My Initiative 1

Richelle Gannon
To develop a purpose and focus for learning assistance through collaboration and communication
between administration, teachers, support staff, students and parents.

BACKGROUND
 The purpose for this initiative is the L.A. Department has lost their focus and vision.
 Very negative attitude from students and teachers towards the learning assistance department.
 Our school has been locked into a vision that learning assistance must look the same for
every teacher, grade and student.
 Perfect opportunity: new administration and new learning assistance at our school next year
 I have spoken with the new administration to ask what their vision and focus is for Central
Middle School… team building, collaboration and communication (in line with my vision
and initiative)
Six Steps to Success
1. Right Processes
District focus for LA
o Ministry Guidelines:
 LA’s provide a coordinated and integrated set of support services, which include
school-based consultation, collaborative planning and co-ordination with school-
based team, and instruction. It also includes assessment and evaluation to Level
B (non clinical diagnosis).
Roles of the LAT
School based consultation
Collaborative planning
Assessment/evaluation
LAT’s can assist classroom teachers with assessment and evaluation on a regular basis.
Direct/Indirect instruction
• Teaching students to develop learning strategies for use in classroom settings
or for independent learning;
• Skill development or remediation
Very few remedial programs cannot be implemented within the regular classroom.
• Development of compensatory skills to minimize the effect of a disabling
condition on learning.
• Pull Out Model:
• In class support:
In class support provides more service for more children.
Collaborating on the development of programs for students
Inservicing staff
Working with classroom teachers to develop IEP’s/IBP’s
Facilitating School Based Teams
Co-coordinating outside agencies
Case manager for identified students
Co-coordinating support staff services.
 Develop an IEP database (district) one of the jobs of the district L.A. Foundation
 My Initiative 2

School focus
o Develop a purpose and focus for the Learning Assistance department at Central
middle school
 My vision for Learning Assistance at Central Middle school is to provide support
for teachers and students in the form of learning strategies, teaching strategies to
modify and adapt programs, resources, assessment of students, coordinating
IEP’s, and inservicing staff.
 Learning assistance should make teachers’ jobs easier not harder
 Learning assistance should improve student achievement
 In order to have a successful learning assistance department, their needs to be
collaboration among all staff, students and parents.
 Staff need to be comfortable with change
 To implement initiatives and to effectively provide support for students, trend is
to have LAT’s work within the classrooms on a regular basis supporting
programs.
 For the model to change within schools it is very important for the LA’s to have
the administrators support and assistance in helping in service and inform staff
members.
 The key to achievement is that the connectedness and contextuality of instruction
and the feeling of the students remain intact.
 It is important to put careful thought regarding pullout or classroom based support
and decide which one best ensures success for the students.

Grade Focus
 Developed in collaboration with all staff including teaching, support and learning
assistance
 Common focus and purpose needs to be developed
 Everyone needs to have a vested interest and belief in the process
 Common prep time among each grade
 Release time for collaboration, IEP meetings, sharing of resources and strategies,
and program set up
 Brainstorm ideas for support as grade groups and then prioritize what is capable
and possible to do for one L.A. and for each grade.

Right Structure
Pull-out Model
 My Initiative 3

Learning Assistance has been to pull students out of their regular classroom for relatively short
remediation sessions on an ongoing basis.
Research shows that pull-out delivery systems are not effective in remediating or habilitating even
mild types of disabilities.
Links are rarely made between the pullout program and the regular classroom unless there is
significant collaboration between the teachers. There is very limited transference of learning
when the child returns to the regular classroom when the program is done in isolation.
Very limited long-term benefits and changes in school achievement from pullout special ed.
programs for students with LD

Children with learning disabilities do not require a quiet isolated environment to learn.
Support staff or parent volunteers may implement many aspects of a pullout program.
This model is appropriate for
Limited activities which need to be carefully planned and should be very short term in duration.
Direct instruction should be in support of the program in the regular class, not in place of it.
Pullout programs may be appropriate for some children with severe behavioural issues.

In Class Support
Research shows that all children learn best in regular classrooms when there are flexible
organizational and instructional patterns in place.
Teachers in regular classes provide effective instruction that is appropriate for all children and can
accommodate individual differences.
Works when the LAT’s and classroom teacher work with group. Often the LA works with the top
groups, which need less support freeing the classroom teacher up to work with the low
students more.
Works because teachers know exactly what skills the children are working on and are involved in the
development of these areas. This also allows them to provide more opportunities for the
children to practice the skills.
Learning Assistance teachers can work with more children when they are directly involved in the
classroom. They can model instructional practices for students with learning disabilities and
provide additional support to the classroom teacher.

Work Space Configuration

o Separate room for assessment
o All three learning assistance teachers in one location: to share resources, ideas, to
problem solve, to promote unity,
o On a common bulletin board the purpose and focus for learning assistance
o Behind each of our desks the purpose and focus for LA in our grade: this allows all of
us an understanding of where we fit into the larger LA picture

Aligning
o The system is efficient
 Develop appropriate referral systems
 Common prep time
 Release time
o The system gets the job done
 My Initiative 4

 Develop appropriate referral systems

 Common prep time
 Release time
o The system builds better relationships
 Collaboration
 Staff feel supported
 Staff feel valued
 Staffs’ time feels appreciated because release time is granted
o How does the whole system work together?
 When there is a common purpose and focus in which everyone has had input,
people are working together for the common good of the school.
o What are the parts of the system?
 Individual teacher
 Students
 Parents
 Administration/Leader
 Learning Assistance Teachers
 Counselors
 Outside agencies
o How do we align the parts to achieve vision and strategy?
 COLLABORATION

2. Right People:
o Grade focus: What can I do for you? What do you need from me?
o Providing services that are not needed by the staff. Implementing a program with out
asking the staff what they need.

Supportive colleagues
o Communicate with them on a regular basis: problems, successes,
acknowledgment, support in the future

Resistant Colleagues
o Individually speak with each person
o Find out their reasons for resistance
o Find out how best to support them during the change
o Ask for input into the purpose and focus of learning assistance
o Provide them with research
o Allow time for change

3. Right Information
o Provide research and theories to support the various deliveries of learning assistance
o Communication of information as a whole staff
o Brainstorm and develop purpose and focus for LA
o Work in grade groups to further develop purpose and focus
o Daily communication and adjustments
 My Initiative 5

o Monthly collaboration as a whole grade group to see if anything needs to be changed.

What is working and what is not?
o Inservice on writing IEP’s ((initiative on its own))

4. Right Decisions
o There is ownership in group decisions
o If you were a part of making the decision, you are more likely to understand the various
components that went into making the decision
o You are more likely to support the decision and ultimately the changes.
o COMMUNICATION AND COLLABORATION
o Effective vs. efficient: need efficient referral for LA but effective student/teacher LA
5. Right Reward
o Release time for collaboration
o Release time for IEP’s
o Acknowledgement for doing a good job
o Weekly draw for an extra prep block to be planned and delivered by administration.
(This is two fold: students’ see their administration in a different light, administration
remains active in the classroom which allows them a different perspective on teachers’
roles).

Potential impact on student achievement

 The learning assistance department sees or comes in contact with at least 100 students per
year if not more
 If the delivery of Learning Assistance had a vision, became more efficient and met the needs
of students and teachers, it could serve more students more effectively and ultimately impact
student achievement
 LA directly impacts student achievement since you are working with those students that are
generally at the low end of the academic scale.

Data support
 Because we are a 7-9 Middle School it is very easy to have data to support the effectiveness
of learning assistance.
 Previous years IEP’s, students marks before they received the “new and improved” learning
assistance interventions, report card marks
 Teacher and student attitudes towards learning assistance before and after.

Specific and measurable

 Teacher and student attitudes towards learning assistance before and after, through a survey.
 How are they using learning assistance? Last year this year. Why did teachers not access
learning assistance and what would they need from us for support?
 Students: types of interventions IEP implementations, increased success on IEP’s (many
students on IEP’s have been failing. How can you fail an individualized education program
that is designed for success?)
 My Initiative 6

Indicators of success
 Teachers start accessing learning assistance more frequently
 Student achievement increases
 Student success on IEP’s increases
 Positive feeling from staff and students towards learning assistance
 Staffs feel more comfortable with IEP’s and how to write them. (Initiative on its own)

Is my initiative doable
 YES!
 Common vision and purpose held by the new administration
 Staff held a focus group with the Superintendent around change. They are ready for change
and all they ask for is support, communication and collaboration.
 Previous cultural audit found the same data: staff needed change, communication, support
and collaboration.
 Attitudes are so negative toward past practice. With a little communication and support I
feel a huge turnaround is possible.
 With a clear focus and vision of our support, an increase in student achievement is inevitable.