Marshall Street Launches Resources to Improve Teaching and Learning for Students with Disabilities
May 01 2024 - 10:00AM
Marshall Street announced the publication of more than 20
evidence-based practices to improve learning experiences,
environments, and outcomes for Black and Latinx students with
disabilities experiencing poverty. The Research-to-Impact Practices
were developed by the Networked Improvement Community for Students
with Disabilities, a three-year collaboration supported by the Bill
& Melinda Gates Foundation to codify and spread promising
practices for historically underserved students.
“Schools urgently need more effective strategies to serve
students with disabilities that bridge the gap between academic
research and the realities in their classrooms,” said Stephanie
Lassalle, director of improvement programs at Marshall Street.
“What makes the Research-to-Impact Practices unique is that they
were developed and refined by educators and have demonstrated
positive outcomes on a wide range of student achievement measures,
as well as attendance and postsecondary transitions.”
Developed using the tools of continuous improvement — the
science of getting better at getting better — the practices address
system-level challenges that school and district leaders face in
meeting the needs of students with disabilities. The practices are
organized into five collections that summarize relevant research
and provide step-by-step instructions, case studies from schools in
the network, and templates and implementation tools for educators
to use in their classrooms.
- Turning the Page to Secondary Literacy: Tested
practices for schools to identify gaps and implement interventions
for secondary readers
- Opening Doors to Collaboration:
Interdisciplinary practices for building collaboration between
general and special education teams
- Navigating Data for Multi-Tiered Systems of
Support: Equity-based practices for using data at the
district, school, and classroom levels to accelerate student
supports
- Igniting Postsecondary Aspirations: Proven
school-based practices to empower students to transition into
meaningful college, career, and community postsecondary
pathways
- Anchoring Emotions: One school’s skill-based
practices for supporting students with emotional-based
disabilities
U.S. public schools serve more than 7 million students with
disabilities, about 15% of the total student population. However,
students with disabilities frequently face low expectations,
barriers to rigorous courses, and insufficient support to graduate
high school and pursue their dreams. For Black and Latinx students
with disabilities experiencing poverty, the challenges are even
greater. Yet research shows that 85-90% of students with
disabilities can achieve at grade-level when they receive
high-quality instruction and appropriate accommodations.
The Networked Improvement Community for Students with
Disabilities was guided by a commitment to targeted universalism.
While many researchers have individually studied the outcomes of
students by race, socioeconomic class, and ability status, there is
little applied research about how to effectively support students
at the intersection. By developing interventions for students
furthest from opportunity, schools can ultimately create a more
equitable education experience for all students.
“In many cases, the challenges schools face in serving students
with disabilities are similar, yet the contexts and communities in
which they are doing so are diverse,” added Lassalle. “These
collections offer authentic case studies and practical resources to
guide schools in their efforts to improve programs and systems at
scale to serve all students.”
The Networked Improvement Community for Students with
Disabilities included 10 public charter school communities serving
75,000 students across the country: Collegiate Academies, Ednovate,
Green Dot Public Schools California, KIPP Northern California,
Mastery Schools, Noble Schools, STEM Preparatory Schools, STRIVE
Prep (now Rocky Mountain Prep), Summit Public Schools, and Uncommon
Schools. Schools received support from a group of technical
assistance providers, including Blue Engine, NIRN, RTI
International, Spark Educational Consulting, SRI International, and
SWIFT Education Center.
Today, nearly all the school networks are continuing or
expanding their work to implement these best practices. At Green
Dot Public Schools California, which operates 18 middle and high
schools in Southern California, educators set out to increase
college, leadership, and life choices for their students with
disabilities by focusing on increasing course passage rates and
accelerating growth in literacy. Two schools participated in the
network, implementing research-based reading interventions and
expanding co-planning and co-teaching between general and special
education teachers. From fall 2019 to spring 2023, both school
sites nearly tripled the percentage of students with disabilities
passing all classes with a C or better.
“Participating in this project has helped change the culture of
our schools. We are adopting the mindset that to improve outcomes
for students with disabilities, we have to engage general education
teachers,” said Dr. Susana Campo-Contreras, senior director of
special education and psychological services at Green Dot Public
Schools California. “As a result, these practices are expanding to
other campuses much faster than we expected.”
About Marshall Street
Marshall Street is a division of Summit Public Schools based in
Redwood City, California. Marshall draws from more than 15 years of
institutional knowledge and extensive experience in school
improvement. Through our programs, we increase the capacity of our
school partners to carry their work forward in the ways most
meaningful to their communities. To learn more, visit:
https://www.marshall.org/.
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Nathan James
nathan.james@gmmb.com