{"id":1488,"date":"2024-04-04T15:35:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-04T15:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/clee\/?p=1488"},"modified":"2024-08-29T14:44:36","modified_gmt":"2024-08-29T14:44:36","slug":"teaching-the-whole-child","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cehhs.utk.edu\/clee\/teaching-the-whole-child\/","title":{"rendered":"Teaching The Whole Child"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Appeared in Our Tennessee,<\/em> April 4, 2024 | View Original Article<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Macy Roberts | Courtesy Photos<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Special
Special educators and general educators work together to create plans to ensure students with disabilities receive high-quality instruction.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Center for Literacy, Education and Employment (CLEE) at UT Knoxville aims to ensure all students possess the knowledge, skills and opportunities needed to flourish in the classroom. The center\u2019s work touches the lives of students across the state but especially students with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a budget of $9 million from federal and state funds, the Access for All Learning Network (AALN) is the center\u2019s largest initiative impacting literacy across the state. It originated as a $5.5 million State Personnel Development Grant the U.S. Department of Education awarded the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) in 2015, says CLEE Director Angela Wegner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat grant was to ensure that we were supporting students with disabilities,\u201d she says. \u201cOne, in the general education space, but then also making sure that we had strong instructional practices in special education intervention.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following the conclusion of the grant in 2020, the center and TDOE sustained their commitment to ensuring access to inclusive environments and high-quality instruction for students with disabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A
Angela Wegner<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

AALN increases access to inclusive learning environments with high-quality core instruction for students with disabilities in preschool through eighth grade. To accomplish this, CLEE partners with school districts across the state to provide in-depth coaching and professional
development to participating district leaders and educators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The initiative has undergone significant developments over the years. The latest transformation occurred in the summer of 2022 and saw a transition to a coaching model that will expand into a supportive network of districts. Previously, AALN focused on a train-the-trainer model, which provided professional development to district leaders. This professional development was then redelivered by leaders to educators in their district. Now, AALN provides intensive one-on-one coaching for district leaders and teachers to foster more engagement and collaboration.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AALN is currently divided into the K-8 Access for All Learning Network and Early Childhood Access for All Learning Network. CLEE provides both coaching and professional development to district leaders, but the early childhood network focuses on giving preschool teachers more specialized attention from coaches. Additionally, the K-8 network emphasizes the pivotal role of high-quality instructional materials utilized in an inclusive learning environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Statewide coordinator for the early childhood network Amanda Mason says that, because pre-K is the foundation of a child\u2019s education, special focus in those classrooms is crucial and can change the trajectory of children\u2019s educational experiences for the rest of their schooling. Early-childhood coaches visit pre-K classrooms to offer individualized coaching each month and provide teachers with one-on-one support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Early
Early Access AALN Regional Coach Amanda Hunley and Coordinator Amanda Mason.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat support could look broadly like overall instructional practices or overall quality of the environment,\u201d Mason says. \u201cBecause preschool is so much learning through play, that environmental component is really important.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Torie Renfroe, a pre-K teacher at Parsons Elementary School in Decatur County, has been working with the AALN for two years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cEach year I have been able to see students with special needs make huge gains and also see other students learn amazing skills that will last them a lifetime,\u201d Renfroe says. \u201cWe say all the time that this program is helping us teach our students to not only learn and grow from our rich literacy environment but also from their peers. We are better able to teach the whole child.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Angela Long, statewide coordinator for the K-8 network, says that, when leading professional development for district leaders, fostering more inclusive settings and promoting collaboration between both sides of education\u2014general education and special education\u2014are deemed essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe want to see our students with disabilities working in the same capacity as their general education peers,\u201d Long says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Long and Mason started at CLEE as coaches for the West Tennessee region. They share a background as special education teachers and emphasized how valuable it is for many former teachers and special education instructors to be the ones leading the network.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019re designing content or working with district leaders, that\u2019s our perspective,\u201d Mason says. \u201cWe\u2019ve been there, and we\u2019ve lived it, and we\u2019re trying to give people what we wish we would have had\u2014what would have made us be the teacher that we wish we could have been for some of our students.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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