Priority or Afterthought: Involving Special Populations Leaders in District-Level Instructional Decision Making

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: District Leadership in Complexity: Navigating Competing Demands of Academic Excellence, Evidence-Based Decision Making, Inclusion, and Care in a Time of Crisis (Table 20)

Abstract

As districts adopt inclusive support models, leaders must ensure that their core instructional program attends to the diverse needs of all students, including “special populations” such as students with Individualized Education Programs and 504 Plans (SIEPs) and English learners (ELs). Using social network and interview data from 40 central office staff in a large comprehensive district, we examine how special populations leaders were involved in decision making related to elementary literacy and mathematics instruction. While district structures reified silos, shared beliefs and individual agency helped to foreground SIEPs and ELs in professional development, especially in mathematics. These findings provide insights into how SIEPs and ELs can be prioritized in instructional decision making, rather than treated as an afterthought.

Authors

• Megan Hopkins, WestEd

• Jennifer R. Cowhy, Northwestern University