Shift to Co-Taught Classrooms Highlight MHS Improvement Plan

The Melrose High School Council hopes that by moving special education students from small group settings — with a special education teacher and a specialist — to general classrooms with two teachers —a content specialist and an instructional specialist — can improve those students' MCAS exam scores.

The move towards co-taught classrooms was one of several goals enumerated in the high school's School Improvement Plan (PDF), developed by the school council, and presented to the School Committee last week by Principal Joseph Dillon and senior Adam Cervenka, along with Dillon the co-chairman of the council, which is comprised of teachers, parents, students and community members.

In a lengthy presentation and discussion, Dillon also stated that the school seeks, among other goals, to decrease the number of students falling in the Needs Improvement or Failing categories on the math and science MCAS exams; reduce bullying incidents; and improve communication between staff and parents.

Dillon told the School Committee that the school council noticed a "significantly higher percentage" of special education students falling into the Needs Improvement or Failing categories on the math and science MCAS exams. Out of 27 special education students, 15 fell into those two categories, he said.

By moving students from small group classes, where the students work with a special education teacher and a specialist, to co-taught classes where all students are taught by a instructional specialist and a content specialist — a process already underway at Melrose High School — Dillon said the council believes it would give those students broader exposure to MCAS topics and give them a greater chance of succeeding. 

"By the end of 2010-11 school year, that will eliminate all small group classes," he said. "We still have smaller classes for those students, but they benefit greatly from having a content specialist and instructional specialist in the classroom. The key to that — and I heard this earlier this evening — is we need to  provide strong professional development not only special education teachers, but all teachers around co-teaching ... and common planning time for special educators and content."

Dillon said they also hope to reduce by 10 percent — or four students — the number of all students falling in the Needs Improvement or Failing categories on the math and science MCAS exams. In the most recent test results available, 41 students placed in those two categories. He added that because the school should receive raw scores earlier this year, in June, the MCAS goals for special education students and all students may be revised upwards if this year's scores warrant loftier aim.

School Committee member Carrie Kourkoumelis expressed her support for loftier goals regardless of what this year's MCAS exam scores reveal. She said the 10 percent figure sounded "arbitrary" and "seem a little overly modest."

Kourkoumelis used Northeast Metro Tech vocational school in Wakefield as an example, stating that those students have half the time Melrose High School students do for academic; a quarter of the population has special needs; for over 4 percent of the students, English is a second language; and in general the school has a larger percentage of students from lower socio-economic status.

"Their goal is 100 percent passage on MCAS," she said. "Granted that's not always on the first try, but their goal is 100 percent and they succeed in half the time. I'd wonder what they're doing and perhaps we could send a group to study what they're doing, because clearly they are succeeding and their students are succeeding."

School Committee member J.D. LaRock, in agreeing with Kourkoumelis that 10 percent improvement may be too low a target, told Dillon that he appreciated the principal being direct about an area where scores are lagging behind and saying that the goal could be revised upward when 2010 MCAS exam scores are released.

Dillon responded, "We haven't seen growth in math. I agree that 10 percent is modest, but if we see changes, those will be reflected."

LaRock said in terms of the co-teaching model, "anything we can do to reduce segregated environments for [special education] students is a positive," but asked Dillon what he saw in the co-teaching classes already underway that would lead to higher test scores.

Exposing special education students to the same curriculum as regular education students is a major part of the co-teaching model, Dillon said.

"Right now, I don't think our students in small group models are being exposed to the same curriculum as their peers in CP1 and CP2 classes," he said. "I'm not saying performance would be comparable."

Also, Dillon said that "we can't pretend that students who are regular education students all learn in the same way" and that the co-teaching model would be beneficial to all students, as the instructional specialist could key in on strategies to help any student who may be struggling in a particular subject area.

"What I can say is that students in the co-taught model over past few years have been successful in a limited way, in terms of looking at MCAS," he said. 

Towards the end of the discussion, School Committee member Don Constantine said he was "very impressed" with the amount of information and data provided within the high school's School Improvement Plan.

"This is probably the best high school School Improvement Plan I've seen come before the board," Constantine said to Dillon. "I want to thank you for doing that. With so many people involved in this, it makes it that much more likely to meet or exceed those goals."