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Content Details

ED466073 - To Light a Beacon: What Administrators Can Do To Make Schools Successful for All Students. ERIC/OSEP Topical Brief

Category
Executive Agency Publications
Collection
Education Reports from ERIC
SuDoc Class Number
ED 1.615:
Date Issued
February 1, 2002
Source Institution
ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education, Arlington, VA. ERIC/OSEP Special Project
Sponsoring Agency
Special Education Programs (ED/OSERS), Washington, DC
Publication Type
Reports - Research
Subject
Academic Achievement, Administrator Attitudes, Administrator Effectiveness, Administrator Responsibility, Disabilities, Educational Environment, Educational Improvement, Elementary Secondary Education, Inclusive Schools, Leadership Qualities, Leadership Responsibility, Performance Factors, Regular and Special Education Relationship, Urban Schools
Abstract
In some schools, students with disabilities achieve exemplary results. To find out what these schools do that set them apart, the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs sponsored a series of studies focused on "Beacons of Excellence Schools.I1 This topical brief highlights results from thr,ee of these studies. The University of Maryland study identified indicators that may be used by elementary and middle school administrators to focus school improvement efforts on behalf of students with disabilities. Leadership was found to be a major variable within the Beacons of Excellence Schools. The University of Minnesota and the Council for Exceptional Children identified key characteristics of high-performing secondary schools. Features leading to success were implementation of a common vision through active leadership, stakeholder involvement, instructional innovation and professional development, high expectations for student achievement, and collaboration between general and special educators. The Education Development Center, Inc. discovered how urban middle schools combine knowledge of features that lead to excellent general education with strategies for including students with disabilities in general education classrooms. Strategies included culturally responsive teaching, investigative learning, school-wide inclusive practices, and specific instructional practices that put the schools stated philosophies into practice.