School Administrator

February 2013 cover image

Inclusive Schooling

Educating students with disabilities
alongside their peers

February 2013 Number 2 Vol. 70

Features

Inclusive Schooling: Are We There Yet?
BY JULIE CAUSTON AND GEORGE THEOHARIS
Having worked with hundreds of schools and districts on inclusive policies and practices, the authors deliver a status check on the education of students with disabilities alongside same-age peers. They offer a road map for circumnavigating segregated service models.

Services That Span the Autism Spectrum
BY KRISTIN E. SECAN AND GWENDOLYN MASON
In Montgomery County, Md., the school system is trying to meet individual needs as the student population with diagnoses increases rapidly.

• Rachel Fuerer: The power of peers

The Option of Seclusion and Restraint
BY SASHA PUDELSKI
AASA’s government affairs manager reports on the association’s survey findings on the use of intensive behavioral interventions by school personnel.

• Merrill Winston: Benefits beyond safety

Building a Healthy Organization
BY PATRICK LENCIONI
The author of The Advantage and The Five Dysfunctions of a Team redirects his thinking to what it takes to forge a cohesive, productive and energized leadership team in a school system.

Frontline

STARTING POINT
Revisiting a topic periodically in order to measure the considerable progress and to identify what remains to be done.

STATE OF THE SUPERINTENDENCY
Job Evaluation
Superintendents name the factors most commonly used by school boards in evaluating them.

BEST OF THE BLOGS
Our monthly selection of lively excerpts from the blogs of five AASA members.

ETHICAL EDUCATOR
Punishment for a Pilferer?
Our four-person panel considers whether to press charges against a longtime school bookkeeper found to be pocketing small sums of activity-fund money.

LEGAL BRIEF
Perseverance in Personnel Matters
BY V. WAYNE YOUNG
An instructive case about a school district’s decadelong litigation leading to removal of an incompetent teacher.

BOARD-SAVVY SUPERINTENDENT
A Board Member Overdoes His Homework
BY RICHARD E. MAYER
Advice for the superintendent with a board member who’s a little too helpful on policy development.

MY VIEW
The Rake Marks of Student Achievement
BY NICHOLAS CLEMENT
The author’s behind-the-scenes inspection of a Disney amusement park left an indelible impression on the essence of facility upkeep.

MY VIEW
Investing in Early Literacy
BY JEAN M. FRANCO
In her small, urban district, a superintendent witnesses the equalizing effect of quality preschooling.

Reading and Resources

RESOURCE BANK
A recent dissertation studies how racial identity plays a role in superintendent actions.

BOOK REVIEWS

The Courage to Grow
edited by
Kristine Servais and Kellie Sanders
Reviewed by
Marilyn King

Curing Student Underachievement
by Philip Esbrandt and Bruce Hayes
Reviewed by
Art Stellar

Educational Leadership 2050
by Fenwick W. English, Rosemary Papa, Carol A. Mullen and Ted Creighton
Reviewed by
Paul M. Hewitt

Team Turnarounds
by Joe Frontiera and Daniel Leidl
Reveiewed by
Jim Hattabaugh

There Is an I in Team
by Mark de Rond
Reviewed by
Justin B. Henry

Well Said!
by Darlene Price
Reviewed by
Barbara Klocko

PRESIDENT’S CORNER
Educating the Disabled: The Long, Winding Road
BY BENNY L. GOODEN
With reauthorization of the Individuals with Disabilites Education Act approaching, it’s timely to reflect upon past successes but also to identify current challenges of policy and limited resources.

EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVE
Meeting Some Unmet Needs for Kids
BY DANIEL A. DOMENECH
Through an association partnership, the Helping Kids Program is assisting school-age children this winter in each of the seven regions of AASA membership.

PEOPLE WATCH
The most recent career movements of AASA members around the country.

PROFILE
Peggy Hinckley
BY PAUL RIEDE
Her tenacity led to great gains in an Indiana district. Now she’s consulting with others to do the same.

Plus