News: Evidence-based Practices

Improving Hiring and Staffing in a Nation Where Teaching is At Risk: If Student Success Depends on Teachers, Why is the Selection Process so Simplistic? (Part I)

Blog discusses the four Pillars needed to address continuing gaps in teachers’ effectiveness in the classroom. This Part I focuses on how schools prepare to recruit and interview new candidates, and w...

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How the “System” Forces Schools into Decisions that Harm Struggling Students: The “Groundhog Day” Impact of Fear on Staff Mental Health and Job Retention

The movie Groundhog Day is metaphorically used to describe recurring experiences with MTSS Teams across the country who continue to use “mystifying” procedures, practices, and strategies—typically wit...

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Judy Heumann, Special Education’s History of Litigation, and the Continuing Fight: Complacency and Defensiveness Still Stand in the Way of Students with Disabilities’ Rights

The passing of Judy Heumann, a special education advocate and legend, prompts this Blog’s review of the history of special education. The author reflects on his interactions with the advocates and lit...

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Solutions for Selectively Mute Students and Educators: The Long-Term Adverse Educational Effects When Inappropriate Behavior is Ignored

Two variations of being “selectively mute” in education are discussed in this Blog. The first involves a case study of a student who is selectively mute, and the assessment to intervention approaches...

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Was a First Grade Virginia Teacher Shot Because Her Student was Denied Special Education Services?

Blog describes how some districts do not have access to a continuum of special education services for students with behavioral challenges—including self-contained special education, day treatment, or...

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Why “Do” SEL If It Doesn’t Improve Student Behavior in the Classroom and Across the School?

Blog describes the components, social skills, instructional approach, and implementation characteristics to help schools teach students behaviorally-observable interpersonal, social problem-solving, c...

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