Schedule changes would allow for homerooms

PLUM CITY – As the Plum City School Board learned at its June meeting, the goal of Plum City educators is to adopt a full-inclusion model in the middle and high schools, which will provide special education students services within the general education classroom with their peers. Along with this are changes proposed to the master schedule, or how school days are structured.

Why is full inclusion important? As part of Plum City School District’s examination of its administrative structure this past year, educators examined different models, organizational changes and efficiencies that could better serve students and staff.

Kari Weiss, a UW-Madison, Division of Extension community development educator and Plum City community member and parent, focuses in her career on organizational and leadership development. She worked with the school board this past spring with its administrator search and teachers on this full inclusion proposal.

In April when considering applying for a grant, staff realized more complexity existed than anticipated to changes they wanted to make. So they took the time to do it right, Weiss said.

“When considering taking special education to a full inclusion model, it was very apparent that there were a lot of layers,” Weiss told the board.

A team comprised of Abby Regnier (director of special education and elementary special education teacher), Cora Fox (middle school English language arts teacher), Dan Herzog (reading interventionist and middle school social studies teacher) and Weiss began working on a proposal to present to the school board.

“They had all the ideas themselves, did it on their own time and collaborated with other staff,” Weiss said.

The full inclusion model will promote a more efficient master schedule, promote a more inclusive school community, give staff the ability to share resources, provide students more equitable access to content specialists, provide more accountability, allow for collaboration between staff, and re-establish a strong middle school model (which can be tough in a building shared with high school students).

“The idea was to provide SPED service minutes in the general education setting where co-teaching would occur to support the model,” Regnier said. “Many schools implement more inclusive models and there are many positive outcomes and opportunities because of it.”

Who qualifies for SPED?

A student may be referred to SPED (special education) services by any school personnel, parent(s) or legal guardian, or anyone that is involved in the child’s education, said Regnier.

“Students are then evaluated and eligibility for SPED services are determined,” Regnier said. “Students must show how their differing abilities impact their learning or ability to access curriculum in the general education setting.”

If a student qualifies for SPED, an Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) is created. An IEP is a legal document that outlines a student’s present level of academic achievement and functional performance, goals that address the student’s disability- related needs, and methods or processes the school will use to ensure needs are met.

Current model Currently, SPED students are pulled from classes, such as math or reading, and receive SPED services during that time in a separate classroom away from their peers. With the new model, students who are able to will receive those same services in the general education classroom, with the proper support joining them in the classroom.

“This allows them to receive both grade-level material alongside their peers and the support they need to succeed,” Regnier said.

SPED students may still be pulled out to receive help, but now will be integrated all together.

Master schedule change

As part of full inclusion implementation, a master schedule change is proposed for the 2021-2022 school year. This includes adding a structured advisory period, where students will report to a homeroom teacher each day.

“Our middle school model has moved away from having an advisory/homeroom period in recent years, and we noticed that our students, parents, and staff were all missing the benefits that this class period offers,” Regnier said. “This helps with communication, support and building a positive school environment for our students.”

Middle schoolers would be kept in more of a “middle school hub” to regain the “lost true middle school vibe.”

It also allows homeroom teachers in middle school to be more intentional and develop better relationships with students. A counterpart high school advisory period allows students one homebase teacher who will advise them. It gives students a place to check in regularly.

The schedule changes will offer more flexibility and opportunities for high school electives to be taught, giving students more choices in what classes they can take. Because of staff reallocation, Herzog will be able to teach middle school social studies, freeing up teacher Shaughn Laehn (who currently teaches both middle and high school social studies) to teach more electives. More Advanced Placement classes may be able to be offered.

The schedule sets aside built-in collaboration times for teachers, allowing twoperson departments to share common prep hours. Since a smaller district has no builtin curriculum director, the built-in collaboration time between colleagues is important, Herzog said.

The school day would run from 8 a.m. to 3:17 p.m., with time at the end of the day to meet with students: A study hall, a specific intervention, homeroom, offering students cohesiveness and knowledge of who to come to. Kids who need to stay late for extra help can do so from 3:20-3:45 p.m.

As for SPED students, the schedule changes will allow for each student to be taught by the content expert, instead of being pulled out of the classroom for their learning.

“Students who need extra academic help, supports, and modifications will receive it within the regular classroom,” Regnier said. “Full inclusion creates community.”

Moving forward

To move forward with full inclusion implementation, training would be needed in co-teaching, paraprofessional/ Title 1, and SPED modifications and accommodations.

Staff would request a change in the bell schedule, professional development days once a month and/or a release time with substitute teachers taking over for that period, and adding homerooms/ advisory periods into the school day.

As far as budget, the proposed changes are expected to cost $15,000, with the bulk of that being curriculum/ accommodations: Practical English, resources for post-secondary education and plans, progress monitoring tools, fidgets, flexible seating and text to speech equipment.

Staffing would require no additional dollars as positions would be reallocated between current staff.

Lastly, the full inclusion committee recommends the following:

•Consideration of roll-out at the elementary school in 2022-23.

•School counselors: full inclusion consideration for FTE and social-emotional learning purposes.

•Adding a lead teacher/middle school dean administrative presence at middle school.

•Planning and instruction designed model to be considered.

•Adding a data collection system.

The board did not vote on the proposal, but seemed supportive of a more flexible schedule allowing more opportunities for kids. They also liked that teacher contracts would not change.

“Teachers have a done a wonderful job of coming up with solutions to problems,” said Weiss. “We want it to be attainable and realistic.”