The steps in the special education process are described in your assigned reading for this week.

Of all
the steps in the special education process from pre-referral intervention to assessment, to developing the
IEP, to placement, etc., which step in the process do you find most confusing or troublesome? Why?

After doing this, as well as reading the assigned reading for this learning module, please
analyze the sample IEP in three ways. First, indicate one thing that you like about the
IEP-- a strength/positive aspect of the IEP and relate this strength/positive aspect to
what you have read about IEP's in your reading assignment for this learning module.
Second, also indicate one concern that you have about the IEP and relate your concern
to what you have read about IEP's in your reading assignment for this learning module.
Finally, indicate one question that you have about the IEP.
To post your responses, please go to the IEP Analysis Discussion Board Forum by
clicking on the above link. Finally, please be sure to follow the expectations for your first
and second posts described in your syllabus and the grading rubric for discussion
board assignments.

Tonight, based on the post readings, I am wondering what has been the extent of
preparation the group has experienced to be able to wear the many hats in their role as a
teacher. In addition, I noticed the schools specific role in addressing social issues is
mentioned in a handful of posts. From a teachers point of view, what is your perception of
the schools role? Specifically, in your opinion, how does or should a school address the
issues that affect the teaching/learning environment? What reasonable support should a
teacher expect from the school to effectively teach and ensure students learn? Finally, to
what degree, in your experience, does the school mirror society?
In closing, I want to share that the references in your postings are very helpful. I encourage
the class to share their references and/or hyperlinks to help support your thoughts and
provide additional learning resources for others. Again, thank you for excellent and thoughtprovoking posts.

Two items in this weeks news seem particularly relevant to our class LM2 focus. Local
media covered the outbreak of a hallway fight at Bellaire High School where an HISD officer,
caught in the path of thrown punches and shoves, was injured and hospitalized. Local and
national news sources (including Time magazine) revealed West Houstons Memorial Senior
High School freshman assembly debacle of two weeks ago. Both have been a popular discussion
topics this week in the schools I serve. I have heard the familiar refrain of, Well, what did they
expect? chorused repeatedly among faculty and the student body alike. Amongst a few parents,
I received feedback opining that the behavior of the students reflected the general decline in
society, in upholding our moral values, in keeping respectful standards in place.
I am conflicted about entirely agreeing with such an assessment. While our adherence to
moral values changes its face and appearance with the times, I continue to consistently witness
positive awareness efforts and reinforcements of good community/society behavior. More so
than when I was a high school student? Less so? More or less so than in my parents
generation? Im finding it challenging to judge that. School violence incident statistics would
support there being an overall decline in respect of school rules, authority figures/role models,
and the law. In a study published in December 2014, Rosalind Duplechain, Ph.D.1 and Robert
Morris, Ph.D.2 of the University of West Georgia3 summarized United States school shooting
incident statistics dating from 1760 to present4.

1 Early Childhood and Elementary Education; Associate Professor

2 Secondary Education, Curriculum and Instruction, and Administration; Professor
3 Associate Professor and Professor, respectively
4

The spike in the number of incidents since 1990 is dramatic yet to fully insure we are comparing
the numbers on an in todays dollar basis, I wish to examine how these statistics compare on a
per capita basis (i.e., reflected against the number of schools/population in each). Furthermore,
in the spirit of there being nothing new under the sun, such acting out behavior is not original
to any generation, Generation Z included. While the means of acting out behavior may change,
the spirit and ends of the behaviors share similarities over time. Recall, too, Horace Manns
worry over growing crime rates and social class conflictslead[ing] to violence and mob rule
(Spring, 12). Violence both inside and outside school walls has been a concern since schools
were conceived. That said, I do not wish to even hint at minimizing the staggering issue of
present-day school violence. Any violence (weapons use, bullying, fighting, and beyond),
school-based or no, not only merits, but demands our most serious attention. I feel it gives the
adage No Child Left Behind an additional, vital and crucial dimension. A school truly often
mirrors societyparticularly along these lines. Just as with our global environment, there
should be no place in schools environs for living in fear of ones physical or emotional safety.
How should a school effectively address issues affecting the teaching/learning
environment? What reasonable support should a teacher expect from the school to effectively
teach and ensure students learn? A school can validly be expected to insure the safety of its
students, faculty, and community. Insofar as possible, a school should provide for basic needs
and sufficient resources to allow a student to study effectively and contribute valuably. What
keeps a school safer? Foresight, prudence, advocacy, resources, and communication (the latter,
most of all). As Alecia well-noted in her post, communication is integral to stabilization and
improvement. Spring also emphasizes in Chapter 2 that well-applied, well-timed, consistent
communication is a fundamental key to addressing key issues affecting the school environment.

Duplechain and Morris cite recommended steps for creating safer environments that were
articulated in two different studies (Redlener [2006]; Snell and Volockh [2005]) (Duplechain, et
al). I am happy to summarize these recommendations in a separate post, if there is interest. In
summary, both studies indicate that teachers, administrators, parents, support personnel like
myselfwe all play a significant part in catalyzing these efforts.

REFERENCES
Duplechain, R., Ph.D., & Morris, R. C., Ph.D. (Winter 2014). School violence: Reported school
shootings and making schools safer. Education, 135(2), 145-150. Retrieved September
10, 2015.
Iyengar, R. (2015, September 10). Teens were allowed to anonymously post questions on a big
screen at assembly and it backfired spectacularly. Retrieved September 10, 2015, from
http://time.com/4028878/houston-memorial-high-freshman-assembly-anonymousquestions/.
Spring, J. H. (2014). American education (16th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill.
Student arrested following brawl at HISD's Bellaire High School. (2015, September 09).
Retrieved September 10, 2015, from http://abc13.com/news/student-arrested-followingbrawl-at-hisd-high-school/976395/.
Zaveri, M. (2015, September 08). Innovative quest for student feedback backfires at high school.
Retrieved September 10, 2015, from http://www.chron.com/news/houstontexas/houston/article/Innovative-quest-for-student-feedback-goes-6492012.php.