Blog #531: How Public School Administrators Can Learn How to Support Neurodivergent Special Education Students from Administrators in Special Education Schools?

...

When I was a special education student, I always got along well with the head honchos of the school I was in. Administrators had always looked up to me the same way as the classroom teacher or other support staff. They saw me demonstrate leadership, an ability to thrive on getting good grades and maintaining social standing with both fellow students and teachers.

However, not every public school administrator is created equal. I get the fact that being a public school administrator is a demanding job. You are not only responsible for the building itself, but also for your staff consisting of teachers and other staff members, but also for the entire student body. Sometimes in the chaos of trying to run everything, we tend to forget the special education student lost in the fold.

...

As I have said time after time, the diagnosis ratio for an autism diagnosis is 1 in 31 and that number is expected to grow. Now is the time for all public school administrators to learn how to better show their leadership towards special education students. Think of it as like a diamond in the rough, you are trying to find that rare student who has the capabilities of demonstrating leadership and being an inspiration to the school, but with hundreds of students and other things, it's very difficult to accomplish that.

...

I believe that public school administrators are still willing to learn how to make their schools better each and every year and they themselves, need someone to learn from. As someone who co-founded a school for neurodivergent students, I believe that they can learn from heads of special education specific schools as they have the experience, they know what the student needs and what the student is best at. Tasks like accommodating the student during a school safety drill, a school assembly or a school lunch period can be made better for the student simply by having the public school administrator have a conversation with the head of a specialized school.

The fact is that whether it is a public school or a private school, the leaders from both parties can learn from one another as they are all in the same business...the business of ensuring special education students get the support they need in order to achieve the diploma at graduation.

...

Catch you all later!!