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Pinellas schools are looking at ways to increase "inclusion'' of special needs students into single-subject classes.
By KELLY RYAN
© St. Petersburg Times, published November 12, 2000
Jeanette Modlin's specialty isn't math or science or literature. But as a special education teacher, she used to teach her students all those subjects -- even though she didn't really feel qualified.
Now, Modlin is paired with life management skills teacher Mary Palumbo to teach a class of 30 students, 13 of whom have special needs. In their St. Petersburg High School classroom, Modlin provides the support and Palumbo provides the lesson.
In the next few years, many more high school classes in Pinellas County will look like the one Modlin and Palumbo teach together.
"All the kids benefit because there's two of us," Palumbo said.
For many years, special education students were segregated from other students. They had their own wing of a school and learned all of their lessons from a special education teacher trained in learning strategies but not specific subjects, such as math and science.
Since the early 1990s, schools have slowly adopted a philosophy called "inclusion," which means including students with disabilities in the same classes as students who don't have identified disabilities. Every school in Pinellas has a special education population. Most of those students -- from elementary to middle to high -- spend at least part of their day in so-called inclusion classrooms.
Pinellas educators want every high school to go a step further.
Their goal is to have all special education students seeking standard diplomas to take academic subjects taught by teachers who specialize in the course content. That means algebra taught by a certified algebra teacher, not algebra taught by a special education teacher.
Palm Harbor University High School and Osceola High School already do this. Other high schools, like St. Petersburg, are slowly working toward the goal.
District-level officials say there is no mandate that every high school has to change overnight. Instead, as high school principals develop next year's master schedules, they are being encouraged to slowly work toward the goal as teachers are trained to handle it.
"The idea is not to say, "You're going to be in these classes, so sink or swim,' " said Pam Harshbarger, a supervisor in the district's special education office. "They're still going to get support."
This movement doesn't mean an end to all self-contained special education classrooms. Students seeking special diplomas will still spend much of their school day in special education classes, and even those seeking standard diplomas might benefit from spending part of the day there.
The movement does mean that the number of self-contained classrooms will slowly decrease. It also means that all teachers who have a mix of students will have to undergo training to reinvent their approach to reaching all students and managing classrooms. Those classrooms, in the next several years, will become increasingly diverse. Some special education teachers will see their roles change, with more being used to team-teach.
While every high school has the same goal, they will reach it in different, innovative ways.
At St. Petersburg, for example, Principal Linda Benware plans to pair a special education teacher with a subject-certified teacher whenever it is possible.
At Osceola, principal Doug Smith pairs two subject teachers -- such as science and math -- who manage a team of 40 to 50 students. A specialist monitors the progress of special education students in those teams.
"When you work together as a team, you build a support system for all students," Smith said. "Every student benefits from it."
Like any change, this has met with some resistance.
Some teachers worry that special education students with behavioral problems will be disruptive. Some simply don't want to share their classrooms with another teacher. Some aren't convinced it will boost student achievement.
Indeed, there are examples where inclusion has been a dismal failure. In many of those instances, special education students are simply assigned to "regular" classrooms without giving teachers the necessary training or support. A variety of training programs -- including diversity training -- is being offered to combat that problem.
"A lot of it is attitude," said Dennis Whipple, a supervisor for some special education programs. "When you grow the right culture in a school, it really accelerates the learning of the kids."
Victor Overstreet is certified to teach students with specific learning disabilities. On Friday at St. Petersburg High, he was teaching pre-algebra to a dozen special education students.
He is scheduled to go through training this summer so, next year, he can team-teach with a certified algebra teacher. He admits he is a bit nervous about the new approach, but thinks it will benefit students in the long run.
"A lot of the kids want to be in regular classrooms," Overstreet said. "They know they need to improve their behavior."
Modlin and Palumbo said the proof is in their classroom, and the one Modlin shares with a biology teacher later in the day.
Students get two teachers, one who can concentrate on maintaining order and developing strategies to reach all students. Special education students who have had behavior problems in the past are motivated to act more mature around their peers. It boosts morale for students who fear the stigma of being "different."
In this age of increasing school accountability, it only makes sense that all students have access to the best instruction, tailored to each student's success, officials said.
In the class they team-teach, Palumbo and Modlin say students are passing at higher rates.
Modlin floats around the room to help those who need it -- and it's not always the special education students. She reminds students to stay on task, pay attention and do their homework. All students are tested on the same content, but Modlin offers to help special education students while taking the test -- reading questions to them, for example.
Both say this new approach is not for everyone. If two teachers are not willing to work together, if they don't respect one another, if they don't believe it can work, it can't work.
Benware said three inclusion classes are structured this way this semester, and several more will be added next semester.
Benware estimates it will take her school two years of careful planning to have subject-certified teachers teaching every special education student seeking a standard diploma. In some cases, a teacher will have to do it alone, though Benware wants to offer the team-teaching approach as much as possible.
"My question has always been: Are they getting the very best content instruction in a class where the teacher is certified in strategies but not in content?" Benware said. "This movement is very positive to students."