In reading the news coverage on the Center for Learner Equity's work in NOLA this week, I’ve had the opportunity to reflect on how and why this approach is so well-done. Some of the most innovative changes in serving students with disabilities come from incorporating successful models, ideas, and developments from other areas. This approach doesn’t reinvent the wheel but rather strengthens the foundation at a systemic level.
I've always found the concept of "reinventing the wheel" in education somewhat off-putting. If you think about it literally, a wheel making a full circle means the top and bottom keep swapping places in a never-ending cycle. This cycle doesn’t address the space in between, which in special education is ensuring that leaders are well-equipped to design and run schools designed to serve all students rather than leaving the responsibility of serving students with disabilities to special education teachers and service provider alone (i.e. the need for centralization and for leadership pipeline programs to have special education components). The centralization efforts in NOLA will provide the school system there with a stronger foundation to ensure that all students are served well.
Great work, Center for Learner Equity - Jennifer Coco. & Kate McElligott!
In our most recent publication, "Shifting the Tide: Exploring Centralization of Services for Students with Disabilities in New Orleans," a large majority of New Orleans school stakeholders (73%) agreed that centralizing aspects of special education would improve their ability to meet the needs of students with disabilities. Given the well-documented challenges, centralization presents an opportunity to impact students and address systemic inequities directly.
Read the report to learn more about the recommendations and findings on the feasibility of establishing an Educational Service Agency to support students with disabilities better here: https://buff.ly/4cvsvOw