive with their ability to attend or their ability to behave.  We are just as fortunate to have students who learn in different  ways or who behave differently.  In truth, we have several students who are working very hard to learn or to behave appropriately in small and large group settings or to better control their anxiety under difficult circumstances.

You might ask yourself, "Why do you say you are fortunate to have students who struggle?"

The answer comes back to why I believe public schools are the foundation of our society.  Public schools, in my opinion, help people be better prepared to be members of the public, and I know the public I observe is very, very diverse.

You may or may not be aware what "diverse" means.  Diversity is more than just color of skin or language spoken?  As I've alluded, diversity also means the ability to learn and the ability to behave in certain situations.  Schools--especially  public schools--have a moral and a legal obligation to teach students who might learn or behave differently--in addition to every other student.  We also have legal policies that must be followed.

Since the early 1970's schools have been mandated by the court system to educate students with disabilities in their "least restrictive environment."  In fact, to be educated in their "least restrictive environment" is a civil right of a student with a disability.  Yes, that's a civil right.  Students with disabilities are protected under the law.  What this means is schools do not "whisk" away any student who learns or behaves differently.  We follow strict processes to ensure we are supporting those students.  We meet and work with parents to develop and implement plans that focus on strengths and areas for improvements.  We collect and regularly analyze data on academic and behavior growth.  We modify those plans as needed and on a strict schedule.  I am grateful our school district has a continuum of services to meet all students' needs.

Is the system perfect?  Absolutely not.  Do we do a remarkable job?  For sure, 100%.  I can recount example after example of students who have learned to be successful with the supports our system offers.  Even more, I can recount many examples of how students without disabilities have learned to be empathetic, helpful, and understanding while working in classrooms with students who do have a disability.

If your child does not have a disability, I am confident he/she is in classes with students who do.  When you hear about incidents that happen at school, please consider what it is like to have a disability.  As a whole I've found our society to be very understanding of physical disabilities, but we are not as understanding with emotional or learning disabilities.  Take a moment to learn more about just one disability.  For example, what is it like to be autistic?  You can learn and view more at this link.  Be sure to view some of the videos.  You also might want this resource to talk with your own child about autism.

Schools  are obligated to teach all students.  We must keep all kids safe.  We must help all students seek and find success.  As you can imagine, this is no small task, but it is what public schools are for.  And while I know we can continuously get better, it is important for the public to better understand what that job really is.  Time and time again, I am reminded people see hope when they can better understand the full context.  I am never surprised by the support my school, school district, and community offers to help all students.






3 Comments:

At November 26, 2016 at 11:24 AM , Blogger Judy said...

Wonderfully written! I wish that all schools, not just public schools held the wisdom and love of such human and educational values and priorities.

 
At November 26, 2016 at 1:44 PM , Blogger Jim Fry said...

Very Proud to have worked in Novi Schools for many years with a great staff of people like Dave who believe strongly in public education for all!!

 
At December 4, 2016 at 3:32 PM , Blogger JenMichos said...

Beautiful. Thanks, David for speaking the truth and keeping the courage and drive to push through these times. I am so honored to be leading side by side with someone like you.

 

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