Tag: Department of Education Policies

Underachieving, Unresponsive, Unsuccessful, Disabled, and Failing Readers (Part II)

March 14, 2020

Underachieving, Unresponsive, Unsuccessful, Disabled, and Failing ReadersDiagnostic Assessment Must Link to Intervention: If We Don’t Know “Why,” We Can’t Know “What” (Part II)Dear Colleagues,Introduction   Last…

Literacy Instruction and Student Reading Proficiency: The Multi-Tiered Whole Must be Greater than the Sum of Its Disconnected Parts (Part I)

February 29, 2020

How a Comprehensive Blueprint Prevents Isolated Solutions and Inconsistent ResultsDear Colleagues,Introduction   Well. . . “all of a sudden,” there has been a nationwide rush of…

Did a Misguided U.S. Department of Education E-mail “Confirm” Its Improper Favoritism of the PBIS Behavioral Framework?

February 15, 2020

Using the School Climate Transformation Grant to Misrepresent, Re-Brand, and Strong-Arm Educators toward Only "Department-Approved" PBIS ConsultantsDear Colleagues,Introduction   I actually began writing this Blog message over…

The Year in Review (Part II): Schools’ Pursuit of Effective School Discipline, Classroom Management, and Student Self-Management Strategies

December 21, 2019

Prevention, Disproportionality, Trauma, and Seclusions & RestraintsDear Colleagues,Introduction   With the whole New Years thing going on, and our transition into a new decade, I was…

The Year in Review (Part I): Schools’ Pursuit of Academic Achievement and Student Proficiency

December 7, 2019

Curriculum, Instruction, Intervention, and EquityDear Colleagues,Introduction   It seems that every day this month, I’ve received yet another e-mail or Blog from a national educational organization,…

Closing Secondary Students’ Significant Academic Skill Gaps: Teach at Their Grade Level or Their Skill Level? (Part II)

November 9, 2019

Reviewing Two Recent Studies of Math Deficient StudentsDear Colleagues,Introduction   Two Blog messages ago (on September 28th), I began a two-part discussion on:Closing Academic Gaps in…

Closing Academic Gaps in Middle and High Schools: When Students Enroll without Mastering Elementary Prerequisites (Part I)

September 28, 2019

The MTSS Dilemma—Differentiate at the Grade Level or Remediate at the Student Skill Level?Dear Colleagues,Introduction   I do a great deal of consulting in middle schools…

Inequities in the Distribution of School Funds to Individual Students Revisited: Required Transparency, ESEA/IDEA Funding Flexibility, and Multi-Tiered Efficacy

September 14, 2019

Reminding Schools of their Responsibilities and PossibilitiesDear Colleagues,Introduction   Earlier this Spring, near the 65th anniversary of the landmark Brown v. Board of Education case, I…

An Open Letter to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Regarding Its Report, “Beyond Suspensions: Examining School Discipline Policies”

July 27, 2019

Begin with the End in Mind:  It’s about Root Causes and Intervention—Not About Policies or PositionsDear Colleagues,Introduction   Over the past year (at least), I have…

Revisiting the School Seclusion and Restraint Epidemic: The Federal Government Says It’s Worse than Thought

July 13, 2019

While the Numbers are Important, We Need to Focus on the Reasons and SolutionsDear Colleagues,Introduction   Back in March, we wrote a two-part Blog Series on…