Inclusive Practice and the WINS model

Dear NPS IEP Families – 

I am writing a second newsletter this month as I would like to update you on our efforts at addressing concerns about Community Trust and Staff Wellness relating to the Student Services Department. 

So far we have held listening sessions with parents and caregivers at four of the six NPS schools, and have also held sessions with staff at four of the six schools as well. We will have conducted sessions at all six schools before April vacation. 

The vast majority of our discussions have been positive, with parents focusing on the professionalism and dedication of our staff and with staff focused on the engaged and caring community. 

Of course issues relating to funding concerns have come up frequently, and that is timely given that we are currently in our annual budgeting season. Reading interventions and the long block schedule at the high school have also been a common topics across groups. Once the listening sessions are complete, I'll provide a more complete summary of the themes of our discussions. 

What has also come up frequently, especially among staff with longevity and among families whose children are at the secondary level, are the impacts of the WINS model of inclusion that was introduced to the district eight years ago. 

WINS deconstructed specialized programming for students with intensive needs at all four elementary schools in the district. It led to a slight increase in the number of special education teachers in each building, and a substantial decrease in the number of paraeducators in each elementary building. 

The consensus among staff, parents, and community members is clear that, although it may have been done with best intentions, the WINS model had long term, unintended negative effects on the quality of special education programming across Northampton Public Schools. 

Anne Donovan, of CASE Collaborative, is conducting an independent evaluation of our special education programs at my request. I have provided her with some historical documentation going back to the WINS model, and will be creating opportunities for her to interview staff and families in the district. 

I expect that the CASE Program Evaluation will help us determine the proper steps forward for intensive needs programming at our elementary schools, in conjunction with close collaboration with building principals, their staff, and our community-wide working group. We anticipate that a finished report will be available by the end of the school year. 

I have been deeply engaged with this work during my first year in the district, along with seeking to be responsive and supportive to the needs of students, staff, and families. Many parents and community members have reached out with messages of encouragement and support in this effort, and I am grateful to you for that. 

I also have a personal connection to the WINS model. In 2016, I was the Coordinator for Educator Development at the MA Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). There I facilitated many initiatives related to instructional quality across the state. 

The Massachusetts Guidebook for Inclusive Practice and Foundations for Inclusive Practice online courses were two of the most significant initiatives that I developed at DESE. 

The frameworks for inclusive practice that we developed at DESE were focused on aligning district, building, and classroom practices around Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Social-Emotional Learning (SEL), and Positive Behavioral Interventions and Support (PBIS). 

The tools we built were designed to increase the inclusiveness of general education classrooms. 

Before I left the Department, I had a few conversations with administrators across the state who described their attempts to break apart their intensive needs programs in the interest of being more inclusive. I’ve included a link to the Guidebook for Inclusive Practice and Foundations for Inclusive Practice resources below. You can see that the focus of all of these resources was on general education and schoolwide / districtwide inclusivity. The focus was on building more inclusive instructional and leadership practices, not deconstruction of existing systems.  

When I talked to administrators about breaking up their intensive needs programs, I advised caution. While these programs can sometimes become isolated, and isolating for kids, the goal has always got to be meaningful inclusion. 

Not just physical inclusion in the general education classroom – meaningful inclusion into the life of the class, the school, the district. 

It’s too soon to tell where things are going with intensive needs programming in Northampton, but I can tell you that our community-wide working group has been unequivocal in its commitment to establishing the core value of meaningful inclusion. 

This is the goal that we are all working towards, across the district. It is the right work, the right focus, and the right thing to do. Even though we are facing challenges, I am confident that by working together we can create a special education system that serves all of our children.

As always, parent and caregiver voice is essential to this process. Drop a line here, fill out the survey below, or call the office to set up an appointment if you would like to connect on this message or on anything else. 

Parents (Quick) Feedback Survey: https://forms.gle/1pJShoh68s6LHF6s7

DESE Inclusive Practice Resources: https://www.doe.mass.edu/edeval/guidebook/

Sincerely, 

Matt Holloway