Running head: ANALYSIS OF INCLUSION SUPPORTS 1

Analysis of Inclusion Supports

Shelly Treleaven

EEA 539: Supervision of Instruction

Prepared for: Brian Bieber

M. Ed. in Leadership

City University of Seattle in Canada

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Introduction

Alberta Education has stated that inclusion is a way of thinking and acting that

demonstrates universal acceptance of, and belonging for, all children and students (Alberta

2018). Within the context of school leadership, the expectation of an educational leader is that

they will promote success for all learners. How this is done is a complex question that requires

significant consideration of the barriers that are faced both by the student whose needs are to be

addressed and those in the building that are supporting the needs of each student. It is important

to recognize that a student’s need could be anything from academic, executive functioning, to

social emotional support. ​As a school division, Wolf Creek Public Schools has indicated as part

of their Three Year Plan that their third focus area was inclusive education, and as a result,

Terrace Ridge School had also identified it as their third area of focus.

Critique

Looking at the Terrace Ridge ACE Plan (Appendix A) which stands for

Action-Collaboration-Evidence, one would struggle to determine specifically how their third

area of focus morphed from inclusive education to Student Intervention Support. In the plan

there is significant focus on students that are identified as tier 3 or 4 - which are students that

have a significant struggle in some aspect around school expectations. In the ‘Strategies’ column

of the chart on slide 24, there was a link to another document, a pyramid of intervention

strategies, that holds a hierarchy of supports that can be used with students (Appendix B). This

document was compiled over a number of years collaboratively as a staff in conjunction with an

inclusion specialist. As a school staff, we had been allotted time where we met either as a single

teacher with the inclusion coach or as a team of educators working with a group of students.
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This document helped a teacher identify strategies that could be employed to support a student,

or a group of students with a variety of needs. This document was not new in 2017. The chart

indicated that the pyramid was to assist in implementing strategies for targeted students. While

this resource does provide options and ideas on strategies to be employed, in no way does it

address or build on a person’s skills for inclusion within the school.

The pyramid of intervention, at its most base level, indicated universal supports that a

teacher could employ as part of their classroom instruction to support the needs of every child.

Many of the items listed are activities requiring additional assessments or programming that

would expect support from outside the classroom. The second tier has a list of concepts to

support differentiation. Many of the items on this list are outside the typical learning space thus

not supporting inclusion. They require someone other than the classroom teacher to work with

or supervise the student in alternate learning environments. The collaborative way that this

document was created allowed the teachers to feel ownership towards the achievement of the

students and as DuFour and Mattos indicated this creates a powerful collaborative culture where

students know that it does not matter which adult in the building they are engaging with, they are

all working for their best interest (pg. 37)

The second column of the ‘Strategies’ chart indicated that another intervention strategy

would be to consult student data to allow it to inform the decision of which strategy could be

employed from the pyramid of intervention chart. McLeskey et al. stated in ​A Case Study of a

Highly Effective, Inclusive Elementary School​ that data collection was “used to ensure the

accountability of all school personnel” (pg. 67) and they were expected to relate every student’s

academic progress on an ongoing basis, but those of students with academic difficulty each
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week. The people accountable for this action was stated to be the administrators, but in reality

the teachers would need to be the ones collecting this data. The type of data collection expected

from the teachers at Terrace Ridge is not clear and the pyramid of interventions could be used as

a checklist of strategies rather than a source to help move the student forward in their learning.

As part of the ​Nine Characteristics of High-Performing Schools, ​Shannon and Bylsma

state that the eighth characteristic that schools need to have is a supportive learning environment.

They suggest that all students must feel safe and that the learning environment is customized for

their learning. Shannon and Bylsma listed eight qualities that effective schools maintained as

part of the management of classrooms which included a visible and supportive principal, high

behavioral expectations that had been clearly conveyed to the students, and where a warm

climate where concern for the students as individuals is imperative (pg. 108). Slide 29 of the

Terrace Ridge ACE Plan shares the ILS (Inclusive Learning Services) targets and strategies. The

chart on this page lists under the ‘Strategies’ heading a list of the expected targets. In the second

column which is titled ‘Data Collection/Who’s Responsible’, there are a couple of strategies

listed; one was to review the Code of Conduct and the other indicated that the library is

representative according to a division policy. If the goal was to identify strategies to develop a

more welcoming, safe, caring, and respectful school, there was nothing in this plan that was

actionable.

Next Steps

Of the concerns listed, the most significant is the expectation that inclusion need only be

addressed for the students with special needs. High expectations for all learners with an

understanding that everyone is diverse and has strengths and needs is the starting point. Bondy
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& Ross state that a ‘warm demander’ teacher “communicates that students are important enough

to be pushed, disciplined, taught and respected” (Pg. 58). They state that developing

relationships, understanding the students’ culture and communicating the expectation of success

are not just about belief but of insistence. These are the areas that need to be addressed in

growth plans. If staff are to work together to build understanding for the pursuit of success for

all learners, then this ought to be in the plans. Budgets are tight and money to provide time for

teachers to collaborate during the typical school day is largely out of the question, but if given

the opportunity to create learning teams around how to support each other for the purpose of

student success - this is a goal that all teachers can understand and work towards. A school

strategic plan ought to be a document that has clear goals that everyone can work towards. In the

future, if inclusion is to remain a focus it would be imperative that staff and potentially older

students work collaboratively to develop collective goals. The concept of inclusion requires

developing classroom structures such that differentiation is not only possible, but easy to

facilitate. How these structures are developed will require teachers to share successes and

struggles in order to build a model that works at multiple grade levels. With support for

inclusion being reduced it will become essential that all educators understand how to be

inclusive.

Conclusion

Designing an inclusive environment requires that everyone is working towards the same

goals with the same understanding. Knowing that one must embrace diversity and promote

equal opportunity for every student is essential. One of the six principles of inclusion outlined

by Alberta Education is shared responsibility (Alberta 2018). DuFour and Mattos in ​How Do
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Principals Really Improve Schools?​ indicated that collaborative cultures where there is collective

responsibility for students achievement had a profound positive impact on students learning. In

the past Terrace Ridge staff worked together to build a list of supports for students and while the

supports were not used with all students, the act of collaboration alone offered ownership to all

students learning collectively. In the 2017-2018 ACE Plan, teachers were not a part of the

planning or implementation of the strategies. In many ways this plan is devoid of actionable

targets. In order to share the responsibility one must be prepared to build each others capacity

around the skills required for successful inclusion. The collaborative development of

differentiated practices is the next big goal that will need to be addressed both at a division and

school level.
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References

Alberta.ca (2018). What is inclusion? the principles of inclusion. Retrieved from

https://education.alberta.ca/inclusive-education/what-is-inclusion/

DuFour, R. & Mattos, M. (2013). How do principals really improve schools? ​Educational

Leadership​, ​70​(7), 34–40. Retrieved from

http://proxy.cityu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=

eue&AN=86921387&site=ehost-live&scope=site

Hirsh, S. (2006). Consider these critical questions to strengthen your school improvement plan.

Journal of Staff Development, 27(4), 59-60.

McLeskey, J., Waldron, N. L., & Redd, L. (2014). A case study of a highly effective, inclusive

elementary school. ​The Journal of Special Education,​ ​48(​ 1), 59–70.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466912440455

Mooney, N. J., & Mausbach, A. T. (2008). ​Align the design: a blueprint for school improvement​.

Retrieved from​ ​https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Shannon, G.S. & Bylsma, P. (2007). The nine characteristics of high-performing schools: A

research-based resource for schools and districts to assist with improving student

learning. (2nd ed.). EEA 539 Page 3 Effective: October, 2017 Olympia, WA: Office of

Superintendent of Public Instruction. Retrieved from

http://www.k12.wa.us/research/pubdocs/NineCharacteristics.pdf