DINF Web Posted on December 15, 1997

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1995

As Mr. Mason arrives early for an afternoon IEP meeting at the Thomas Jefferson Elementary School, he decides to visit his son Johnny's classroom. He's heard about the new teaching approaches that Johnny's teachers are using and he wants to see for himself how this is working.

He notices Johnny in a corner of the room with six other fifth graders who are thumbing through their notebooks to find their calendars. Johnny looks at his calendar and checks off yesterday's homework assignments. He then writes in today's homework assignments, prioritizes them, then adds his after school activities (soccer at 3:00, tutoring at 4:30).

In another part of the room, Mr. Mason notices a group of five students, including a girl in a motorized wheelchair. While the other students are talking about their plans for creating a bicycle trail in the nearby park, she is typing with one finger on a keyboard. When the students pause, she presses a button and the computer "says" what she just typed about the bicycle trail project.

Other students are scattered about the classroom in groups of four, revising letters to their representatives in the State legislature about the results of research they have been doing over the past few weeks. One group studied wetlands; another looked at the impact of the budget deficit on the economy and their future. In each group, students are discussing what position they should take and how best to present their research in order to persuade their legislator. Johnny's teacher, Mr. Taylor, is working with one group helping them to refine their arguments.

In reading each other's draft letters, the students are using a checklist of questions--which a second teacher, Ms. Stafford, has just discussed with them--to suggest revisions. Questions include: Does the letter present enough evidence to support the position/opinion? Does the letter State at least one opposing argument and does it adequately rebut that argument? These letters will go into their portfolios, which are part of the State-wide assessment. All students in the class are participating in the assessment, which is keyed to high academic standards.

Mr. Mason notices that a student has sharpened his pencil several times in the last few minutes--and bumped into other students while doing it. The second teacher, Ms. Stafford, notices this, too, so she walks over, looks at the student's work, and asks him about the assignment. While not obvious to Mr. Mason, this child has been diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD).

Ms. Stafford keeps tabs on the boy, and he stays on task for the remainder of the class, right through clean-up time. As the bell rings and class is dismissed, Mr. Mason is pleased at how well students seem to be doing.

As the children leave, Ms. Stafford gathers up some records from her desk and she and Mr. Mason walk toward the principal's conference room.

"Johnny's been talking about how great your class is," Mr. Mason says. "He's finally excited about school."

"We've learned a lot about teaching children with disabilities, these past few years. Last year our school developed an improvement plan for the whole school. We identified study skills and learning strategies as something all our kids need. Along with a number of regular classroom teachers in the school, I went to a national institute last summer and learned how all our teachers could incorporate this into instruction.

"The principal made arrangements for the researcher to serve as our school's 'coach' to help us," continued Ms. Stafford. "Several of us are 'talking' on the Internet with the researcher and his colleagues--and with other teachers who participated in the institute. We're sharing techniques and activities and helping each other deal with problems that come up."

"It's obviously working," says Mr. Mason as they enter the conference room. The IEP team members are seated around the table, including Mr. Taylor, Johnny's regular education teacher, whom he's especially pleased to see there.

"Well, let's get started," says Ms. Stafford. "I'm glad to see everyone here. Johnny's making great progress this year. He's performing at grade level in language arts. I think he's going to do well on the district-wide writing assessment next month. Let's review what's worked for Johnny this past year, so we can figure out next year's program."

The team looks at the portfolio of Johnny's writing and other work, discussing his progress and areas that need attention. The teachers seem particularly pleased with the way Johnny now takes an idea and develops it, and how well organized his essays are. The teachers believe the study skills lessons should continue next year to ensure steady progress. They also want him to learn to type and begin using a word processor to write.

The team looks at Johnny's work in other subject areas, and from that, they develop measurable annual objectives for each subject. They conclude the meeting by agreeing that Johnny should continue instruction in the regular classroom with support from the special education teacher and that Mr. Mason will receive monthly reports on Johnny's progress toward meeting the objectives in his IEP.

Mr. Mason leaves the meeting thinking about how different this meeting was from those of previous years. The focus was on Johnny learning the same things as other students. Teachers are expecting him to reach the same high standards as the other fifth graders. And they're full of ideas about how to help him do so, while tailoring instruction to his educational needs. Mr. Mason is more hopeful than he can ever remember being, about Johnny, his education, and his future.

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