Start your plan for COVID recovery and accelerated learning with equity
Recovery requires a collective effort to ensure that the needs of ALL students are met over the next several years. The Ability Challenge has collaborated with DC school leaders, national experts, and members of the Office of the State Superintendent of Education to memorialize promising practices for centering diverse learners in the two self-paced learning series presented below.
As you plan, we ask that you share what you’re doing with peers. And if you need support or want a thought partner, feel free to reach out to the ABC team at info@theabilitychallenge.org. We’re happy to help!
Series One: Planning for Accelerated Learning with Diverse Learners in Mind
This series is designed to help leaders plan for effective learning acceleration by putting students with disabilities at the center. Upon completing this series, educators will be able to:
- Understand the role of specialized instruction in COVID recovery;
- Identify top specialized instruction priorities around which recovery can be planned; and
- Articulate outcomes sought for individual students with disabilities during the recovery process.
Videos are sequenced for a learning progression with activities to help with planning; however, each micro-lesson does not need to be accessed in order. Click into each section to access videos and activities.
Part One: Getting Oriented in School
Video One: Introduction to the Series
Click play to watch the video below.
Video Two: Defining Specialized Instruction
Click play to watch the video below.
Reference: Diverse Learners Cooperative, Presentation by Brooke Allen to DC Special Education Continuous Learning Community of Practice, December 17, 2020.
Activity: Considering Your School’s Context
Review the instructions and complete the activity in teams or on your own.
- Review the blog post and checklist tool.
- Spend 5-10 minutes discussing with others or jotting down your thoughts on this note catcher to the following prompts:
- Where does your school excel with specialized instruction?
- In what areas does your school need more support or improvement?
- How do you know?
Part Two: COVID Recovery, Accelerated Learning, and Specialized Instruction
Video One: Why is Specialized Instruction Important Right Now?
Click into the video to play and watch.
Activity: Identifying Recovery Priorities
Review the instructions and complete the activity in teams or on your own.
- Use this note catcher to record your thoughts
- Brainstorm a list of questions you need to answer right now related to recovery.
- Place them in the recovery train. Which ones go in the engine?
Part Three: Identifying Specialized Instruction Priorities
Video One: Understanding Where Your Students Are
Click play to watch the video below.
Video Two: Research-based Practices for Accelerating Learning and the Implications for Students with Disabilities
Click play to watch the video below.
References: Cook, P. J., Dodge, K., Farkas, G., Fryer, R. G., Guryan, J., Ludwig, J., & Steinberg, L. (2015). Not too late: Improving academic outcomes for disadvantaged youth. Institute for Policy Research. Northwestern University Working Paper WP-15-01. Retrieved from: https://scholar.harvard.edu/fryer/publications/not-too-lateimproving-academic-outcomes-disadvantaged-youth.
Edgecombe, N. (2011). Accelerating the academic achievement of students referred to developmental education. (CCRC Working Paper No. 30.) Community College Research Center, Columbia University. Retrieved from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED516782.pdf
New Classrooms (2020). Solving the iceberg problem: Addressing learning loss in middle school math through tailored instruction. Retrieved from: https://www.newclassrooms.org/solvingtheicebergproblem/.
National Scientific Council on the Developing Child. (2015). Supportive Relationships and Active Skill-Building Strengthen the Foundations of Resilience: Working Paper 13. Retrieved from: http://www.developingchild.harvard.edu.
Nomi, et. al., Sorting and Supporting: Why Double-Dose Algebra Led to Better Test Scores but More Course Failures, American Educational Research Journal August 2013, Vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 756–788 DOI: 10.3102/0002831212469997, Retrieved from: https://consortium.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/2018-10/AERJ%20Sorting%20and%20Supporting.pdf.
Corrin, et. al., ADDRESSING EARLY WARNING INDICATORS Interim Impact Findings from the Investing in Innovation (i3) Evaluation of DIPLOMAS NOW, MDRC, June 2016, Retrieved from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED566904.pdf
EdResearch for Recovery, SCHOOL PRACTICES TO ADDRESS STUDENT LEARNING LOSS, June 2020, Retrieved from: https://annenberg.brown.edu/sites/default/files/EdResearch_for_Recovery_Brief_1.pdf.
Activity: Recovery Planning Approach
Follow the instructions below to complete the activity in teams or on your own.
- Using this tool or other matrix, map out the screeners/diagnostics your school will use to understand how your students are performing. This may include assessments delivered in summer or fall 2021 and/or information gathered during the 2020-21 school year. Resources for identifying screeners:
Resources for identifying accelerated learning approaches/interventions:
Discuss with your peers and jot down thoughts on this note catcher:
- What tools will we use to understand where our students are performing?
- What strategies will we use to accelerate learning?
- How will we use data-informed decision-making throughout our accelerated learning implementation?
- What implications do these tools and strategies have for students with disabilities? How will we plan accordingly?
- What other considerations arise as we complete this planning activity?
Activity: Communicating to Families
Follow the instructions below to complete the activity in teams or on your own.
Select 3 of these resources about parent engagement during COVID for review:
- ABC Blog
- Unicef
- Creating a Weekly Roadmap
- Communication Checklist
- Communicating with English Language Learners
- Communicating with Families of Students With Disabilities
- Ferndale Public Schools Returning to Learning Hub
As you review, jot down:
- In RED: Any new strategies you’d like to implement as part of your communication/ engagement plan for recovery
- In BLUE: Any strategies you’ve used before that you’d like to include and or modify as part of your communication/ engagement plan for recovery
- In BLACK: Any other notes or considerations you have related to family engagement during recovery that must be addressed as you plan.
Discuss your notes with peers.
Part Four: Translating Priorities into Student Level Outcomes
Video One: Focus on Student Outcomes
Click play to watch the video below.
Video Two: An Example
Click play to watch the video below.
Activity: Recovery Planning for Students
Follow the instructions and complete this activity in teams or on your own.
- Using a real student from your caseload, complete the recovery planning document (or use the sample student we’ve prepared)
- Discuss with your team and jot your thoughts on this note catcher.
- What worked, What needs work?
- How can you operationalize this type of individualized planning at scale?
Click below to download a copy of the slides, tool, and note catcher in this series:
A video of the webinar held to provide an overview of this series can be found here.
Series Two: Managing Special Education Improvement through Continuous Learning
This series is designed to help leaders plan for special education improvement processes through the use of continuous improvement cycles during COVID recovery. Upon completing this series, educators will be able to:
- Plan for discrete cycles of improvement by identifying a problem, selecting a solution, and making a plan for implementation;
- Anticipate and overcome potential obstacles that may occur for your planned improvement; and
- Reflect on improvement data to adjust implementation to create a continuous improvement cycle.
Videos are sequenced for a learning progression with activities to help with planning; however, each micro-lesson does not need to be accessed in order. Click into each section to access videos and activities.
Part One: Background on Continuous Improvement
Video One: Introduction to Series
Click play to watch the video below.
Video Two: What is Continuous Improvement?
Click play to watch the video below.
Activity: Reflecting on Continuous Improvement and Putting it Into Context
Instructions: Respond to the following prompts in this note catcher.
To which CI principles does your school adhere? Rate the frequency at which these principles show up in your school: never, sometimes, often, always?
- Small changes drive improvement
- Employees should help inform the analysis of the problem
- Employees should help implement changes
- Many small changes are preferable to one big change
- Successful improvement requires reflection on practice
- Changes should be measurable
Remember that CI is a “bottom-up” nature in which employees help lead the change.
Which of these six principles can you help your school implement more consistently?
- Small changes drive improvement
- Employees should help inform the analysis of the problem
- Employees should help implement changes
- Many small changes are preferable to one big change
- Successful improvement requires reflection on practice
- Changes should be measurable
Which of the characteristics of CI can you take advantage of in order to advance the implementation of the 6 principles? Choose 2 or 3 of these benefits and jot some notes about how they connect to your current school practices.
- Bottom-up nature means improvement is centered in the classroom
- Small changes over time are measurable
- CI works within constraining structures (i.e. schedules)
- CI can complement existing school initiatives
- Data cycles line up well with CI
What would a CI process look like in your school? Jot down some notes about how you would start a special education improvement effort that adopted the characteristics of CI and adhered to its principles.
Part Two: Implementing Continuous Improvement in Your School
Video Three: Writing Problem Statements
Click play to watch the video below.
Activity: Write Your Problem Statement
Review the instructions and complete the activity in teams or on your own.
- Review the model problem statements in this note catcher, answer the two questions, and jot your notes in the note-catcher
- Revise the problem statements to better match the do/do not criteria above
- Then try your own hand at formulating your own problem statement(s)
Video Four: Developing a Continuous Improvement Team
Click play to watch the video below.
Activity: Brainstorming Your Continuous Improvement Team
Review the instructions and complete the activity in teams or on your own.
- List the names and roles of the individuals you would like to work on your team and put them in this note catcher.
- “Getting to yes” for continuous improvement: Ask the questions about this prospective team. If you answer any question ‘no,’ make revisions until you get to yes.
-
- Am I comfortable with this team recommending and then, after gaining approval, implementing changes to how we do things?
- Does the team itself believe it represents the various perspectives that need to be considered to make changes to our processes without excluding anyone?
- Can this team make progress towards the stated improvement goal with the resources we’ve allocated?
- Will this team have the necessary ‘’pull’ with the school staff to gain traction?
Part Three: Picking a Solution
Video Five: Developing a Solution
Click play to watch the video below.
Activity 4: Reflecting on the Hexagon Tool
Review the instructions and complete the activity in teams or on your own.
- Consider the problem statement you developed earlier.
- Now, lead your team through a short brainstorm and assess the two or three most promising proposed solutions using the tool.
- Record your answers in the note catcher handout.
Part Four: Developing an Action Plan
Video Six: Developing an Action Plan
Click play to watch the video below.
Activity: Action Planning
Review the instructions and complete the activity in teams or on your own.
Use this action planning tool in the note catcher (or a tool of your own) to complete an action plan using the strategy that you chose after using the hexagon tool.
Video Seven: Anticipating Challenges
Click play to watch the video below.
Activity: Tipping Point Strategies
Review the instructions and complete the activity in teams or on your own.
Use the scenario (p. 75) to complete the consultancy planning protocol tool. Gather a group of your peers and get feedback.
Click below to download a copy of the slides, tool, and note catcher in this series:
A video of the webinar held to provide an overview this series can be found here.