Outstanding teachers, such as those selected for the Milken Teaching Award or those who achieve National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS) certification, regularly communicate with the parents of their students. These teachers appreciate the value of home-school communication because experience has shown that understanding the family is essential to effectively work with the student.
Life is good for Jenna Bianchi. She’s just started her second year of teaching English at Morrison High School, a job she loves. She has a pet parrot with attitude. And there’s a handsome math teacher who wants to be more than just friends. But everything changes when a defiant, disruptive tenth grader walks into her classroom.
With a smart mouth and a swagger to match, Michael Tayler is a problem for Jenna from the very first day. His school record screams troublemaker, and Jenna wonders if the new year is already doomed. But when she reads Michael’s first poetry assignment, she recognizes it for what it truly is: a cry for help.
Michael’s presence sets into motion a chain of events that turns Jenna’s perfect life upside-down and threatens to destroy her career. Faced with a challenge unlike anything she’s ever known, Jenna commits to doing what no one has done for Michael Tayler before.
Learn what questions to ask about Response to Intervention (RTI), an approach to helping struggling learners that is gaining momentum in schools across the country. This article from the National Association of School Psychologists tells you the most important features of the process, key terms, and RTI’s relationship to special education evaluation.
My first question: Who diagnosed him with an auditory processing disorder? This person should be advising you. Such a disorder often causes learning disabilities. Was he evaluated for this?
It is not common to only find an auditory processing disorder. Has your son had formal testing to clarify what other factors might contribute to his reading disability?
Marshall Raskind, Ph.D., describes the specific success attributes he and his colleagues identified in their research among individuals with learning disabilities.
A highly practical resource for special educators and classroom teachers, this book provides specific instructional guidance illustrated with vignettes, examples, and sample lesson plans. Every chapter is grounded in research and addresses the nuts and bolts of teaching math to students who are not adequately prepared for the challenging middle school curriculum. Presented are a range of methods for helping struggling learners build their understanding of foundational concepts, master basic skills, and develop self-directed problem-solving strategies. While focusing on classroom instruction, the book also includes guidelines for developing high-quality middle school mathematics programs and evaluating their effectiveness.
What do a trapeze artist, an Arctic explorer, and a soccer player have in common? Meet the fifteen kids and adults profiled in That’s Like Me!, a collection of first-person accounts of successful people who learn differently. Whether it was reading, math, writing, or speech problems, each person shares his or her inspiring story of facing the challenge of school, while pursuing important goals. An invaluable resource list for adults and students included, as well as a place for kids to write their own success stories.
Peter does well in third-grade math. But, somehow, in writing and spelling, by the time the letters get from his brain to his paper, they get turned around. His Dad thinks he’s lazy. Peter just wants to get sick and stay home from school. It takes the perseverance of a spider named Seymour to help Peter work to overcome his learning problems.
