The global pandemic brought on by COVID-19 has abruptly forced us all to think differently about how we design school. However, in my context, we are no strangers to different.

I work in a special education private school, meaning most (though not all) of our 600 students in kindergarten through grade 12 learn in different ways than their mainstream peers. Some of our students have disabilities in reading, writing, or math, and others are gifted. While some have attention deficits that make it hard to focus, others have hyperactive tendencies that make it hard to sit still. Our students come to us with anxiety disorders, interpersonal challenges, hearing loss, processing delays, speech impediments…the list goes on and is growing more diverse every year. However, our students all have one thing in common: the traditional design of school doesn't allow them to feel confident, capable, or connected.

Nearly 40 years ago, a few dared to think differently about school, and as a result, ours was born. Our purpose remains constant: to embrace students exactly as they are and design learning experiences that allow them each a pathway to success. This mission isn’t just some wishful thinking printed on a motivational poster. We actually live it. The empathy and instructional agility of the people I’m fortunate enough to work beside is astounding, and our school boasts a nearly 100% graduation rate.  

Our students are probably the least likely to succeed in remote learning, but somehow, they are. I mean, of course, they are “succeeding” if you factor out the byproducts of global crisis and social isolation. You know, the lethargy, listlessness, anxiety, and bursts of existential dread that make it hard to get out of bed in the morning. Little things like that. But our kids are also showing up and showing growth. It turns out that empathy and agility have been especially helpful in the face of crisis and change.

However, we also had a few other tricks up our sleeves that transferred well to remote learning.

Partnering with technology

When schools across North American were told to move it online, equitable access was a key concern. What if students don’t have a computer? What if they don’t have access to wifi? The dedication to address these concerns has been impressive, especially those stories of teachers driving to students’ houses with pre-printed packets to ensure every student has access to course materials.

For many of our students, access has been a concern long before COVID-19. In their schooling experience there were many barriers they faced when trying to engage in class with their peers. For instance, a lesson delivered predominantly via lecture was inaccessible to those with an attention deficit or an auditory processing disability. Alternatively, a classroom that required daily reading of print texts would exclude a student still learning to decode sentences. These barriers meant that it wasn’t just about access to materials, but access to learning.

Providing all the supports necessary to bypass these barriers is extremely challenging for a teacher working in isolation, but partnering with technology can make this goal much more attainable. 

While we recognize the disparity that exists for students within public education with regards to technology, for our students, access to technology is one critical means to creating an equitable learning experience. Therefore, if a student does not own a personal laptop, one is provided to them. We maintain this 1:1 policy because technology is a tool to allow students multiple means of access and expression, as described in the universal design for learning guidelines created by CAST.

Therefore, our year start-up routine includes a technology orientation. After all, it's one thing to give students technology, but if they are left to their own devices (literally), it runs the risk of becoming yet another barrier. We provide students with tutorials on assistive tech tools like Immersive Reader and Microsoft Dictate, as well as in basic digital literacy skills, like file management. Also, we walk students through division-specific LMS platforms so they understand how course content is available anywhere, anytime, in various mediums.

 When school shifted online, our students (and teachers) had a head start. 

Using assessment as a tool to drive learning

Standardized assessment already plays a big role in Alberta’s education system and is now turning a corner to play an even bigger one. Our provincial government has ignited a back-to-basics frenzy as the precursor to “raising the stakes” of our diploma (graduation) exams, making them worth 50% of a student’s final grade. These exams are timed, text-based, and meant to be completed with individual brain power alone, thus supposedly giving all students a fair shot at success.

Under the guise of being a process to ensure a level of excellence with literacy and numeracy, these exams are more often used to sort students into two categories; those who are university bound and those who are not. Guess which category our students are expected to fall into?

We had to rethink the purpose of assessment.

While the evaluative purpose is still important, Stiggins (2008) makes a compelling case for another purpose: to produce a productive emotional response from the learner. This is balanced assessment. A negative emotional response from a student that doesn’t “measure up” is devastating. For some that come to our school, they have already decided to quit trying. Though we need to evaluate to gather data to inform our decisions, the decisions that students make are equally, if not more, important.

Our balanced assessment framework is designed to leverage assessment as a tool to drive learning. Built collaboratively through many iterations, it operates on five guiding principles. Namely, that balanced assessment is purposeful, understandable, accurate, informative, and empowering. These principles can be approached as a process that helps students understand not only where they are and where they’re going, but also that their teachers are partners in this journey.

Conferencing has been a hallmark of our school since well before COVID-19. If you entered any classroom, you would likely see a teacher sitting shoulder to shoulder with a student, asking questions and providing the right kind of feedback at the right time by gauging their emotional response. Conversation is the medium that allows assessment results to drive learning. Using tools like Microsoft Teams or Flipgrid has allowed teachers to move these conversations online.

Therefore, the concern about what is fair in remote learning during COVID-19 was not a discussion about how to mitigate cheating on tests, but how to continue to use assessment to fuel learning.

Putting people first

Though access to learning and balanced assessment practices are important, there is one factor that is the lynchpin of special education: connections. After all, the core of our learning model is relationships, belonging, wellness, and self-awareness.

Now is where you might ask, “Aren’t these things the core of learning in all schools?” And you’d be right. What is unique about our school, however, is how we collectively design learning from this core. Our culture is inclusive on purpose. 

It starts with placing students into small cohort groups which are paired with one or two homeroom teachers. Privilege check: I realize this is not possible for most outside of private education, but, some of our other actions could be replicated with larger classes. For instance, each homeroom is personalized with student pictures and work on the walls. Also, these cohorts spend almost the full first month of the year building their community. They attend a camping retreat to bond and participate in diagnostic activities to collaboratively develop student IPPs (individual program plans). Relationships and a culture of belonging are built, and only then can students start to learn.

This approach isn't only used with students, but teachers as well. We go back to work two weeks before the students to reconnect after the summer and set professional learning goals for the year. Teachers are given time to collaborate in grade-level teams called “pods” and learn about their new homeroom. If you're new to the school, you start this process one week earlier to ensure you feel connected to the other new staff before being paired with a veteran teacher to provide mentorship and support.

You see what I mean when I say our inclusive culture doesn't just happen? It's intentional.

When we had to move to remote learning in the span of a week, we relied on our core to carry us through crisis. Teachers leaned on each other and shared whatever resources they had, and support staff was allocated to specific divisions to create new agile teams (Breakspear, 2017) ready to work together to design online learning that would work for these kids we all know so well.

Did we hit it out of the park in our first week? Heck no. But we relied on strong relationships help student feel connected and ready to learn.

Welcome to special education

In special education, we refrain from discussing the disabilities of people and instead strive to recognize and address disabling contexts. COVID-19 and the sudden onset of remote learning means much of the traditional approach to schooling has now become disabling for many students. Grades have been removed as the primary motivation for participation, and the exclusivity of standardized exams is no longer the proverbial carrot. However, disability does not mean learning is not possible. It’s a call to action to think differently about school.

Natalie Vardabasso is currently an instructional design and assessment specialist at a special education private school (calgaryacademy.com) in Alberta, Canada. You can find her on Twitter (@natabasso) and as the host of the podcast #EduCrush where she talks with educators, innovators, leaders and activists who are reimagining education.