Tag: ESEA/ESSA

How the “System” Forces Schools into Decisions that Harm Struggling Students: The “Groundhog Day” Impact of Fear on Staff Mental Health and Job Retention

March 25, 2023

How the “System” Forces Schools into Decisions that Harm Struggling StudentsThe “Groundhog Day” Impact of Fear on Staff Mental Health and Job RetentionDear Colleagues,Introduction   Groundhog…

Judy Heumann, Special Education’s History of Litigation, and the Continuing Fight: Complacency and Defensiveness Still Stand in the Way of Students with Disabilities’ Rights

March 11, 2023

Judy Heumann, Special Education’s History of Litigation, and the Continuing Fight:Complacency and Defensiveness Still Stand in the Way of Students with Disabilities’ RightsDear Colleagues,Introduction   Last…

The Three Keys to Closing Students’ Academic and Social-Emotional Gaps

October 29, 2022

The Three Keys to Closing Students’ Academic and Social-Emotional Gaps:Strategic Planning, Proven SEL Strategies, and Student-Centered Multi-Tiered Services and SupportsDear Colleagues,Introduction   There is no school…

Should the U.S. Supreme Court Limit the Powers of the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)?

July 23, 2022

Should the U.S. Supreme Court Limit the Powers of the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP)?How OSEP Has Taken “Liberties” with the Law, and…

Sustaining Student Outcomes Beyond the Pandemic: Where Districts Need to Allocate Their American Rescue Plan (2021) Funds

May 29, 2021

Sustaining Student Outcomes Beyond the Pandemic: Where Districts Need to Allocate Their American Rescue Plan (2021) Funds Lessons Learned from the American Recovery and Reinvestment…

Implementing Effective Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports during a Pandemic: Upgrading Your Academic and Social-Emotional Prevention, Assessment, and Interventions

February 6, 2021

Implementing Effective Multi-Tiered Systems of Supports during a Pandemic: Upgrading Your Academic and Social-Emotional Prevention, Assessment, and Interventions.  It’s Not Your Fault. . . .[CLICK…

Do Black and Students with Disabilities’ Lives Matter to the U.S. Department of Education?

July 11, 2020

Institutional Bias, Power-Based Decisions, and Ineffective Practices?Dear Colleagues,Is Institutional Bias Driving the U.S. Department of Education?Friday, July 10, 6:14 AM   I rolled over in bed…

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…