A New Approach For “Stuck” Cases

While Walker Partnerships offers a broad, integrated set of services that have proven to be consistently helpful to districts, requests for case consultation and professional development remain steady, as Walker Partnerships professionals provide a fresh perspective to education professionals struggling to teach students with serious challenges. 

Districts faced with complex cases which are at an impasse are asking Walker Partnerships senior consultants for case consultation to find innovative and effective solutions. The details in these “stuck” cases vary from case to case, major presenting themes are often the same:  school and work refusal, verbal and physical aggression, lack of self regulation and disruptive behavior.

Often these behaviors are manifested in symptoms of mood disorder, anxiety, sensory and learning issues, and are sometimes complicated by family issues. Walker Partnerships’ case consultation begins with an ecological approach to problem solving and provides teachers, school administrators students and families with objective support for maintaining the student within the district whenever possible.

Many districts are also renewing their commitment to professional development for their general and special education staff, as well as their paraprofessionals. Walker Partnerships trainings provide staff members with access to a broad knowledge base of new skills and best practices for managing challenging behaviors in the classroom.

A wide range of how-to strategies and behavioral intervention instruction comprises the Teacher Consultation Model, a proven model for successfully introducing new strategies of intervention to the classroom. This training format allows for 45 minutes dedicated to classroom observations targeted to specific teacher concerns, with immediate one-on-one teacher consultation.

Clinical supervision can be a difference-maker

Last fall, we explained the benefits of using Walker Partnerships to provide clinical supervision to your school-based personnel.

Through the consultation model Walker Partnerships continues to provide direct clinical supervision to school-based social workers, guidance counselors, and school adjustment counselors. Several districts have purchased a set number of hours for the year to provide on-site clinical supervision and consultation to these critical service providers.

This supervision model has, in the words of one school-based staff member, allowed for the opportunity “to reflect upon the content and the process of their therapeutic work.”

In many districts, school-based professionals do not receive the ongoing clinical supervision that is essential to their work with students and families. When working in a school climate that is experiencing great pressure to effectively case-manage some of the most complex cases, clinical supervision becomes even more critical.

As one school adjustment counselor recently said, “I have been able to receive the ongoing clinical support I need to maintain a framework for counseling services, ranging from collaborative goal setting with clients, the use of treatment plans to track goals, and how to collect and utilize data to evaluate student progress.”

Is it working? Could it work better?

Program evaluation from Walker Partnerships is allowing many school districts to objectively and effectively assess their special education programming, and to identify areas of programming and services that can be further developed and improved.

Sixteen evaluations recently completed for area school systems have ranged from comprehensive, district-wide assessments to program- and school building-specific appraisals, including grant-funded special education programs.

The emphasis of these evaluations has typically been on comparative cost analysis of the expenditures related to special education, and with recurring themes typically pointing to the need to target specific program areas for improvement.

One of the most consistent findings is the potential benefit of further clarification of roles and responsibilities of various special education personnel and paraprofessionals, as well as the ongoing professional development needs of general education and special education staff.

Evaluations also reveal a great deal of misunderstanding about various disabilities and exactly how these disabilities impact learning in the classroom. Terms like “inclusion classroom”, “co-teaching” and “in-classroom support” are often used interchangeably and lead to confusion among school-based staff members.

Walker Partnerships evaluation reports are very detailed and provide districts with solid data that can empower administrators to begin to develop actions plans that will assist in refining and improving programs that serve students with disabilities. With the help of Walker Partnerships senior consultants, program evaluations can be the first step toward improved capacity to educate and maintain students with complex challenges within the school district.