KCPS Special Education Inclusion Model
As part of our mission of closing the achievement gap, SchoolSmartKC has dedicated over $700,000 to support Kansas City Public Schools in developing a new Special Education Inclusion Model. This initiative was founded with the goals of reducing the gap between students with disabilities and general education students by 10%. This model utilized an integrated classroom approach, where special education and general education teachers work together to meet the needs of special education students within their classrooms.
Early research into the SPED populations at KCPS showed that a large majority of students with disabilities were young children with a developmental delay, therefore the pilot of the Special Education Inclusion Model focused on the K-2 grade levels, and included up to three hub schools.
In these schools, special education students received special education services inside the classroom, with each school receiving support for two highly specialized special education teachers to perform this work, or a total of up to six new special education teachers across the district.
In-school programming supports covered by this grant included special scheduling to allow general education and special education teachers to co plan three days a week, monthly professional development for co-teaching pairs, research and evidence-based reading and math intervention electives for students, and touchscreen devices and internet hotspots for special education students.
In addition to in-classroom work, the Special Education Inclusion Model also focused heavily on parent and family involvement. As part of this work, parents and families were encouraged to have quarterly progress meetings with their school and dedicate 30 minutes per day to academic learning in math and reading. This grant also provided transportation that allowed special education students to attend hub schools and receive specialized support, something which had previously been unattainable for many of these families.
SchoolSmartKC was proud to partner with KCPS on the development of these special classrooms, and of the results seen from this programming for special education students.