Chapter 5 and 6

What Makes a School Special?

Meryl Becourtney

Readingville, New Jersey. For many years schools have invested a lot of money in becoming “special.” The truth is what sets an education apart and leads to reading and writing success is the classroom teacher and what happens within the four classroom walls. The classroom can be a special place without any special program. There is also not always a need for a specialist to remove students from the classroom. Instead, their support can be given right in the classroom. Administrators too, can work to make the school a special place for all students to learn.

            If making the classroom a special place is what is desired, then it can be done through supporting teachers to become that special factor.  As Allington and Cunningham share (2007), “Schools with success in teaching all children had enormously effective classroom instruction” (p. 104). There is no special formula or program that makes certain teachers able to teach a group of students to read and write. Instead of focusing on finding the special curricula that will help students reach success in literacy, there needs to be more energy and resources put in to developing the teacher. “For too long, efforts in improving school effectiveness have focused everywhere but on the classroom teacher” (p. 105) He or she can be the super hero if given the proper support and professional development. Unfortunately, “Classroom teachers’ expertise… has not been valued” or acknowledged for how special it can be, especially when considering the vast knowledge they have about their students (p.106).

            The value of specialists and coaches should not be overlooked, but moving forward these supports should be collaborative with the teacher in the regular classroom. “Classroom teachers need the opportunity to work and talk collaboratively about their work with their peers” (p. 107). One way this can be done is through “shared development of lesson plans” (p.111). If the lesson plans can be delivered to the target audience together, that is even better. Delivering support services in an in-class setting have been linked to equal or greater gains in achievement than pull out services (p.111-112). So rather than removing a particular student to give her a specialized program or service, work to meet her needs in the classroom.  What should be special is the collaboration and teamwork between the teacher and support staff in the building.

            In order to truly have special teachers, it is critical to have a supportive administration that works with the educators to provide them with the support they need to feel equipped to teach their students. Principals need to move “toward building-level decision making with decision-making teams that involve teachers and parents, not just administration” (p.129). Principals are the ones who must support the special teachers in their buildings so that they feel comfortable and backed to “take the lead and support each other” (p.130). Administrators, like teachers, need to be trained and educated in the field of literacy so that they can support the teachers in their building, because unfortunately too few teachers have strong literacy backgrounds (p.113).

            It might be hard to believe, but there is no magic spell, medicine, or formula to get kids to read and write. Each year a new batch of students will enter the classroom and the special educator in that room will determine, with support from administration and other staff members, how successful the year is. Let's throw away the notion that something external needs to be done and instead focus on cultivating the leaders we have in front of America's youth each and every day.