Study of the Mount Diablo Unified School District - Mt. Diablo Unified ...

CHAPTER 3: SERVICE DELIVERY OPTIONS AND CONTINUUM OF SERVICESThis chapter reviews the delivery of instructional services to Mt. Diablo Unified SchoolDistrict (MDUSD) students with disabilities. The district provides a full continuum ofservices from least restrictive to most restrictive setting. Sections in this chapter include:3.1 General Education Consultation3.2 Academic Resource Support3.3 Full‐time Instruction3.4 Nonpublic Placements3.5 Related Services3.1 General Education ConsultationIssue 3.1: Collaborative Consultation.MDUSD provides a collaborative consultation model of instructional delivery for studentswith disabilities in the general education setting. While the model is working well in someschools, it is underutilized in other schools. In general education consultation, typically aspecial education and a general education teacher collaboratively teach in the sameclassroom. In some situations, the general education teacher works collaboratively with aspecial education assistant to meet the needs of students with disabilities or to provideaccommodations to students with Section 504 plans in the general education classroom.Collaborative classroom observations by MGT consultants indicate that the majority of theMDUSD collaborative teachers used a teach/assist model where one teacher delivers theinstruction (typically the general education teacher) and the other teacher (typically thespecial education teacher) assists students throughout the classroom. More specifically, ofthe 100 classrooms visited, MGT consultants documented that 84 percent of the classroomsused the teach/assist collaborative model. In 12 percent of the collaborative classes, MGTobserved the use of various classroom centers or stations for instruction with both teachersproviding assistance to the students. The use of instructional technology such asSmartBoards, AlphaSmarts, and computers was observed by MGT consultants in only sevenpercent of the classrooms visited.Exhibits 3‐1 and 3‐2 show schools that demonstrate improved academic achievement ofstudents with disabilities with a one‐year change in achievement, a five‐year change inachievement, and an average change in achievement across five years, as measured by theCalifornia State Test. These schools effectively implement a collaborative model of languagearts and mathematics instruction and effective teaming to meet the needs of students withdiverse learning needs, such as those with disabilities under IDEA or Section 504. As shown,the achievement of students with disabilities at these recognized schools exceed state anddistrict percentages for improvement on the California State Test.MGT of America, Inc. Page 3‐1