Support in the Classroom

Part of my process is showing the need for support of scaffolds in the general education classroom. If I am given an English Language Learner (ELL) student to evaluate for special education, it is difficult to qualify that student based on the validity and reliability of the standardized assessments for ELL students. The trouble with giving the student the assessment in their native-tongue is that many students are considered poor-bilinguals and struggle with that language as well. Part of this journey has shown me that I need to know and understand the scaffolds for ELL students to support them in the general education classroom.

This blog post is a review of the journal article "Five Strategies to Help Beginning ELL’s Meet the Common Core" as published by The California Reader, in 2013, Vol. 47, No. 1, pg. 27-31.

Our goal as educators is to support the academic achievement of our students, and part of that is supporting them in meeting the standards. My research is trying to understand how to detect if an ELL student requires special education services. Since my academic placement is new to a huge growth in ELL students, not all classroom teachers have an understanding of how to support ELL students in class.

The article starts off explaining that ELL students need support in developing a greater language proficieny to meet the listening and speaking standards (pg 27). It is very common for beginning ELL students to be quiet and shy. This makes knowing and figuring out their needs very challenging for teachers. There are five strategies that support early ELL students to understand their needs to reach academic achievement (pg 28).

One strategy to support ELL student’s comprehension in class to is to analyze how you communicate with students. The article suggests that having “caretaker” speech is necessary to insure ELL students are listening to you communicating with them. The article describes “caretaker” speech as having a calming, and soft voice. The article expands that talking quickly and loudly can appear to be aggressive to ELL students, making their environment unpleasant. The article continues with suggesting teacher to talk in simple sentences. This helps to ensure that students have the chance to understand what is being communicated (pg 28).

A second strategy the article supports using in the general education classroom for ELL students is the practice of using real objects and visuals. The article describes that when ELL’s see written words it can be incomprehensible. The article makes a good comparison to trying to read Chinese symbols and trying to interpret the meaning without any knowledge of Chinese. The article expresses the importance of not assuming students understand the meaning of words, and to take the time to present them prior to the lesson. The article expresses that using concreate objects to support comprehension has students tap into their senses, which supports their memory for learned material. Lastly, the article expresses that even a simple drawing can make the difference of a comprehensible lesson for ELL students (pg 29).

Another strategy is to introduce the Total Physical Response (TPR). The article depicts the importance of meaning to support learning. One strategy the article discusses is how adding movement can help with comprehension. Movement should be explicit and intentional to convey clearly what is being learned (pg 29). I have added movement into my lesson on how to create a simple sentence.  We make a big gesture to emphasize using a capital letter at the beginning, jump every time we need a space and put a fist in the air for ending with a period. Overall, students know the movements more than the words capital and period, but they attach the movement to the meaning.  

The next strategy that the article asks teachers to utilize is the support of the students first language. The article explains that students can access deeper thoughts when they have the opportunity to express themselves more comfortably. If you have two ELL students who share the same first language, allow them to pair up and talk in their first language. The article expresses how much their growth can be stunted if they are asked to speak only English in class (pg 29).

Lastly, the article asks teachers to utilize engaging books to read to students. Reading to students helps them learn words and how to pronounce them correctly. The article continues to express that support their auditory learning is just as important as their visual learning (pg 30). Reflecting on this article makes me think that auditory learning is not always the main priority, when teaching students to read is so important. However, that auditory learning is best practice for all students and appears to be very important for ELL students.

Overall, part of supporting ELL students in the general education classroom is making sure they understand meaning. It is so easy to assume that a student understands what you are saying. In my experience, ELL students are able to observe what is going around them to support their own actions. Although this is a great strategy to support their ability to stay on task, it leads teachers to believe they understand what is being communicated to them. I believe the strategies shared in this article also reflect best practice for supporting all students, especially special education students. I would like to share these simple strategies with teachers to support all of their students. I will support general education teachers in implementing these strategies in order to understand the level of support their ELL students need. If the implementation of these strategies support the students’ academic growth, it would appear that they can be successful in the general education classroom.

It Takes a Village...

We have all heard the term, “it takes a village,” at one point in our lives. This simple phrase really conveys the number of people and support it takes to accomplish challenging tasks. This article has me reflecting on how much input and thought is needed to really understand and support every student individually. 

This blog post is a review of the journal article "Evaluating Special Education Services for Learners From Ethnically Diverse Groups: Getting It Right" as published by Bilingual Research Journal, in 2011, Vol. 34, No. 3, pg. 316-333.

The authors of the article interpret data from research completed in 2005-2006 on English Language Learners who were also receiving special education services. It was determined from this study that it was challenging for educational professionals to distinguish academic learning problems that were present because of a language barrier, or because of a learning disability. There data and files were then interpreted by professionals with expertise in the special education and ELL population of students. Results of the study did provide evidence that 18 out of the 44 students probably had a disability, and that their primary disability for 7 of those students was Speech and Language Impairment and 7 for Other Health Impairment (pg. 324) This study definitely helped shine a light on public school’s referral and evaluation system for Special Education. 

The article begins with a brief summary of how ELL students are twice as likely to be reading below grade level than English proficient peers. Since these students have low academic achievement, most teacher’s express concerns for students to be in special education (pg. 317). This article continues to discuss how the interpretation of the study’s results show that Response to Intervention (RTI) can be an appropriate strategy for supporting ELL students (pg 317).

Something from the article that was very interesting to me is it stated that, 56% of ELL students in special education are categorized under having a Learning Disability (LD). The article continues, calling the category of LD a “judgmental” disability category, since educators can place this disability category on a student without a medical diagnosis. (pg. 318). From my experience I can relate that the Learning Disability category has requirements, however interpretation of a student’s data can be debatable. The article continues to provoke thoughts on why so many ELL students are put into this category, and is it a result of poor interpretation of student data (pg. 318). This almost sounds like specialists know there is a factor that is preventing them from learning at the same rate as their peers, but not considering any of those factors to be something different than special education related. The article then continues to go through suggestions for acquiring accurate and reliable data on ELL students.  

As I think of my own personal experience, a lot of teachers do not know how to support their ELL students who have really low academics. The special education team is a very supportive team in our building and when teachers are struggling, our teachers seek advice and council from the special education team. Part of me wonders if general education teachers have the resources they need to support the needs of our ELL population. Working in a school district with 16% of our staff being of a minority group, but working with a population of 51% of our students being in the minority, there needs to be support in educating staff members.

The question becomes, who is supporting the ELL students in your school that have low academic achievement? Is there enough ELL support in your school to support students and teachers? It really does take a village to support a student with so many different factors. An interesting conversation the article brings up is also giving special education training to ELL teachers to have more participation in in the evaluation process to help support decisions. ELL teachers also have access to all ELL students and are able to compare similar peers to the growth of students with comparable histories (pg. 327). In my experience, a general rule of thumb for identifying students to be referred in special education is how different they are from their peers. The main concern is that students who are learning English as second language should not be compared to all of the students in their class, but rather peers who have the same background.

The more I research the topic, the more I realize how critical it is for communication and collaboration is necessary to truly identify ELL students with having a disability. Now the question is, what systems need to be in place for this communication to happen to identify ELL students for having a learning disability accurately? I will be collecting data on systems already in place in other schools that appear to be successful.

Research Update

So far this process has been a roller coaster of emotions for me. I am so excited to learn more about the evaluation process for ELL students in determining the need for special education services. Other days I am beyond stressed on the amount of support you need from others to complete your research. When you are creating your proposal for you research, it all looks so simple on paper. Once real life is factored in and having to interact with other people, it really slows your process down. I am starting to understand why researchers usually are studying one topic for multiple years.

I am starting to collect data from students, since I have about one-fourth of my consent/assent forms turned in, and next week I will get the rest of the forms signed at parent teacher conference. I am starting to organize data I already have and am working to organize data into spread sheets as I receive them. I hope this makes it easier to look at when I begin analyzing data. As I organize my data, I am starting to see some patterns, however am waiting for my data to grow before analyzing further. I am lucky that most parents have been very willing to meet and talk about signing consent forms.

From the interactions I have had with parents, they are very willing to cooperate and want to help support the education of all students. They felt comfortable talking about how they aren’t sure if their child’s native language is the factor for poor performance in school. A lot of the parents wanted to talk about what they can do at home to help support their needs. I am fortunate, so far, that I will be able to collect data on student’s home life and check how some factors contribute to academic success.

I really am enjoying the articles I have read so far to help support my research. I found that this topic impacts me more than I thought it did. At the current school I teach at, there are many students that are ELL’s and who are constantly being referred to special education by their teachers and by our Culturally Linguistically Diverse CLD teacher. Almost every day I am thinking about an article I have read in relation to a conversation or experience I am having with a teacher.

From articles I have read, I am seeing many connections from other research that has been done and how it connects to my experiences. For example, I just read an article explaining how many ELL students who learned Spanish, but then forgot how to speak Spanish when learning English; usually have slower academic progress than students who learn to speak Spanish more fluently alongside English. I really can see how that connects to the group of 10 ELL students I know personally. Of course, I am trying to make sure I don’t become biased on solely my own personal experiences.

The most I research this topic, the more interested I become. I do hope that this process continues to go smoothly, but I am nervous on how the data will come together to really support the need for change in assessing students for special education services. I am continuing to keep the needs of the students as a priority, which really keeps me focused on my research to improve their educational experience.

Getting it Right

This blog post is a review of the journal article "Evaluating Special Education Services for Learners From Ethnically Diverse Groups: Getting It Right" as published by  The Association for Persons with Severe Handicaps in, JASH, 2001, Vol. 26, No. 3, pg. 138-147.

From the article, "Evaluating Special Education Services for Learners From Ethnically Diverse Groups: Getting It Right", the author, Jill Bevan-Brown explores the most important factors in appropriately assessing and interviewing people from an ethically diverse group. The article begins explaining that when evaluating students of ethically diverse backgrounds their needs to be a focus on obtaining "accurate, valid, reliable and relevant information." (pg. 138)

The article focuses on examples of misconceptions, misunderstandings and a lack of transparency between people of different ethnic backgrounds. For example, the author interviewed a woman of the same ethnic and cultural identity as her own, but because she did not appear to have the same ethnic background, this information wasn't obvious. The beginning of the interview the woman spent time casually talking to build a small relationship. As the interview began, the interviewer began to ask personal questions on the special education services her son was receiving. One question she asked was if she cared about the cultural differences between her son and his speech therapist. At first the interviewee said this was not a concern to her and she felt comfortable with the speech therapist.

Throughout the rest of the interview the author expresses how formal the interview felt. After a few questions, the interviewer revealed subtly that she has the same ethnic background as her, which made a huge impact on the rest of the interview. The interviewee immediately caught her subtle revelation and asked directly if she was Maori like she was. Once they had this shared equity, the author reveals how quickly their relationship grew. The author explains that she felt that the interviewee opened up and even changed her answers to questions previously asked. She also explained that she did care about the ethnic background of her sons speech therapist and revealed she did not want the interviewer to think she was racially prejudiced. (pg 139)

It is not a huge revelation in my eyes that people with the same ethnic backgrounds are able to have a more intimate conversation. When I worked with a student from India, and said hello to them in their native language, a huge smile swept across their face. I do not have any obvious characteristics that show that my father is from Pakistan, however the second this student realized I had similar ethnic background as him, he felt a connection with me. With this information, it makes you question how accurate is the information we obtain from students who are culturally diverse from those who assess them.

At the school I work at, we do have an ELD teacher who speaks Spanish, however she does not have a ethnically diverse background. She is an American woman who was born and raised by American parents. Does this make it more challenging for her to understand the cultural and social customs of the Spanish students she works with? Is the fact that she speaks Spanish enough to say that her and the students she assesses have a trust and transparency in their relationship?

The article continues on to express the factors needed between students and those who evaluate for special education services to make the information they receive to be valid and reliable. The article has six "rights" to think about for assessing students of ethnic backgrounds that are explained below. (pg 143-145)

1) The right people are asking the questions.

Having someone that the student can trust and be more open with, who may share the same ethnic background as them, will have the student be more forthcoming with information.


2) Asking the right questions.

Having a process for generating a culturally appropriate and meaningful questionnaire for families of the students. This means having an open dialogue for people to share concerns or feedback on the information asked to families and how that can be culturally inappropriate. If you can create a questionnaire that asked the right questions you can get the information that is most appropriate for that ethnic group needed to identify a student.

3) Asking the right people.

Think about how can you find people who can share and express understanding of a culture.

4) Asking in the right way.

Creating a positive relationship and build trust in who you are evaluating to ensure that answers are accurate and meaningful.

5) Asking questions in the right place.
6) Asking questions at the right time.


A lot of cultures have different communication styles that are deemed as respectful or inappropriate. When communicating with people, have some knowledge of respectful practices in their culture. Also, give them the power to set a meeting time and place to converse in a place and time that is comfortable to them.


The study from the article states that students "are classified through a misunderstanding or through a different cultural perspective" (pg 145) and are being labeled as having an intellectual disability. Although this article reflects a very specific ethnic group of the Maori culture, it is easy to draw connections in my own placement and experience. As the school I work at becomes more diverse, I want families to know that their child is important and their ethnic background is respected. If we can take the 6 "rights" of evaluating students with diverse backgrounds, we can determine more reliable information on students to properly identify the students struggles in our education system.

There is so much more information that we can get from our research and genuine interest in families that standardized testing will never be able to obtain for us. Each student deserves a individualized assessment and evaluation plan to truly identify where there struggles stem from. If a student struggles in school, receiving special education services may not be the most appropriate or beneficial way for that student to become successful.

The Child Find Process

This blog post is a review of the journal article "Child Find Activities Under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act" as published by Teaching Exceptional Children in, Council for Exceptional Children, 2017, Vol.49, No. 5, pp. 301–308.


Although this blog is dedicated to the research and understanding of how to properly identify students of ethnic backgrounds for special education services, this next article gives us some insight to properly identifying students in general. Child Find, is a term used for programs and people that specifically evaluate and determine students who need to receive special education services. There are many systems in place across the country that are determined at the district level for the evaluation process.

At the school I work at, we use an RTI (Response to Intervention) approach for determining whether or not a student should qualify for special education. This consists of determining that a student is not having the same growth as most of the students in their class. In response to their inability to remain at the same level of growth as their peers, interventions or targeted instruction is documented for that student. If the student does not respond to the targeted intervention they receive over a period of time, they are then able to qualify for the evaluation process into special education.

The article, "Child Find Activities Under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act" is a recent article that gives us a summary of factors that should be included in this process. The most important factor, according to this article, is to always be looking out for students who are considered to be "at-risk." (pg 304) In my school district, students who are considered to be "at-risk" are those who perform well below benchmark for our early literacy skills assessments. These students are then put through our RTI process before determining the need to a special education evaluation process.

The most interesting part of this article was the "common mistakes" found in the Child Find process. The article asks us to look at three areas of concerns (timeline, student progress and mental health) in a more critical lens. When looking at timeline, the evaluation needs to take place in 60 days, the initial evaluation should not be delayed, and waiting for an outside evaluation should not take precedence over that start of the school-based evaluation process. (pg 305)

The article also points out that "cultural factors, environmental or economic disadvantage, and limited English proficiency must be ruled out before a child can be classified as having a specific learning disability." A school needs to have a process for eliminating these other factors to make sure these students are not inappropriately identified. (pg 305) If a school doesn't have a process for examining and ruling out these factors in a valid and reliable way, there is a strong chance of giving misidentifying a ELL student with a learning disability.

According to the article, when examining student progress, be mindful of the amount of undocumented supports the teacher is using to keep the student making progress. If teacher is providing many informal supports over a long period of time, this may show a need for the student to have formal special education report to continue the services the student received from their teacher. (pg 305)

There also needs to be an awareness of the mental health concerns that may need to be addressed if it appears to be affecting the students educational progress. (pg 305) There aren't many referrals in my school specifically for just mental health, however when their mental health is showing a severe impact on that students progress their needs to be formal documentation. It is important to keep in mind that many cultures do not address mental health concerns and that student will not have the chance to receive an outside diagnosis. It is important for the school to express to teachers to be aware of the characteristics of a student who may be struggling with mental health concerns and how to go about creating a referral for them.


In conclusion the article states, "school districts are likely to be found in violation of Child Find activities when school officials overlook signs of a disability, fail to evaluate, or have no justification for deciding not to evaluate." (pg. 307) I think this last statement is really important when determining when to evaluate a student who is culturally diverse. What is the deciding factor in the school that determines whether it is time to evaluate that student for a learning disability? This process is extremely important and specific, so making this process specific to students who are culturally diverse need to be put in place. Working in a growing community with an increase in diversity we are becoming more aware of the changes and updates we need to make on our Child Find activities.