Carolina Springs Elementary Excels at Inclusion
Carolina Springs Elementary School in Lexington School District One (South Carolina) has implemented the Step by Step for Inclusive Schools team training, resulting in increased opportunities for students. After attending the Step by Step training, the Carolina Springs team completed the Forms 1 and 2 planning process for all students receiving RtI or special education services. Using this student-driven data, our staff assisted the school to build a master schedule that allows personnel to provide support for students in the general education classroom when appropriate, and also allows for specialized or pull-out support for students if indicated in their IEP.
The staff invested time and effort into this process and have created a strong working schedule. The school has an enrollment of approximately 800 students, with 160 receiving some form of special education service and 200 receiving RtI support. This results in a large percentage of students who have a need for support beyond typical Tier 1 instruction. Virtually every general education class will have the ability to offer in-class support at some point during the school day. The district has responded to this need by providing additional staff to be able to meet the needs of the students.
Before the Step by Step training, each teacher created their own schedule with autonomy over when they would teach each subject. In order to build a schedule that is responsive to student needs, and allows the RtI and special education teachers to cover the classes, a master schedule has been created for the school. Each grade level may teach subjects at the same time, however subjects have been staggered throughout the day. For example, ELA is not taught at the same time in all grades.
Carolina Springs Elementary will continue to support their staff through training in the approaches to collaborative teaching, accommodations and modifications, the personal and interpersonal aspects of collaborative teaching. This school has committed to making inclusion an important part of the school culture.
Use our Roadmap to Quality Inclusion: A Simple Checklist for Campus Leadership to see how your school is doing.
