To Support All Students’ Needs, Teachers Must Be Constantly Learning

CALL TO ACTION

To support all students’ needs, teachers must be constantly learning

By Frederick Brown

Categories: Equity, Evaluation & impact, Leadership

When parents send their children to school, they want them to be cared for and educated as the unique individuals they are, regardless of whether they have an intellectual or physical disability, are multilingual learners, are still struggling to recover from pandemic setbacks, want extra academic enrichment, or face any number of challenges. And they expect their children will be seen and valued, regardless of their cultural background, race, class, disabilities, or life experiences. U.S. schools serve more than 7 million students with disabilities, making up about 15% of the total student population (Schaeffer, 2023). That percentage has nearly doubled since the National Center for Education Statistics began tracking it in 1976, after the passage of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (NCES, 2023). The

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References

Cole, S.M., Murphy, H.R., & Robinson, J. (2022). The relationship between special education placement and high school outcomes. The Journal of Special Education, 57(1). journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/00224669221097945

Learning Forward. (2022). Standards for Professional Learning. Author.

NCES. (2023). Digest of education statistics. nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d22/tables/dt22_204.30.asp

Schaeffer, K. (2023, July 24). What federal education data shows about students with disabilities in the U.S. Pew Research Center. www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2023/07/24/what-federal-education-data-shows-about-students-with-disabilities-in-the-us/

Frederick Brown

President | CEO at Learning Forward | + posts

Frederick Brown is Learning Forward’s president | CEO. Fred is an education visionary who knows firsthand that our nation’s schools need transformational change if we are to meet the challenges of the next decades. Fred advocates that every child deserves to reach their highest potential and every educator must have the opportunity to participate in exemplary, ongoing, professional learning programs to provide students the skills needed to meet their unique needs.

Supporting educators at all levels and improving student achievement are through lines of Fred's career. An elementary school teacher, a middle school assistant principal, and school principal, Fred saw firsthand the impact high-leverage instructional practices and school culture have on school success.

Fred is a frequent speaker on leadership and building high-quality learning in schools. He has co-authored two books that have made significant contributions to the field of education, demonstrating how a comprehensive approach to professional learning can be achieved so that everyone in a system is a learner, and how principals apply a learning lens to their many critical responsibilities to create a productive climate for learning and collaboration. "Becoming a Learning System" and "The Learning Principal -- Becoming a Learning Leader" are time-tested Learning Forward resources for schools and leaders.