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August 2021 – Special Educator e-Journal

August 2021 e Journalart

Table of Contents

Special Education Legal Alert

By Perry A. Zirkel

© July 2021

This month’s update identifies recent court decisions illustrating (1) evolving COVID-19 issues and answers under various legal bases, and (2) continuing child find and FAPE interpretations and applications under the IDEA. For related information about these issues, see the various sections of perryzirkel.com

 

In Borishkevich v. Springfield Public SchoolsBoard of Education (2021), a federal district court in Missouri addressed the school district’s reentry phase in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. After a survey and various public meetings, the district offered parents the choice of either in-person instruction, which initially was a transitional two days per week hybrid, or continuing the remote instruction. A group of parents of students in the district, including some with IEPs, challenged the reentry plan on a whole host of legal grounds, including broad-based constitutional claims and the disability-specific IDEA and Section 504/ADA. They sought injunctive relief against the plan, money damages, and attorneys’ fees. During the pretrial proceedings, the school district transitioned the in-person option to five days per week based on tracking of improved conditions. At the close of the “discovery” process, which includes sworn depositions, the district filed a motion for summary judgment, which would dispose of the case without a trial.

The plaintiff-parents claimed that the district’s reentry plan violated both procedural and substantive due process under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution.

The court rejected these claims both on the lack of proof for (a) the threshold “liberty” or “property” interest and (b) violation of any such interest in the district’s careful balancing of education and safety, including public input and medical information.

They alternatively claimed that the reentry plan violated the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits governmental discrimination.

In the absence of race or other protected status, the court also made rather short shrift of this claim, finding no discrimination in uniformly offering everyone the same options and, even if there were any discrimination, in the requisite rational basis of the governmental interest in student safety.

For the subgroup of students with IEPs, the parents claimed that the full or partial virtual modality violated FAPE under the IDEA.

The court readily disposed of the IDEA claim for the affected parents’ failure to exhaust the available mechanism of due process hearings. These parents did show that they fit in any of the limited exceptions for exhaustion.

The same subgroup alternatively claimed violation of Section 504 and the ADA based on this pair of anti-discrimination laws’ overlapping coverage with the IDEA.

The court disposed of the Section 504 claim based on lack of exhaustion of an IDEA due process hearing. For the ADA claim, even if exhaustion did not apply in that jurisdiction, it failed for lack of evidence of the requisite bad faith or gross misjudgment.

Although these parents inferably opposed virtual instruction, particularly in terms of the return to full in-school instruction, the court followed well-established precedents for their multiplicity of legal claims, including those under related state laws. The IDEA and Section 504/ADA claims are still alive but subject to the individualized adjudicative process of an IDEA impartial hearing.

In D.C. v. Klein Independent School District (2021), the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals addressed the child find and FAPE claims of a student identified in fifth grade as eligible under the IDEA as SLD in reading comprehension, fluency, and decoding. By the end of second grade, his teachers recognized his difficulties in reading. Despite the provision of accommodations and interventions in general education, including a 504 plan starting in grade 3, his grades and test scores showed his continuing struggles in reading. Upon completing the initial IDEA evaluation in grade 5, the district provided him with an IEP that identified him as SLD in reading comprehension, fluency, and decoding but also—at the parents’ insistence—dyslexia. The IEP provided for 3.75 hours per week of co-taught reading instruction and, presumably per Texas’ law, dyslexia services. The parents filed for a due process hearing, which resulted in a decision in their favor both on child find and, based on the IEP’s failure to address his root problem of reading comprehension, denial of FAPE. The hearing officer awarded the student 108 hours of compensatory education and ordered revision of his IEP to include 45 minutes per day of Read 180 or another peer-reviewed program for reading comprehension. The parents filed an appeal for attorneys’ fees, and the district filed a corresponding claim at the federal district court level against the hearing officer’s rulings and compensatory education remedy. Upon the district court’s decision in favor of the parents, the district filed an appeal with the Fifth Circuit, which encompasses the states of Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. 

For the child find claim, the Fifth Circuit agreed that (a) the trigger, or “reasonable suspicion,” date was on April 27 of grade 4 and (b) the nearly 6-month period until the parent signed the consent on October 19 of grade 5 exceeded the ad hoc period of a “reasonable time.”

For reasonable suspicion, the court primarily relied on evidence, after successive 504 plans, of lack of reading improvement, including 2nd percentile on a standardized test during the winter of grade 4. For reasonable time, the court followed O.W. (see Oct. 2019 Monthly Update) to find lack of sufficient proactive efforts to initiate the IDEA evaluation, including doing nothing at all during the summer toward obtaining consent.

Within its particular four-part analysis for substantive FAPE, the Fifth Circuit seemed to focus on the IEP’s lack of a specific program to remediate his root problem of reading comprehension. Similarly, the court interpreted Endrew F. selectively and relatively unusually as rather rigorous. 

For example, the court pointed to the insufficient evidence that the student had dyslexia and the accommodating, rather than remediating, nature of the limited co-teaching service. The court minimized his passing grades, instead pointing out the decline in his reading grade from 79 in grade 4 to 77 after his IEP in grade 5 and the marginal improvements in standardized test scores, which may have been attributable to testing accommodations.

Finally, the court upheld the denial of the school district’s motion to vacate the compensatory education award, finding the issue of the remedy to be moot because the district had already provided its entire amount.

The court also disagreed with the district’s resulting argument that the parents were not qualified for attorneys’ fees as prevailing parties. The court concluded that, regardless of compensatory education, they obtained relief that altered the parties’ relationship via the order for modifying the IEP with the addition of specialized instruction in reading comprehension.

Although not an officially published decision and limited to the Fifth Circuit, this case illustrates the varying interpretations of both child find and substantive FAPE, with due latitude for the multiple factors and particular circumstances of each individual case.

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Buzz from the Hub

All articles below can be accessed through the following links:

 

https://www.parentcenterhub.org/buzz-july2021-issue1/

https://www.parentcenterhub.org/buzz-june2021-issue1/

https://www.parentcenterhub.org/buzz-april2021-issue1/

https://www.parentcenterhub.org/buzz-april2021-issue2/

The Disparate Impacts of COVID-19 on America’s Students
This June 2021 report responds to Executive Order 14000 (January 2021), which directed the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights in the Department of Education to “deliver a report … on the disparate impacts of COVID-19 on students in elementary, secondary, and higher education.” This 61-page report is the result. The story that came into view during OCR’s review prompts the report’s 11 observations about how widely—and inequitably—the pandemic appears to have impacted America’s students during this time.

FAQ on the ESSER Fund
The Department’s recent guidance answers frequently asked questions about how funding under the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund and the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund may be used in response to the impact of the pandemic on children, including young children and children with disabilities.

Guidance for Child Care
The Office of Child Care’s 18-page document provides an overview and guidance on the use of funds made available through the American Rescue Plan Act. It’s designed to help states, territories, and tribes understand the specific requirements included in the ARP Act to identify opportunities to leverage ARP resources to build a better child care system and help more families afford child care.

Supporting Students with the Most Intensive Needs | 3 Videos
Here are 3 new videos that highlight key resources available to support families of students with the most intensive needs at home and as they transition to and from in-school services during the COVID-19 pandemic. The videos speak directly to parents and recommend that parents share the videos (and the highlighted resources) with the team of educators and other professionals working with their child. Multiple TA&D Centers worked collaboratively to identify these resources and to create the videos.

Inclusive Social Emotional Learning for Students with Disabilities
Social-emotional learning (SEL) will be an important element in rebuilding classroom relationships when schools reopen. This multi-part package from the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD) equips parents, advocates, and state policymakers with relevant resources to use, including:

A Family Guide to Participating in the Child Outcomes Measurement Process
Parents of a young child in an early intervention or early childhood special education program want to be sure these services are helping their child develop and learn. But how can they tell if that is so? One way is to learn about the 3 “child outcomes” measured for every child who participates in such a program. This free handout from the PACER Center explains the 3 outcomes and how parents can participate in the child outcomes measurement process.

Comic Books Series Turned into Videos for Children
Want to share with children information about their disability via a video based on a comic book series? Jumo Health has quite a selection of such videos (typically 8+ minutes long) on different disabilities, including: anxiety, asthma, AD/HD, autism, childhood cancer, growth disorders, heart defects, diabetes, food allergies, OCD, sickle cell anemia, and spinal cord injury.

How to Spot Depression in Young Children
We tend to think of childhood as a time of innocence and joy, but as many as 2 to 3 percent of children from ages 6 to 12 can have serious depression.

Why Inclusion? Video Series
This video series from STEMIE (STEM Innovation for Inclusion in Early Education) addresses the importance of inclusion. Video 1 is called Let’s Change Attitudes and Beliefs. Video 2 looks at Key Characteristics of High-Quality Inclusive Education, while Video 3 looks at the Social Outcomes in Inclusion.

CDC Updates and Adds to Child Care Provider Guidance on COVID-19
CDC’s Guidance for Operating Child Care Programs during COVID-19 and Toolkit for Child Care Programs now provide updated and additional information on vaccinations, signs and symptoms of COVID-19 in children, and support for children with disabilities and special health care needs. The resources are intended for all types of child care programs, including child care centers, family child care homes, and other child care programs. Multi-language versions can be downloaded from the “Language” tab.

ED Covid-19 Handbook: Roadmap to Reopening Safely and Meeting All Students’ Needs(Volume 2)
Mentioned in the first paragraph of this Buzz, the Department of Education’s Roadmap is a treasure trove of guidance for schools and communities. Examples abound of approaches used to tackle challenges such as providing schools meals, providing technological access to families who don’t have it, transporting students, or locating and reengaging students who are chronically absent. Check out the clever ways that others have gathered data from community members about their range of needs, and how they’ve engaged families in providing continuous input.

Relationship Building: A Strategy Guide for Educators
Here’s an easy-to-read 24-page guide full of strategies and considerations to help educators build strong, authentic, and trusting relationships with students and families, right from the start of the school year.

Webinar and Podcast | Developing Data-Driven Equity Practices and Partnerships
Using data to determine the needs of economically disadvantaged students and make good decisions about them can help provide more equitable outcomes, meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, and increase opportunities for high school graduates to succeed in college and their careers. Find out how one school district put its data to use to determine what interventions were needed and by whom, the structure of the corresponding multi-level system of support, and clear levels of support for academic, attendance, and discipline issues.

Webinar | Guidance for State and Local Leaders on Flexible Options to Increase and Support the Special Education Pipeline
The new American Rescue Plan Act funding comes with tremendous flexibility, and thus, tremendous potential for local education leaders. This archived webinar, held May 4, 2021 and hosted by the Council for Exceptional Children, is 1 hour-plus long, and features “thought leaders” discussing how the ARP can be used to increase and support special education.

How do you make writing accessible?

We know how to replace steps with ramps. We know how to widen doorways and make restrooms larger for wheelchair users. We can accommodate Deaf people with Sign Language and captions on videos. Blind people can use large print, Braille, or audiobooks. But how do we make information, instructions, and ideas more cognitively accessible, particularly for people with intellectual, developmental, and learning disabilities?

This article explains the purpose of writing in plain language and its importance to providing access to understandable information for those with disabilities. It also:

  • gives excellent examples,
  • explores the main characteristics of plain writing,
  • list digital tools that can help improve readability, and
  • connects you with multiple resources expressly written to inform individuals with disabilities (in plain language, of course) about such issues as COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Access the article at:
https://forbes.com/sites/andrewpulrang/2020/10/22/plain-language-writing—an-essential-part-of-accessibility/

 

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Starter Set of Resources on LRE

Reflecting on the Meaning of LRE

Considering LRE in Placement Decisions.
Indepth look at what LRE is, how it’s defined in IDEA and in practice, and who decides placement for a student with a disability.
https://www.parentcenterhub.org/placement-lre/

Supports, modifications, and accommodations for students with disabilities.
A great resource for families, Parent Centers, educators, and students themselves to explore how to support students with disabilities in the classroom and about the school.
https://www.parentcenterhub.org/accommodations/

Dear Colleague Letter on Free and Appropriate Public Education (FAPE).
This policy letter from the U.S. Department of Education clarifies that IEPs for children with disabilities must be aligned with state academic content standards for the grade in which a child is enrolled.
http://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/guidance-on-fape-11-17-2015.pdf

Dear Colleague Letter on Inclusion of Children with Disabilities in Early Childhood Programs.
This January 2017 Dear Colleague letter reaffirms the Department of Education’s position that young children with disabilities should have access to inclusive high-quality early childhood programs where they are provided with individualized and appropriate supports to enable them to meet high expectations. The DCL also reiterates that the least restrictive environment (LRE) requirements of IDEA  are fully applicable to the placement of preschool children with disabilities.
https://www2.ed.gov/policy/speced/guid/idea/memosdcltrs/preschool-lre-dcl-1-10-17.pdf

Inclusion, Least Restrictive Environment (LRE), Mainstreaming.
http://www.wrightslaw.com/info/lre.index.htm

Availability of Accessible Materials

All students need instructional materials (textbooks, worksheets, exams) in accessible formats. Many disabilities can affect a student’s ability to learn from printed materials (e.g., a reading disability, a physical limitation that makes holding the materials difficult, etc.). Accessible materials ARE available—in digital formats, large print, Braille, and more. Here are 3 places to consult to find the accessible instructional materials your students (or children) need if they’re going to access the general curriculum.

National Center on Accessible Educational Materials.
http://aem.cast.org/

Bookshare.
http://www.bookshare.org/

Learning Ally (formerly Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic).
http://www.learningally.org/

Building Instructional Capacity and Skill of Educators

Early Childhood Technical Assistance Center.
Check out the ECTA Center’s treasure chest of tools, webinars, and publications in its collection “Inclusion in Least Restrictive Environments.”
http://ectacenter.org/topics/inclusion/default.asp

OESE Center on Instruction.
www.centeroninstruction.org/

Reading Rockets.
How to help students learn to read, including those with disabilities. Lots of materials for families and educators alike.
www.readingrockets.org

Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS).
Focused on implementing postive behavioral supports and interventions on a schoolwide basis, an approach to addressing behavioral collentes that is backed strongly by years of research.
http://www.pbis.org

Center on Technology and Disability.
Technology can help students with disabilities access the general curriculum, take part in school activities, and be educated alongside their peers without disabilities. Explore what technology can offer support where students need it.
http://ctdinstitute.org/

National Center on Universal Design for Learning.
UDL… universal design for learning… is a set of principles for curriculum development that give all individuals equal opportunities to learn. This site is especially appropriate for teachers and curriculum designers.
http://www.udlcenter.org/

IRIS Center for Training Enhancements.
Online professional development modules on a wide range of “how-to” practices that support inclusion of students with disabilities, such as accommodations, assessment, progress monitoring, behavior, differentiated instruction, and much more—
http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/iris-resource-locator/

Creating an inclusive school environment: A model for school leaders.
http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/inc/chalcycle.htm

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Bookshare: Providing Accessible Materials for Students with Print Disabilities

The IRIS STAR Legacy modules are meant to help train future teachers, administrators, and other school personnel. This module presents an overview of Bookshare, a project supported by the U.S. Department of Education and OSEP, which provides books in digitized formats to individuals who have print disabilities. Included is information about how such students can access textbooks, other instructional materials, and text-reader software at no cost, as well as how teachers can use this information in their daily instructional planning.

http://iris.peabody.vanderbilt.edu/module/bs/

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Plain Language Writing: An Essential Part of Accessibility

How do you make writing accessible?

We know how to replace steps with ramps. We know how to widen doorways and make restrooms larger for wheelchair users. We can accommodate Deaf people with Sign Language and captions on videos. Blind people can use large print, Braille, or audiobooks. But how do we make information, instructions, and ideas more cognitively accessible, particularly for people with intellectual, developmental, and learning disabilities?

This article explains the purpose of writing in plain language and its importance to providing access to understandable information for those with disabilities. It also:

  • gives excellent examples,
  • explores the main characteristics of plain writing,
  • list digital tools that can help improve readability, and
  • connects you with multiple resources expressly written to inform individuals with disabilities (in plain language, of course) about such issues as COVID-19 and the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Access the article at:
https://forbes.com/sites/andrewpulrang/2020/10/22/plain-language-writing—an-essential-part-of-accessibility/

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Best Practices for Accessible Social Media | Webinar

Educators are integrating social media into their professional learning routines, their daily communications, and their instructional practices. But how do we plan for variability in our social media followers? Learn easy tips for making your social media posts more accessible and more usable by everyone, in this archived webinar held in May 2019 by the Accessible Educational Materials (AEM) Center.

http://aem.cast.org/about/events/2019/05/best-practices-social-media-accessibility.html#.XQfzyIhKiUk

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Book Review: Awakening the Sleeping Giant, Helping Teachers Develop as Leaders

By Danielle Aycardi

Abstract

This book review is on the book written by Marily Katzenmeyer and Gayle Moller,Awakening the Sleeping Giant, Helping Teachers Develop as Leaders. The authors examine the challenges that teacher leaders face such as accepting leadership positions, building relationships, working with peers and facilitating professional development. By becoming teacher leaders, teacher can make a significant impact on student learning.

Keywords: educational leaders, student, learning

Katzenmeyer, M., & Moller, G. (2009). Awakening the sleeping giant: helping teachers develop as leaders. Corwin a SAGE Company.

Author and Context

Marily Katzenmeyer is the president of Professional Development Center, Incorporated. At the University of South Florida she served as a faculty administrator, where she was responsible for the development and implementation of the Executive Leaders Program. Gayle Moller is a retired professor from Western Carolina University. She also served on the board of trustees of the National Staff Development Council. In the book, Awakening the sleeping giant: helping teachers develop as leaders, the authors expand on the definition of leadership and how important it is to improve the outcomes in schools and develop teachers as leaders.

Purpose and Thesis

The authors’ purpose when writing this book was to focus on teachers as leaders and how important it is in order to improve the outcomes in schools. The authors examine the challenges that teacher leaders face such as accepting leadership positions, building relationships, working with peers and facilitating professional development. The book discusses three factors that are important when teachers become leaders.

The thesis of this book is based on the view that teachers are making a difference in teaching and learning, and teachers can bring impactful change to schools. The authors’ define teacher leaders as “teacher leaders lead within and beyond the classroom; identify with and contribute to a community of teacher learners; influence others towards improved educational practice; and accept responsibility for achieving the outcomes of leadership.” (p.6)

Main Themes

This book includes eight chapters where they describe how to understand teacher leadership, how to promote and develop leaders. The book also discusses how to build a culture that supports teacher leaders, how to influence others and the challenged leaders can encounter. At the end of each chapter there are application challenges that provide teacher leaders with practical ways to apply leadership in their schools.

Understanding Teacher Leadership focuses on defining teacher leaders and how they lead in and out of the classroom. When teacher leaders lead outside the classroom it is an opportunity for them to interact with other adults in the school. It is a chance to build relationships and learn as a community. Once teachers accept leadership roles in school, positive change happens.

Promoting Teacher leadership discusses teacher efficacy, sustainability of change, and retention of teachers. In this section the authors’ examine four perspectives on why it is important to develop teacher leaders. The first perspective is building organizational capacity, in order to address teacher learning professional development needs to be implemented. This is important in order for the teachers to provide effective instruction. The second perspective is modeling democratic communities. This examines that “the complexity of teaching is best addressed within a democratic community that responds to the uniqueness of the school context.” (p.26). While building a democratic community, teachers face many challenges. In this chapter, four challenges are addressed. The first challenge is school culture and how leaders are able to share best practices with others. The second challenged discussed is the willingness or unwillingness for administrators to share power. In a national survey “teachers of all groups surveyed, feel most ignored, with 70 percent saying they are left out of the decision making process.” (Farkas, Foley, & Duffet, 2001, p.3) The third challenge is some schools may describe their school as a family, which can be described as a hierarchical arrangement. This differs from a democratic community where all participants are equal. Finally, members of the community can disagree on important issues and may not have successful means to resolve the issues.

Weak and Strong Points

One strong point that makes this book effective is how they have application challenges after each chapter. This provides the reader will practical ways they can implement being a teacher leader at their school. It also gives challenges for administration and staff members; this is key because being a leader means bringing the school community together. By having the challenges for each part of the community it is easy to see how this can be implemented in your school.

Another point the book makes is that in order to have effective teacher leaders, you must provide career-long professional development. Providing learning opportunities for teacher offers them learning experiences for themselves and the ability to assist others. “If we hope to develop the critical mass of teachers who will be needed to reach challenging goals, an important place to start will be to provide all teachers with more opportunities to participate in rigorous, content-rich, collegial professional development.” (p.20). The authors’ provides a Teacher Leadership Self-Assessment which helps the reader understand where they stand as becoming teacher leaders. There are also several figures and tables throughout the book that offer visual guides to becoming a teacher leader.

One weak point to consider is the book goes into detail about building a culture that supports teacher leadership, but does not provided examples of how to build that culture. “A positive culture within a school fosters teacher leadership, which in turn produces positive results in student outcomes (Anderson, 1992). The book explains the importance of school culture and the impact it has on teachers and student outcomes, but lacks examples of how to create a school culture that fosters that.

Compare and Contrast to Other Books on Educational Leadership

Awakening the Sleeping Giant and Leading in a Culture of Change can be compared in different ways. Both authors agree that leaders need to understand change in order to be successful leaders. “Moreover, leaders who com-bine a commitment to moral purpose with a healthy respect for the complexities of the change process not only will be more successful but also will unearth deeper moral purpose.” (Fullan, 2001, p. 5) Katzenmeyer & Moller (2009) state “teacher leadership is essential for the level of complex change schools face.”

Another point both books have in common is their viewpoint on relationships. Katzenmeyer & Moller (2009) state, “the success of teacher leadership depends on the context in which is takes place. School leaders with exemplary schools make teacher leadership a priority and take risks to provide teacher leaders what they need to succeed. ” Fullan (2001) also explains how important relationships are “we have found that the single factor common to every successful change initiative is that relationships improve. If relationships improve, things get better.”

Both books agree that the structures of the schools need to change in order to foster more teacher leaders. Katzenmeyer & Moller (2009) explain “structural changes are needed to promote teacher leadership.” Fullan (2001) also explains that the organization must change along with individuals. Thus, professional development or training of individuals or even of small teams will not be sufficient.”

Although there are many similarities to these two books differ in many ways. Fullan (2001) provides examples of how schools and business have implemented leadership, where Katzenmeyer & Moller (2009) do not. Another difference is Katzenmeyer & Moller (2009) explain that in order to be effective teacher leaders you must have career long professional development. Fullan (2001) does not disagree with training, but he explains that training needs to be for all levels of leadership, principals included.

Conclusion

After reading Awakening the Sleeping Giant, it is clear the author’s purpose was to guide teachers to become effective leaders in and out of the classroom.

“Part of the dilemma facing school districts that find themselves confronting previously unimagined challenges is not only learning how to use teachers as part of the leadership team that transforms our schools, but knowing with at least a limited degree of certainty what they are getting with “teacher leaders,” particularly if funding these positions is to ever become sustainable.” (Andrew Davis, English Teacher Leader, p.139) This book offers practical approaches to become teacher leaders and how to build community within in the school.

References

Fullan, M. (2001). Leading in a Culture of Change. Retrieved from search.ebscohost.com. ezproxy.fiu.edu/login.aspx?direct= true &db=eric&AN=ED467449&site=eds-live

Katzenmeyer, M., & Moller, G. (2009). Awakening the sleeping giant: helping teachers develop as leaders. Corwin a SAGE Company.

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Book Review: The Heart-Led Leader

By Sarah Margaret Lane

 

“Because love wins” (240) concludes Tommy Spaulding, an author, speaker, and head of leadership organizations such as Up with People. In his book, Spaulding attempts to share discoveries made while developing his leadership philosophy of love and serving. He argues that leaders should aim to change themselves and the different communities around them by becoming leaders who use their hearts. Spaulding details eighteen qualities or “inches” required to change to a “heart-led leader”.

The majority of The Heart-Led Leader is conveyed through stories from Spaulding on his journey to discovering his people-focused leadership philosophy. The first part of his book discusses becoming a heart-led leader. His narration sets the tone for the book by providing the reader with a glimpse at his purpose, to create leaders who achieve success through care for others. Spaulding continues by explaining the eighteen qualities or “inches” to be taken to take the metaphorical journey from your head to the heart. His eighteen inches encompass a variety of qualities including: love, humility, caring, passion, selflessness, authenticity, self-awareness, faithfulness, character, vulnerability, forgiveness, purpose, encouragement, empathy, generosity, honesty, trust, and transparency. Spaulding makes moving arguments for these qualities to round out a detailed picture of what characteristics a leader should emulate to love and serve their community.

Spaulding’s book uses a series of narrated experiences of motivating people to explain his discovery of the idea of heart-led leadership, rather than evidence of success from having implemented his leadership philosophy and its eighteen qualities himself. His stories are likely to be affecting on readers because they revolve around inconceivable situations such as survivors of Mount Everest climbs and children who died from cancer, car crashes, and school shootings. However, the content of his leadership philosophy, the qualities these stories taught him about, are not accompanied by strategies for learning, enacting, and sharing except for the specific examples in the stories.

Using his experiences, Spaulding astutely steps ahead of a potential criticism of his philosophy: that a leadership based in love and serving may not be financially beneficial. Spaulding cites examples of billionaires and successful companies that he argues did just that, including Greenway Health and Jersey Mikes Subs, among others. Spaulding states that heart-led leadership “is a business model that produces extraordinary love-driven results” (43) and that in order to create lasting success “we need to create an environment where people’s hearts and minds can thrive” (29).

In Leading in a Culture of Change, Fullan states the importance of certain skills similar to Spaulding, such as creating an environment that fosters growth and change, focusing on building relationships, and having moral purpose. These skills relate to Spaulding’s qualities which all focus on how to create relationships that have a positive impact on people and communities. However, one key difference between Fullan and Spaulding is that Fullan includes different skills not addressed by Spaulding such as knowledge creation and sharing, understanding change, and coherence making.

In conclusion, Spaulding’s depiction of effective leadership is similar in some aspects to Fullan’s but may be incomplete in some areas. Leaders can have all of his recommended qualities and still lack skills mentioned by Fullan such as knowledge and communication that are required to be successful. The ideal audience for Spaulding’s book may depend on what question the reader is aiming to answer. Spaulding’s book certainly provides a well-detailed picture of what a leader driven by passion and caring for others should look like. However, as an all-encompassing strategic guide to being an effective leader, A Heart-Led Leader may be lacking.

References

Fullan, M. (2007). Leading in a culture of change (revised). Jossey-Bass.

Spaulding, T. (2015). The heart-led leader: How living and leading from the heart will change your organization and your life. Currency.

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How to Design and Deliver Content for Diverse Audiences | Webinar

 

Want to prepare top-notch presentations? This archived webinar from August 2018 discusses best practices for making your presentations accessible to a wider audience that includes not only people with disabilities, but also people who call into a presentation and do not have access to the visuals, and those sitting in the back row of a large room.

The webinar also describes techniques for making your slides more accessible using a number of popular presentation tools such as Microsoft PowerPoint, Apple’s Keynote, and Google Slides, as well as how to design an accessible handout that provides value even after the presentation is over. From the National Center on Accessible Educational Materials.

Access the webinar, its slides, and a digital handout at: 
http://aem.cast.org/about/events/2018/08/design-and-deliver-content-diverse-audiences.html#.W47o6OhKiUk

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Latest Employment Opportunities Posted on NASET 

* Special Education Teacher – McLean County Unit District No. 5 is seeking Special Education Teacher who provides specialized instruction in order to meet the unique educational needs of students with disabilities, evaluates and assesses progress, in accordance with the student’s IEP, in a variety of settings. To learn more – Click here

* Special Education Teacher – STRIVE Prep is a Denver-based community of public charter schools that challenges every student to strive for college and thrive throughout life by helping them to discover and develop the knowledge, skills, and confidence necessary to succeed in college and beyond. We encourage you to read our 2020 Impact Report and learn more about what a career at STRIVE Prep is like here. To learn more – Click here

* Classroom Teacher- Work with students in various settings, develop and modify a therapeutically guided curriculum, generate reports to meet students’ needs, communicate with families, coordinate with therapists, and plan for teaching assistants. To learn more- Click Here

* Special Education Teacher– Provides instruction, directly and with the assistance of Education Assistants and Classroom Assistants, of students with developmental disabilities in education, vocational, functional and self-help, social-emotional, and behavioral areas.  Instruction is enhanced by the ongoing collaboration with other team members (i.e. behavior department, parents, related services, etc.) in a multi-disciplinary approach. To learn more- Click Here

* Special Education Teacher– Special education teachers at Urban Prep provide students with special needs with a rigorous, high quality and engaging academic experience. Achieving academic excellence requires that teachers work collaboratively with the Principal, Assistant Principal, and/or Department Chair to effectively communicate expectations to students, parents, members of the community, and colleagues from across our network of schools. To learn more- Click Here

* Network Director of Mental Health – Reporting to the Managing Director of Programs, the Network Director of Mental Health will be responsible for leading strategy across DREAM schools to ensure the mental health needs of all students are met. This is an exciting opportunity for an individual who has extensive knowledge of best practices in mental health for students. To learn more- Click Here

* Teacher-IDEA Public Schools-Houston– Help shape and develop a school wide culture that fosters a productive and enthusiastic learning environment for each student. Establish and maintain a cooperative working relationship with students and families based on trust, understanding and respect for the communities in which they identify. Prepare and help students transition from grade to grade and after graduation. To learn more- Click Here

* Special Education Teacher- We’re looking for exceptional Special Education Teachers for full-time positions in North View, GA for the 2021-2022 school year, from July 29, 2021 – May 24, 2022. These positions are 37.5 hours per week working with elementary-high school age students, with various degrees of  cognitive impairment. TherapyTravelers is a mission-driven organization in the business of changing lives! To learn more- Click Here

* Special Education Teacher – Middle School- The Middle School (MS) Special Education Teacher is responsible for the education of each pupil in his or her charge. This position will accomplish these duties while working with students, parents, other teachers and staff toward achieving the goals set forth in the Prospect Ridge Academy Mission Statements. To learn more- Click Here

* Director of Special Services- The Director coordinates and evaluates special education programs and staff, and works with general education, support staff, building administrators, and parents to develop appropriate programs for special education students who receive services in PK-12. This position reports to the Assistant Superintendent of Learning Services. To learns more- Click Here

* Special Needs Tutors –  is seeking dynamic, state credentialed special needs teachers to tutor on our virtual platform teaching learners all over the world. This is a perfect second job to earn extra money from the safety of your own home.  There is no minimum hourly requirement; all you need is a computer, reliable internet, a quiet space and willingness to teach. To learn more – Click here

* Full Time Director of Special Needs Ministry – The Director of Special Needs Ministry will provide oversight and leadership to five direct reports. This leader will be responsible to develop, oversee and implement a philosophy of ministry that shares the gospel, provides discipleship and creates a sense of belonging for those with special needs and their families. To learn more – Click here

* Special Education Teacher – This is a full-time, ten-month position to provide general classroom instruction for students with Autistic Spectrum Disorders, serious Emotional Disturbance or Development Delays. As a Special Education Teacher, you will play an integral role in the success of our students while overseeing the classroom team and dynamics. To learn more – Click here

* National, Virtual Special Education Teacher – Stride K12  is looking for Special Education Teachers to join our talented group of passionate education professionals. Special Education Teacher provide instruction, support and guidance, manage the learning process, and focus on students’ individual needs as defined by each student’s IEP.  To learn more –Click here

* Autism Program Coordinator – Hammitt Schools – The Autism Program Coordinator works collaboratively with the school staff to ensure development and implementation of best practice social/behavioral, communication, and instructional strategies within the Challenges classrooms.  Serves as a clinical leader in developing instructional and behavioral interventions in classrooms. To learn more – Click here.

* Emotional Disabilities Teacher, MS/HS – Provides and is accountable for the planning, assessment, instruction, communication, human relations, safety, and management of a classroom or assigned instructional setting.  Supports FCPS mission to “inspire, enable, and empower students to meet high academic standards, lead ethical lives, and demonstrate responsible citizenship”. To learn more – Click here

* Multiple Disabilities Teacher, ES/MS/HS – Provides and is accountable for the planning, assessment, instruction, communication, human relations, safety, and management of a classroom or assigned instructional setting.  Supports FCPS mission to “inspire, enable, and empower students to meet high academic standards, lead ethical lives, and demonstrate responsible citizenship.” To learn more – Click here

* Special Education Teacher –  Provides services to students with a range of moderate to severe disabilities ages three to 21 years of age. Leads the IEP team to develop data driven student learning and behavioral goals. Responsible for developing curriculum and program strategies consistent with the student’s learning level and to continually assess student progress towards IEP goals. To learn more – Click here

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Acknowledgements

Portions of this or previous month’s NASET’s Special Educator e-Journal were excerpted from:

  • Center for Parent Information and Resources
  • Committee on Education and the Workforce
  • FirstGov.gov-The Official U.S. Government Web Portal
  • Journal of the American Academy of Special Education Professionals (JAASEP)
  • National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth
  • National Institute of Health
  • National Organization on Disability
  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
  • U.S. Department of Education
  • U.S. Department of Education-The Achiever
  • U.S. Department of Education-The Education Innovator
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  • U.S. Department of Labor
  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration
  • U.S. Office of Special Education

    The National Association of Special Education Teachers (NASET) thanks all of the above for the information provided for this or prior editions of the Special Educator e-Journal

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    To View or Download a PDF file for this issue of the Special Educator e-Journal  –  CLICK HERE

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