BURLINGTON PUBLIC SCHOOLS
District Curriculum Accommodations Plan
(DCAP)
A Resource Guide for Teachers, Principals, Student Support Services Personnel, and Parents to Meet the Needs of All Learners of the Burlington School District
Massachusetts General Laws require the adoption and implementation of a District Curriculum Accommodation Plan (DCAP). This plan is intended to guide principals and teachers in ensuring that all possible efforts are made to meet student needs in general education classrooms and to support teachers in analyzing and accommodating the wide range of student learning styles and needs that exist in any school. By describing in a document the accommodations, instructional supports and strategies that are available in general education, and the process for determining effective interventions for struggling learners, it is hoped that this DCAP will help support diverse learners in our schools and avoid unnecessary referrals to special education.
Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 71, Section 38Q1/2 “A school district shall adopt and implement a curriculum accommodation plan to assist principals in ensuring that all efforts have been made to meet the students’ needs in regular education. The plan shall be designed to assist the regular classroom teacher in analyzing and accommodating diverse learning styles of all children in the regular classroom and in providing appropriate services and support within the regular education programming, including, but not limited to, direct and systematic instruction in reading and provision of services to address the needs of children whose behavior may interfere with learning, or who do not qualify for special education services under chapter 71B. The curriculum accommodation plan shall include provisions encouraging teacher mentoring and collaboration and parental involvement.”
DCAP Overview:
The role of the Burlington Public Schools has evolved over the years from one of essentially developing and implementing specific support programs and services for students to one of collaboration with Principals, classroom teachers, and curriculum coordinators and department heads. This collaboration in planning and implementation enables the District to provide specifically defined programs and services to continue to meet the needs of the students.
The formulation of new programs and service initiatives are a result of the broader representation of opinions through District Leadership Teams and individual School Based Teams. The Burlington Public Schools in consultation with these Teams has facilitated the establishment of programs and services to more effectively and efficiently meet the needs of the students.
The Burlington Public Schools is dedicated to working collaboratively with educators, parents, support professionals and the community to ensure that all students receive their appropriate services and supports in the least restrictive environment/setting, conducive to facilitating their maximum emotional, social and academic growth. The focus of this collaborative approach is to prepare students for productive lives as full members of our society. The Burlington Public Schools DCAP was developed and refined through several meetings with district administrators and was shared with each School Leadership Team. Additionally, the DCAP was be disseminated and explained to all staff at the elementary, middle and high school grade levels. The Burlington Public Schools DCAP addresses various strategies that will help to achieve this objective, including:
Systems of Tiered Instruction (RTI) - A system used to screen, assess, identify, plan for, and provide interventions to any student at- risk of school failure due to academic or behavior needs. This approach referred to as Response to Intervention (RTI), is a process that provides immediate intervention to struggling students at the first indication of a failure to learn.
Special Education Services - These would include services that are available to students through the regular education program, including services to address the needs of students whose behavior may interfere with learning. A description of the District’s Special Education programs and services is appended to this DCAP.
Title I - Memorial, Francis Wyman,
Reading Services - This means the direct and systematic instruction in reading for all students.
Mentoring and Collaboration - This set of strategies includes those that encourage teacher mentoring and collaboration.
Parental Involvement - This effort includes workshops/presentations and strategies that encourage parental involvement in their children's education.
While not required by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), this DCAP seeks to identify strategies in several other areas including:
School Organization - Included here are such things as changes to the school schedule (such as additional instructional time or block scheduling), review of school policies and discipline codes, RtI and pre-referral activities before students are evaluated to determine eligibility for special education, after-school options (such as homework assistance and peer coaching.) and behavioral interventions including Bullying Programs/Bullying Curriculum.
Curriculum Alignment- These strategies provide for a review of local curriculum in relation to state learning standards.
Additional Support Services - Services that provide additional staffing or consultation on behavioral issues and on literacy development are included in this category.
Psychologists: School Psychologists perform evaluations and screenings, provide consultation to classrooms, and provide direct services to children both in the classroom and individually to address academic, social/emotional, and/or behavioral needs.
Guidance Counselor: The guidance counselors at the secondary level support the academic, career and personal/social-emotional development of all students. They participate in disciplinary meetings as well as Special Education and 504 Team meetings. They assist students and parents with the college application process or other post secondary goals. At the elementary level, the guidance counselors support the social/emotional development of all students. They provide social skills instruction within the classroom and within small groups. The elementary guidance counselors coordinate and oversee students’ 504 Accommodation Plans. The guidance counselors also provide support to teachers and parents.
Reading and Math Curriculum Coaches: Coaches facilitate curriculum work and alignment through Curriculum Councils and are the liaisons between the councils and the district leadership teams; they provide professional development to all staff in the district and also support teachers through modeling lessons and providing resources; coaches also manage student data and progress monitoring through the RtI model
Speech and Language Pathologist: SLP’s perform evaluations and screenings, provide consultation to classrooms, and provide direct services to children both in the classroom and in the therapy room to address communication skills including the following: receptive and expressive language, social communication, articulation, fluency, voice, and hearing.
Occupational Therapist: OT’s perform evaluations and screenings, provide consultation to classrooms and provide direct services to children both in the classroom and in the therapy room to address fine motor and perceptual motor skills as well as address sensory integration skills.
Physical Therapist: PT’s perform evaluations and screenings, provide consultation to classrooms and provide direct services to children both in the general education setting and in the therapy room to address gross motor skills
BCBA: The behaviorist provides consultation and support to classroom throughout the district as well as direct services to students in district programs. The behaviorist conducts systematic behavioral assessments, provides interpretations of the results, and develops and supervises behavior intervention plans.
Vision Specialist: The vision specialist conducts assessments and provides consultative services to classroom teachers as well as direct instruction to students with visual impairments.
Assistive Technology: Products, devices, or equipment (whether acquired commercially, modified or customized) that are used to maintain, increase, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.
Strategies
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Description
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Assistance to general education classroom teachers to help them analyze and accommodate various students for learning needs and to manage students’ behaviors.
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Grade level, department, and staff meetings.
Curriculum Leaders, Department Heads, Literacy, Math, and Science Specialists from K-12 assist classroom teachers in problem-solving and analyzing instructional practice and student results.
Building-based teacher support teams in each building convene regularly to provide instructional and behavioral intervention suggestions to teachers
Middle School teams meet regularly to discuss student needs and behavioral and instructional strategies
High School teams meet regularly to discuss at risk students needs and behavioral and instructional strategies
Curriculum Leaders K-8 provide consultation for classroom teachers
Library/Media Specialists and Technology Integration Specialists provide resources for curriculum and instructional and collaborate with classroom teachers around instruction
Guidance counselors and school psychologists at elementary level provide whole class, small group, and individual counseling and social skill groups.
Guidance staff, school psychologist, and school adjustment counselor at the high school provide individual and small group social skills and issue-specific groups (divorce, new to town, sibling issues, etc)
Grade level, department, and faculty meetings
Curriculum councils and Task Forces
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Strategies
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Description
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Support services that are available to students through the general education, including services to address the needs of students whose behavior may interfere with learning.
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Preschool:
Social-Emotional Programs in the Classroom:
Behavior support through a behaviorist
Summer program for students at risk for significant regression
RTI groups for communication and motor skills
Elementary:
Reading Specialist and tutors work with individual/small groups of students for reading instruction
Reading Specialists help teachers administer assessments, interpret results and design instruction to meet student needs
Literacy and Math Coach provides teacher consultation for curriculum development, screening, data analysis, informal and formal assessments, demonstration teaching, and co-taught classes.
iReady used as universal screening tool for reading and math
Fundations phonics instruction in K-3. Frequent assessments lead to “double dose’ of instruction in the classroom as needed
Kindergarten teachers administer DIBELS benchmark assessments and form RTI groups based on assessment data. Kindergarten teachers use the DIBELS to regularly progress monitor students in intervention groups.
ESL staff provides language learning instruction and support for students in academic classes.
Literacy tutors and Math tutors provide targeted reading and math support in eligible schools.
Summer programs provide literacy and math instruction for grades K-5.
Homework Club
RTI group in the areas of academics, communication, fine/gross motor, and behavior
Technology resources-iPads, ST Math, Symphony, Reflex, iReady, various reading and math programs
Middle School
Pragmatic groups to support social learning and positive peer relations
Executive functioning groups to support organization and planning across the curriculum
Group and individual counseling to support emotional development
After school teacher availability
School Adjustment Counselor
Reading Specialist
CBJ meetings are held monthly to exchange information on students who are in the court system in an attempt to help support them
High School Support Services:
The Bridge Program
MCAS mastery tutoring offered in Math and Science
Tutoring support services
CBJ meetings are held monthly at BHS to exchange information on students who are in the court system in an attempt to help support them
At Risk meetings are held bi-monthly at BHS to exchange information on students who are struggling academically and behaviorally in an attempt to help support them
After-school teacher availability
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Strategies
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Description
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Professional Development opportunities provided to increase instructional skills for all teachers
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District Wide Professional Development:
Training for all teachers in classroom problem behavior and intervention
Three day professional development conference for all Burlington staff prior to start of school
Graduate level courses available in literacy and math
SEI course available for all teachers
Concepts in Standards Based Teaching available for all teachers
“How Do I Do That?” series provides professional development in technology for all staff
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Direct Instruction
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Each elementary student has a daily, 90 minute literacy block where teachers provide direct instruction in reading and writing.
Each elementary student has 75 minutes of direct instruction in math
Literacy specialists assist elementary school teachers with the implementation of literacy assessments and programming
Elementary literacy, science, and math curriculum coaches provide model lessons for classroom teachers
Integration of test-taking skills instruction in classes.
Use of MCAS test format in classroom assessments.
Use of MCAS vocabulary in classroom instruction and assessment in individual classrooms.
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Teacher mentoring and collaboration
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Changes to the school schedule, such as additional instructional time or block scheduling
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The elementary schools have 90 minutes of direct literacy instruction and 75 minutes of direct math instruction daily
The elementary schools have a designated a designated 30 minute extension/intervention block for individual/small group instruction in targeted areas of need
The high school has a rotating schedule that includes one long block each day
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Review of local curriculum in relation to state learning standards
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Strategies
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Description
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Additional staffing or consultation on academic and behavioral issues
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All schools have at least one nurse on staff.
All schools have Speech-Language Pathologists, Occupational Therapists, and Physical Therapists that provide teacher consultation, perform classroom observations, provide direct services, and conduct screenings and evaluations.
School Psychologists, guidance counselors and special education liaisons are specialists in behavior observation, consultation and program development and can provide support to classroom and specialist teachers as needed
School Adjustment counselor at the middle school and high school can provide support for behavioral interventions and planning
Each building has a trained team of teachers who can safely de-escalate student behavior and, if necessary, restrain a student
Psychologists provide regular and ongoing consultation to staff at all levels, including completion of Functional Behavior Assessments, when needed to support a student
The high school has one licensed social worker employed as a guidance counselor who can support students, parents and teachers
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Communication with parents and opportunities for parent involvement in the schools
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Preschool:
Director, Classroom, and Therapist blogs.
BECC website.
Progress reports three times a year; report cards two times a year.
Parent conferences two times a year.
Open House for parents and students in September.
In August, parents receive letters from their child’s teacher.
Elementary:
School based websites
Principal’s blog and individual classroom blogs
Opportunities for parent volunteers within the schools
Back to School nights held at all elementary schools at the start of the school year
Standards-based report cards sent home three times per year
At least one parent-teacher conference per year
Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) at all elementary schools
Middle School
Classroom and teacher blogs, websites, and other learning management systems.
Progress reports are sent during the middle of each term
Parent teacher conferences and opportunities to schedule team meetings with content area teachers
Back to school night
High School:
Classroom and principal’s blogs, websites, and twitter accounts
Interim reports are sent during the middle of each term
students receive course verifications in the Spring
Any senior in danger of not graduating receives a letter in the Spring
Parent teacher conferences are held in the fall and in the Spring
Parent Portal-Parent access to student progress
All Schools preK-high school hold Back-to-School nights.
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WHAT ARE ACCOMMODATIONS?
Accommodations are practices and procedures in the areas of presentation, response, setting, and timing/scheduling that provide equitable access during instruction and assessments for students with disabilities.
Accommodations are intended to reduce or even eliminate the effects of a student’s disability; they do not reduce learning expectations. The accommodations provided to a student must be the same for classroom instruction, classroom assessments, and district and state assessments. It is critical to note that although some accommodations may be appropriate for instructional use, they may not be appropriate for use on a standardized assessment. There may be consequences (e.g., lowering or not counting a student’s test score) for the use of some accommodations during state assessments. It is very important for educators to become familiar with state policies regarding accommodations during assessments.
Typically, accommodation use does not begin and end in school. Students who use
accommodations will generally also need them at home, in the community, and as they get older, in postsecondary education and at work. Accommodations for instruction and assessment are integrally intertwined.
Presentation Accommodations: Allow students to access information in
ways that do not require them to visually read standard print. These alternate
modes of access are auditory, multi-sensory, tactile, and visual.
Present content in multi-modal approaches
Break down long term assignments
Use transition cues
Use technology assisted instruction
Additional small group/1:1 instruction (even before or after school)
Pair student with peer instructors/tutoring
Paper to peer to provide notes (grades 6-12)
Provide handouts
Present demonstration model/exemplars
Utilize manipulatives (across curriculum)
Pre-teach vocabulary
Make/use vocabulary files
Repeat clarify directions
Break-down directions/tasks into smaller steps
Arrangement of materials on page/Reduced amount of visual information on the page
Highlight test/study guides
Use supplementary materials
Marker to guide reading
Large graph paper format
Graphic organizers
Assignment notebooks
Use of manipulatives
Use of 1:1 to technology to support instruction
Setting Accommodations:Change the location in which a test or
assignment is given or the conditions of the assessment setting.
Timing and Scheduling Accommodations:Increase the allowable length of
time to complete an assessment or assignment and perhaps change the way the
time is organized.
Response Accommodations:Allow students to complete activities,
assignments, and assessments in different ways or to solve or organize
problems using some type of assistive device or organizer.
Reduce assignments requiring copying
Use rubrics
Provide homework logs and journals for homework follow-up
Accommodations for Testing Adaptations:
Alternate type of tests
Preview language of test questions
Administer in short periods
Change format visually
Accommodations for Classroom Assignments:
Reduce paper and pencil tasks
Use pictorial directions
Give extra cues and prompts
Allow student to record or type assignments
Buddy system
Daily checklists of tasks
Develop self monitoring systems
Change seating
Increase student-teacher interaction
Develop behavior plan with motivating incentives
Adjust classroom management techniques
Parent communication and shared incentives
Define clear and consistent expectations-student-class
Consult with school guidance or psychologist
Use charts and graphs to monitor expectations
Warnings for transitions
Use of daily/individual schedule
Motivation and Reinforcement:
Increase positive reinforcement
Increase concrete reinforcement
Offer choice
Use student's strengths/interests
Reinforce student’s initiative in their own learning
Promote self-determination skills
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