Teachers Talk Back: LA Teacher Michelle Crawford

February 8, 2012

Michelle Crawford is a third year teacher at Environmental Science and Technology High School.  In this interview, Michelle talks about taking special education out of the bungalows of our charter schools and into the spotlight.

What challenges did you encounter as a special educator working in a charter school?
I graduated with my MA in Special Education and came out underprepared to help my students. My charter network had high expectations for students, but lacked the resources and organization to support special education students effectively.  Too often in a district or charter network, there is one person at the top supporting all special education teachers. This doesn’t necessarily support the dynamic nature of making education truly specialized to meet unique student needs. 
 
These challenges seem to have opened up a new frontier for you to innovate. How are you building a program from the ground up?
After spending the first year trying to keep my head above water, I began asking myself difficult questions—am I morally meeting the needs of my students and are they getting what they need? The answer was no. I started to think beyond compliance—what we legally need to do for our special education students. I’ve created a Resource Lab that looks more like a chemistry lab, which is kind of fitting because we need to devise and test new methods for elevating special education.
 
You’ve focused on bridging the gap between special education and college and career-readiness. What are these strategies? 
When my students go on to college or career, I want them to know how they learn and what strategies they can use to be successful. I want every senior to have written their own IEP with me and to be able to conduct their own IEP meeting so they understand and can communicate their own strengths and needs. 
 
What challenges are you confronting in this work?
I want to drive instruction through meaningful IEP goals that connect to each student. We don’t see that a lot in mild to moderate students, who often get lost in the mix. Technically, I need to be calling my students every year at least until they’re 22. We have an obligation to see how they’re doing. 

You’re still new to this work, but having a few years of experience under your belt you’ve already become an advocate and innovator. Do you think charter schools are meeting the mark?
 
As a charter school, our special education population is growing—we don’t screen and we believe all students can learn. As our student learning needs become more diverse, we’ll have to raise our standards and caliber of innovation. Charter and district schools have a ways to go to meet the mark.  On a macro level across Los Angeles on a school level, no one pays attention to the Resource Room located in the bungalows, and on a local and national level, policy makers aren’t talking enough about how to evaluate and support effective special education. 
 
So, we have a declaration of Teacher Beliefs and Principles. We created it as a starting point for a solutions-oriented conversation about elevating student achievement and the teaching profession. As a member, what’s your declaration for elevating special education teachers and students?
 
We deserve better education programs and consistently high standards for our profession and our students. We also deserve collaborative school relationships, meaningful evaluation and more transparency in terms of how our work is part of our school’s mission and goals.

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