Arlington ISD maximizes benefits for growing number of special education students

Ashley Haddad noticed her sixth-grade student shaking in her chair. This was a sign that he was losing concentration.

“Touch your head.'' Hadad touched her head. Students followed suit.

The “touch your eyes” process was repeated.

“Touch your nose.” By the final command, Haddad had regained his student's attention.

This is just one of the many techniques Haddad, an academic and behavioral learning environment teacher at Wood Elementary School, has mastered during her 17 years teaching special education.

Haddad is one of the Arlington ISD teachers who are meeting the needs of the district's growing number of special education students. Although overall enrollment continues to decline, the number of special education students has increased over the past three school years, according to district data obtained by The Arlington Report.

As of October 2023, the district had 6,424 special education students, or approximately 12% of the student population. This is an increase of 400 people from the previous year. Dyslexia and dysgraphia have also recently been included in the category of special education.

When Cindy Brown applied to be director of special education in October 2022, that share was about 10%.

“This is a pretty significant increase and that trend continues,” Brown said.

This growth is consistent with national trends. More than 7.5 million students, or 15.2% of public school students nationwide, will need special education services in the 2022-23 school year, according to the latest data from the National Center for Education Statistics. In 2011-2012, that percentage was about 13% of all students.

Under the nation's special education law, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, all special education students must receive an individualized education program, also known as an IEP.

There are many reasons why a student may need an IEP, including physical or mental health conditions, learning disabilities, and developmental delays.

All students with disabilities in Arlington ISD are initially considered general education students.

Brown University has three priorities for the upcoming academic year. It's about having enough staff and teachers, maintaining high academic standards, and developing the best IEP for the student.

“It's really a moral imperative to make sure no one is left behind, and there's no one more vulnerable than children in special education,” she said.

Support staff and instructors

Brown knows that the district cannot support special education students without support for the staff and teachers who work with them.

She has been with the district since 1990, serving as a classroom teacher and working with special education students.

Her team meets monthly with lead teachers at each campus. They will discuss the latest legislative changes affecting special education and consider how the department can address issues facing teachers, she said.

Each week, the department meets with new and substitute teachers, who have degrees but do not have teaching licenses.

As of April, the district had 489 special education teaching positions, Brown said.

Board member David Wilbanks said Arlington ISD's biggest challenge in serving special education students is finding quality educators and support staff.

There are about 19 school districts within a 30-minute drive of Arlington ISD, which means the district has plenty of competition to attract talented educators, Wilbanks said.

Nationally, special education teachers are often cited as positions that are “somewhat” or “very difficult” to fill. The National Center for Education Statistics announced in October that about 77% of public schools admitted they would have difficulty meeting capacity for the 2023-24 school year.

Brown meets weekly with human resources, she said. Hiring topics aren't always about pay. To attract more talent, you may consider using a variety of strategies, such as paying for special education teaching certification or providing mentorship.

Approximately 25 percent of Wood Elementary students participate in special education programs, according to Principal David Dillard. Next year, the school will add another teacher to support students with dyslexia to accommodate the growing needs of students.

Teachers at Wood Elementary School share responsibility for their students, which is important when working with special education students, said Dillard, who previously taught in special education.

“If you have a teacher who gets easily irritated with a student who has learning difficulties or differences, that teacher doesn't necessarily think of that student as their own,” he says. “They think of them as Mrs. Haddad's students, and we want everyone to think of them as our students.”

Traditionally, those who disrupt the peace in the classroom may be punished by the teacher.

Instead, Haddad brought up another trick. She cheered him up by having the students sing “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” That grounded him.

But she couldn't do it alone. Haddad also had two paraprofessional girlfriends with him in case he couldn't reach a student on a particular day.

“You think, ‘Oh, my toolbox is empty.’ What do you think?’ And they would intervene,” she said.

students' performance

Arlington ISD earned two points on the state's results-based accountability measures this year.

This scale rates districts across the state from one best to four worst. This score takes into account 18 different metrics on a scale where 0 is best performance and 3 is worst performance.

This is a force distribution system. Even if all districts had scores in the 90s, the district with the lowest score would still receive a 4.

That makes it difficult for the district to set goals, Chief Academic Officer Stephen Wirtz told trustees at the Feb. 8 board meeting.

“Our goal is always to get to zero, maybe one or two,” Wurtz said. “At the same time, I'm rooting for my peers' kids to be progressing as quickly as our kids, which means someone is always going to pass as a senior or sophomore. ”

Arlington ISD is in the 80th percentile statewide.

He said Texas' achievement test scores, which Trustee Wilbanks called “a one-size-fits-all that doesn't fit any population,” are among the most pernicious accountability indicators. Ta. He's pleased with the district's direction and Brown's efforts, and gives props to Arlington ISD's current special education teachers.

“But we still want to be at zero because this is a distribution of force. It's about being in the group that is doing better than everyone else in the state. Because it means,” he said.

student support

STAAR test scores in reading, science, and social studies result in lower scores for districts. Most special education students take state exams, Brown said.

However, reading comprehension is still required in science and social studies.

“Is it a decoding issue? Is it a comprehension issue? So that's what we're working on as a team right now, and that's going to be our focus next year,” she said. .

Over the next two years, special education will be ranked by the AF system just like general education, Brown said.

The district has developed a comprehensive literacy plan, and Brown's department is considering how it would play out in special education classrooms, she said. Teachers also use in-person instruction to ask students to read aloud and monitor comprehension.

Back in the classroom, Haddad asked the students to read the words aloud. Then she worked on a math problem with another student.

Over the past 17 years, Haddad has learned to be patient and that every student has needs and must find them.

Sometimes she uses techniques whose success even she cannot explain. She just knows which ones will work for a particular student. When things get difficult, she tells herself she'll try her new method the next day.

“I don't know. I love what I do,” she said with a laugh.

Dang Le is a reporter for the Fort Worth Report. To contact him, dang.le@fortworthreport.org or @DangHLe. At The Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independent of board members and financial supporters.Read more about our editorial independence policy here.

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