Special Education and Diversity

The student demographics of our area consist of 42.1 % Caucasian students, 1.4 %
African American students, 5.6 % Asian students, 0.3 % American Indian students, 2.5% two or
More Races and 0.1% Pacific Islander. Of these demographics 11.4 % are English Language
Learners, 10% are Special Education students and 52.3% are Low Income and are eligible to
receive free and reduced price lunch. It is important to recognize the culture and background of
the students we serve in order to take this information into consideration as we create lesson
plans and other educational activities for our students. One of the tools that all of our teachers
utilize is differentiation. Simply put, quality classrooms evolve around powerful knowledge
that works for each student. That is, they require quality curriculum and quality instruction. In
tandem, Understanding by Design and Differentiated Instruction provide structure, tools, and
guidance for developing curriculum and instruction based on our current best understandings of
teaching and learning (Tomlinson, 2006).
Students in our area that need special education services are welcome to attend our
school. We offer inclusion classes as well as self-contained in all core subject areas. Some
youngsters endure extremely adverse circumstances, including abuse, neglect, and pervasive
disadvantage, without developing emotional or behavioral disorders; others succumb to adverse

circumstances; and some develop disorders in environments that are clearly conducive to normal
development (Kauffman, 1997). Our teachers have come from excellent teaching universities
and have had many hours of professional development in special education areas. They are able
to work with students from any type of special needs background. We have paraprofessionals
and 1:1 aides as needed by student. We also have smaller class sizes in order to optimize
students needs.
11% of our students are ELL. English learners (ELs) are students whose English
proficiency is not yet sufficient to provide the students with the ability to successfully participate
and achieve in classroom settings where the language of instruction is English. ELs are eligible
for Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) or Transitional Program of Instruction (TPI) services
and any other appropriate language supports. We offer bilingual and ESL classroom for our
students. Accurate and effective assessment of language minority students is essential to ensure
that ELL students gain access to instructional programs that meet their needs (OMalley, 1996).
The teachers in our ELL program understand the importance of authentic assessments and how
they guide instruction.
52 % of our students are of low income status and 2% of our students are homeless.
Children need to have a strong, stable primary caregiver who provides consistent and
unconditional love, guidance, and support. Caregivers also need to have a steady income in
order to support their children. In order to help make this happen, our school offers free GED
classes to our parents and other family members. We also free breakfast and lunches to our
students that qualify for reduced price or free lunch.
In our school we use the Common Core State Standards to prove and assess what our
students are learning. The standards are: research and evidence based, clear, understandable, and

consistent, aligned with college and career expectations, based on rigorous content and the
application of knowledge through higher-order thinking skills, built upon the strengths and
lessons of current state standards and Informed by other top-performing countries to prepare all
students for success in our global economy and society. In our literacy program, we based our
curriculum off of the Common Core State Standards for English and Reading. Our students are
able to: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.1 Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an
analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text, CCSS.ELALITERACY.RL.8.2 Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over
the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an
objective summary of the text, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.3 Analyze how particular lines of
dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or
provoke a decision. Our students, by the end of the year, will be able to read and comprehend
literature, including stories, dramas, and poems, at the high end of grades 6-8 text complexity
band, independently and proficiently.
According to Professor Charles Desforges, Parental involvement has a significant effect
on childrens achievement and adjustment even after all other factors (such as social class,
maternal education and poverty) have been take out of the equation between childrens aptitudes
and their achievement. Differences in parental involvement have a much bigger impact on
achievement than differences associated with the effects of school in the primary age range.
Parental involvement continues to have a significant effect through the age range although the
impact for older children becomes more evident in staying on rates and educational aspirations
than as measured achievement (June 2003). In order to help us involve our parental
community, we offer free events where parents can meet and converse with their childs teacher.

We also give parents the opportunity to volunteer in their childs classroom and help out by
reading to the class, supervising at recess or whatever the teacher may need them to do. We
know and agree with the saying that it takes a village to raise and educate a child.