Increasing students with disabilites skills through quality instruction in the academic support class in the Brandywine School District in Wilmington, DE

Eisenman, Laura T.Many secondary students with disabilities need specialized instruction in basic skills and strategies in addition to what they receive in their core content courses to achieve academic and post-secondary success. The Brandywine School District established the academic support class period to support the success of students with disabilities who are in the general education classroom. This class was to be a proactive step in helping students with disabilities build and maintain the skills necessary to engage and succeed in the inclusive general education classroom. However, academic support teachers appear to spend more time assisting students in the completion of their content coursework rather than instructing them in basic skills and strategies needed for success. My goal was to create a structure, including supports for educators working in the academic support class, that would promote students’ acquisition of academic skills and strategies to increase success in the inclusive general education classrooms. I implemented the following strategies to achieve this goal: (a) identified current teaching practices, perceptions, and resources related to the academic support class; (b) provided a professional development plan outlining key instructional strategies; (c) identified and defined clear expectations for the academic support class for administrators, teachers,and parents; (d) created resources to help teachers identify and organize instruction grounded in evidence-based practices to promote students’ acquisition of needed strategies and skills; and (e) provided administrators with a tool to ensure that they implemented research-based instructional practices in the academic support class. Having a standard structure for teachers, administrators, and parents’ that connects instruction and accountability for the success of students with disabilities in the academic support class. With clearly defined expectations, the system establishes periodic checks to ensure that teachers and administrators are held accountable for student learning through the implementation of highly effective instruction in the academic support class.University of Delaware, School of EducationD.Ed