Documente Academic
Documente Profesional
Documente Cultură
Shelly Treleaven
M. Ed. in Leadership
Introduction
Alberta Education has stated that inclusion is a way of thinking and acting that
demonstrates universal acceptance of, and belonging for, all children and students (Alberta
2018). Within the context of school leadership, the expectation of an educational leader is that
they will promote success for all learners. How this is done is a complex question that requires
significant consideration of the barriers that are faced both by the student whose needs are to be
addressed and those in the building that are supporting the needs of each student. It is important
to recognize that a student’s need could be anything from academic, executive functioning, to
social emotional support. As a school division, Wolf Creek Public Schools has indicated as part
of their Three Year Plan that their third focus area was inclusive education, and as a result,
Terrace Ridge School had also identified it as their third area of focus.
Critique
Looking at the Terrace Ridge ACE Plan (Appendix A) which stands for
area of focus morphed from inclusive education to Student Intervention Support. In the plan
there is significant focus on students that are identified as tier 3 or 4 - which are students that
have a significant struggle in some aspect around school expectations. In the ‘Strategies’ column
of the chart on slide 24, there was a link to another document, a pyramid of intervention
strategies, that holds a hierarchy of supports that can be used with students (Appendix B). This
document was compiled over a number of years collaboratively as a staff in conjunction with an
inclusion specialist. As a school staff, we had been allotted time where we met either as a single
teacher with the inclusion coach or as a team of educators working with a group of students.
ANALYSIS OF INCLUSION SUPPORTS 3
This document helped a teacher identify strategies that could be employed to support a student,
or a group of students with a variety of needs. This document was not new in 2017. The chart
indicated that the pyramid was to assist in implementing strategies for targeted students. While
this resource does provide options and ideas on strategies to be employed, in no way does it
The pyramid of intervention, at its most base level, indicated universal supports that a
teacher could employ as part of their classroom instruction to support the needs of every child.
Many of the items listed are activities requiring additional assessments or programming that
would expect support from outside the classroom. The second tier has a list of concepts to
support differentiation. Many of the items on this list are outside the typical learning space thus
not supporting inclusion. They require someone other than the classroom teacher to work with
or supervise the student in alternate learning environments. The collaborative way that this
document was created allowed the teachers to feel ownership towards the achievement of the
students and as DuFour and Mattos indicated this creates a powerful collaborative culture where
students know that it does not matter which adult in the building they are engaging with, they are
The second column of the ‘Strategies’ chart indicated that another intervention strategy
would be to consult student data to allow it to inform the decision of which strategy could be
employed from the pyramid of intervention chart. McLeskey et al. stated in A Case Study of a
Highly Effective, Inclusive Elementary School that data collection was “used to ensure the
accountability of all school personnel” (pg. 67) and they were expected to relate every student’s
academic progress on an ongoing basis, but those of students with academic difficulty each
ANALYSIS OF INCLUSION SUPPORTS 4
week. The people accountable for this action was stated to be the administrators, but in reality
the teachers would need to be the ones collecting this data. The type of data collection expected
from the teachers at Terrace Ridge is not clear and the pyramid of interventions could be used as
a checklist of strategies rather than a source to help move the student forward in their learning.
state that the eighth characteristic that schools need to have is a supportive learning environment.
They suggest that all students must feel safe and that the learning environment is customized for
their learning. Shannon and Bylsma listed eight qualities that effective schools maintained as
part of the management of classrooms which included a visible and supportive principal, high
behavioral expectations that had been clearly conveyed to the students, and where a warm
climate where concern for the students as individuals is imperative (pg. 108). Slide 29 of the
Terrace Ridge ACE Plan shares the ILS (Inclusive Learning Services) targets and strategies. The
chart on this page lists under the ‘Strategies’ heading a list of the expected targets. In the second
column which is titled ‘Data Collection/Who’s Responsible’, there are a couple of strategies
listed; one was to review the Code of Conduct and the other indicated that the library is
representative according to a division policy. If the goal was to identify strategies to develop a
more welcoming, safe, caring, and respectful school, there was nothing in this plan that was
actionable.
Next Steps
Of the concerns listed, the most significant is the expectation that inclusion need only be
addressed for the students with special needs. High expectations for all learners with an
understanding that everyone is diverse and has strengths and needs is the starting point. Bondy
ANALYSIS OF INCLUSION SUPPORTS 5
& Ross state that a ‘warm demander’ teacher “communicates that students are important enough
to be pushed, disciplined, taught and respected” (Pg. 58). They state that developing
relationships, understanding the students’ culture and communicating the expectation of success
are not just about belief but of insistence. These are the areas that need to be addressed in
growth plans. If staff are to work together to build understanding for the pursuit of success for
all learners, then this ought to be in the plans. Budgets are tight and money to provide time for
teachers to collaborate during the typical school day is largely out of the question, but if given
the opportunity to create learning teams around how to support each other for the purpose of
student success - this is a goal that all teachers can understand and work towards. A school
strategic plan ought to be a document that has clear goals that everyone can work towards. In the
future, if inclusion is to remain a focus it would be imperative that staff and potentially older
students work collaboratively to develop collective goals. The concept of inclusion requires
developing classroom structures such that differentiation is not only possible, but easy to
facilitate. How these structures are developed will require teachers to share successes and
struggles in order to build a model that works at multiple grade levels. With support for
inclusion being reduced it will become essential that all educators understand how to be
inclusive.
Conclusion
Designing an inclusive environment requires that everyone is working towards the same
goals with the same understanding. Knowing that one must embrace diversity and promote
equal opportunity for every student is essential. One of the six principles of inclusion outlined
by Alberta Education is shared responsibility (Alberta 2018). DuFour and Mattos in How Do
ANALYSIS OF INCLUSION SUPPORTS 6
Principals Really Improve Schools? indicated that collaborative cultures where there is collective
responsibility for students achievement had a profound positive impact on students learning. In
the past Terrace Ridge staff worked together to build a list of supports for students and while the
supports were not used with all students, the act of collaboration alone offered ownership to all
students learning collectively. In the 2017-2018 ACE Plan, teachers were not a part of the
planning or implementation of the strategies. In many ways this plan is devoid of actionable
targets. In order to share the responsibility one must be prepared to build each others capacity
around the skills required for successful inclusion. The collaborative development of
differentiated practices is the next big goal that will need to be addressed both at a division and
school level.
ANALYSIS OF INCLUSION SUPPORTS 7
References
https://education.alberta.ca/inclusive-education/what-is-inclusion/
DuFour, R. & Mattos, M. (2013). How do principals really improve schools? Educational
http://proxy.cityu.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=
eue&AN=86921387&site=ehost-live&scope=site
Hirsh, S. (2006). Consider these critical questions to strengthen your school improvement plan.
McLeskey, J., Waldron, N. L., & Redd, L. (2014). A case study of a highly effective, inclusive
https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466912440455
Mooney, N. J., & Mausbach, A. T. (2008). Align the design: a blueprint for school improvement.
Shannon, G.S. & Bylsma, P. (2007). The nine characteristics of high-performing schools: A
research-based resource for schools and districts to assist with improving student
learning. (2nd ed.). EEA 539 Page 3 Effective: October, 2017 Olympia, WA: Office of
http://www.k12.wa.us/research/pubdocs/NineCharacteristics.pdf