PlaybookLearningDifferences 8.5x11 DIGITAL - Flipbook - Page 4
ABOUT THIS PLAYBOOK
A Call for Transformative
Classrooms
N
ationally, 1 in 5 students has
to be identified as having specific learning disabilities (SLD).
a learning difference (either
Yet many of these students do not receive the same quality of
a learning or attention issue),
special education services as their white counterparts, despite
yet only a subset is formally
demonstrating similar levels of academic performance and
1
identified with a disability in school.
behavior, even when attending the same schools.3 In the amount
Of those who are, 1 in 16 have an
of disciplinary referrals, time to graduation or dropout rates, the
Individualized Education Plan while
outcomes are often less favorable.
1 in 50 public school students receive
Taken as a whole, the system is working as designed:
accommodations under Section 504
producing disparities in outcomes for our students of color and
of the civil rights law.
leaving too many behind, disconnected or disengaged from the
Even without the formal diagnosis
learning that can liberate them. We need a transformation in
students who learn differently represent
our classrooms.
a largely underserved population
As educators, we walk into our classrooms at the frontlines
of public school students. In North
of many challenges to creating uplifting and inclusive learning
Carolina about 11.8 percent of public
spaces. Some challenges we are prepared for while others require
school students receive special
on-the-job and even in-the-moment adjustments. Sometimes we
education placements.
2
A closer look at these numbers
get teaching and learning right, and other times we miss the mark.
Our students are the direct beneficiaries of our successes and
reveals the clear impact of race on
shortcomings, so we must try our best to mitigate when and where
the adverse outcomes of students
we fall short. However, working within a system that overidentified
with learning differences. Low-income
and underserved students of color with learning differences
children, students of color and English
demands more than simply, “trying our best.” We need access to
language learners are more likely
proven and practical strategies that can alter the trajectories of all
A P l ay b oo k o n L ear ni n g Di fferen c es
of our students.
2
This playbook is a tool for educators to help bridge
the “knowing-doing” gap that exists for how we improve
the educational outcomes of students of color with learning
differences. The following “plays” gathered from educators,
parents and advocates, address classroom practice, school-based
protocols, and wider systemic issues in order to wholly transform
how we teach and how our students achieve. ■
1 National Center for Learning Disabilities. 2017. The state of learning disabilities: Understanding the 1 in 5. Executive Summary. https://www.ncld.org/research/state-of-learningdisabilities 2 National Center for Learning Disabilities. 2017. The State of Learning Disabilities: Understanding the 1 in 5: North Carolina State Snapshot. https://www.ncld.org/wp-content/
uploads/2018/01/North-Carolina.Snapshot.10032017.pdf 3 Barto, Amy. (n.d). Disproportionate Identi昀椀cation of Students of Color in Special Education, Learning Disabilities Association of
America. https://ldaamerica.org/lda_today/disproportionate-identi昀椀cation-of-students-of-color-in-special-education/
