Describe your instructional challenge and how you identified it.

There are 2 very diverse needs and cultures at the Montana School for the Deaf and Blind (MSDB), those who are Deaf or hard of hearing and those who have visual impairments . I kept this in mind when identifying what leadership competencies to address for my Teaching Leadership Institute project, which ultimately was "Instructional Leadership". I chose this competency so I could focus on the improvement of existing programs at MSDB.

If you visit MSDB, you will notice there are two separate education buildings, one to serve students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH), and another to serve the blind, visually impaired (VI) or deafblind. Other states with schools for the deaf and the blind have similar campus layouts, or the two programs are located on separate campuses altogether. However, at MSDB, the climate is changing and it has become more popular to see a combination of sensory impaired students in the same classroom at MSDB. For this reason, I teamed with my coworker and TLI fellow, Denise Rutledge. Denise is a teacher of visually impaired (TVI) students. I am a teacher of the deaf (TOD), so with her background in visual impairments, and mine in students with hearing loss, our TLI project will focus on integrating students with sensory needs into shared classrooms and how to provide full accessibility to the students by providing training to the teachers of these combined classes.

Describe your learners (students and diverse stakeholders) for this project and how you selected them.

The learners for this project will be the educational staff providing and supporting instruction to our sensory impaired students. This will primarily include teachers and paraprofessionals, but may also include educational interpreters and additional support staff (OT, PT, SLP, O&M instructors). The learners have traditionally worked with one sensory need population at a time and are not accustomed to working with both at the same time.

Learn-Evidence B Learn-Evidence C

Why is it important for your learners (students and diverse stakeholders) that this challenge be addressed?

In most mainstream education settings, it is important for the general education teacher to be prepared to have a few students on IEP's and 504's. We know it is important to be inclusive to all diverse learners and to meet the needs of all our students. This is no different at MSDB, with the exception that ALL students we serve have an IEP or a 504. It may be common for a sensory impaired student to feel singled out in the mainstream program, but at MSDB the accommodations and services are in place in all classrooms to meet the needs of the those students.

Within special education, many teachers focus on a specific concentration (disability category) and struggle to identify ways to assist new learners. For example, as a TOD, I automatically know what supplementary aides and services to proved my students, but when a student with visual impairments joins my class, I need to know how to adapt. As education has evolved and new learning opportunities have become normal (distance learning, virtual classrooms, on-line learning, etc.), the traditional methods that we have been accustomed to need to adapt. At MSDB, our student population is on the decline thanks to new learning opportunities, technological advancements, and resources within local communities across the state for our students. Visual impairments, hearing loss, and deaf-blindness are broadly defined as low incidence disabilities due to advancements in the medical field. MSDB's teachers need to adapt to these changes and diversify their abilities in order to meet the needs of all students collaboratively, while strengthening our position in the state as the experts in sensory impairments which makes MSDB a viable and relevant educational placement in Montana.

In what ways will your addressing the challenge promote or support diversity, equity, cultural competence?

This capstone project is developed around the idea of promoting diversity in combined sensory need classrooms. My colleague and I believe that these new collaborative classrooms will increase students' equity in the classroom as they will benefit from specialties that educators may have in one department, but not the other. For example, a teacher in the department for students with visual impairments who has certification in the area of coding can provide learning opportunities not only to students with visual impairments, but also to students in the Deaf department. Staff at MSDB have opportunities throughout the day to interact with students from both departments. A teacher or paraprofessional assigned to the visually impaired department may not have a good understanding of Deaf culture, a deaf student's mode of communication, or how to meet the specific needs of that Deaf individual who has been placed their visually impaired classroom.

Is it your intention to change an existing practice/program or implement a new practice/program? Explain.

Goal: By the end of this project, I will have provided educational staff opportunities to work in collaborative situations so they feel successful working with combined sensory need student groups.

Goal: To erase the stigma that it is taboo to integrate the deaf with the blind and the blind with the deaf. This will require both staff and the administrators behind the scheduling to identify ways in which this practice can take place and advocate for these classes.

Why might this practice/program be a viable solution for your challenge?

In order to engage the MSDB community and motivate them to change the way we work with our students, we must provide opportunities for them to get involved with the change. Everyone can contribute to this change and make decisions based on the common goal. We routinely have whole school assemblies where we get some minor, short-term working situations. During these instances, when given the choice of which student population to work with, most teachers tend to stick to students familiar to them. Likewise, activities are often planned in advance and groupings put in place to maximize the use of those who can use sign to communicate together, versus those needing large print of braille (dependent on activity). It is rare that teachers have the time and assignment to work with a mixed population and to learn and grow from the opportunity. A dedicated class with the mixed population would provide for this chance.

On which two Overarching Competencies will you focus in addressing the identified challenge? Why are they relevant to this particular challenge? Group Processes and Adult Learning

I chose Group Processes because combining different sensory impairments on our campus is considered a touchy topic by a few. I know this will cause a few conflicts and I need to learn how to better manage and mediate group conflict, as well as, needing to be actively involved in group problem solving and serve as a mentor to others.

My capstone project involves teaching other teachers, which lends itself to Adult Learning. While I have presented to other educators at a variety of conferences in the past, I have not done so with my colleagues. I would like to become an effective leader in this competency, especially since the focus is on implementing change when working with a diverse population of students.

On which competency within Diversity-Equity-Cultural Competence will you focus in addressing the identified challenge? Why is it important for this particular challenge? Cultivating Socially Just Learning Environments

While our school does a great job teaching our deaf and blind students in their specific sensory impaired classrooms, we can improve when it comes to working together an bringing our students together. The goal of my capstone is to create new learning environments where students from both sensory needs areas can learn together. This will require colleagues to collectively work together and develop a shared vision and understanding of the diverse needs of our population on campus. This cannot be successful if we are not able to appreciate the diverse needs and cultures we serve.

Which competency in the Instructional pathway will you focus on in addressing this challenge? Why is it relevant for this particular challenge? Facilitating Collaborative Relationships

My capstone project will require teachers and other staff to evaluate and learn from each other. We will be dependent upon one another's expertise in specific areas and in order to improve our existing programs, we will need to develop a shared vision and be respectful of everyone's diverse backgrounds.

With whom will you work in addressing your identified challenge?

Denise Rutledge and I have been colleagues in the classroom, as well as officers in our local union. In our separate classrooms, Denise and I have both been teaching mixed sensory impaired classrooms for a few years. We have depended on each other to when it comes to learning the different needs of students and providing accessibility in our classrooms. We have had success with these classes and have enjoyed the challenges and rewards that come from the more diverse groupings.

Who else might you recruit beyond your own cultural and/or professional identity group?

• Teachers and staff in both departments

• Staff that are themselves Deaf, hard of hearing, or who are blind/low vision (BLV). These staff members will be able to identify unique professional challenges that come along with teaching the mixed classrooms.

Learn-Evidence D

When identifying partners to work with on this project, some of the first people that we informally interviewed were staff members who had sensory needs themselves. We interviewed six staff members that identified with being Deaf/hard-of-hearing and two staff that were blind. We wanted their perspective on what teachers unfamiliar to the sensory need would require in order to be more effective teachers. The following is a short list of ideas by those interviewed:

• sign language interpreters present in class (and knowledge of how to work with an interpreter)

• basic understanding of braille (and how to utilize braille transcription services to prepare documents)

• understanding of Deaf culture

• training on various assistive technology for students with visual impairments to access print material

• knowledge of specific hearing accommodations, including Cochlear Implants, hearing aides, FM trainers (and how to trouble-shoot them)

• knowledge of mobility and orientation needs of students and setting up a classroom environment

• instruction on the use of various modes of signed communication

Informal interviews conducted in November 2019.

Which resources (people, money, programs, time and space, etc.) do you have to address the challenge?

• Teachers and staff willing to attempt mixed groupings of sensory impaired students

• Administrative approval

• MSDB Foundation for funding of assistive technology

What resources will you need?

• Approval for Foundation funds to secure new assistive technology.

• Time to deliver training on sensory specific supports for novice learners.

• Approval for providing possible CEU's for training.

How will you obtain them?

• Email the superintendent/principal regarding CEU's, training space, training times, identifying specific dual classrooms/teachers/staff, and storage of new technology.

• Email the MSDB Foundation regarding availability of assistive technology funds.