What are education leaders doing to revolutionize the way schools address learning, behavior, and emotional problems? The current answer seems to be not much. While there are discussions about transforming education in general, the focus is mostly on improving instruction and making changes in school management. However, proposals for transformative changes in how schools support struggling students are lacking.
As a result, schools are reacting inadequately to the increasing number of students facing learning, behavior, and emotional challenges. Many schools allocate resources to address student issues, but the support available often only reaches a small number of students. While more resources would be beneficial, tight school budgets make it challenging to hire additional support staff as recommended by advocates.
Districts typically approach student support in a fragmented and piecemeal manner, resulting in specialized programs and services. Calls for integrated services and support systems have emerged due to concerns about fragmentation, but the core problem lies in the marginalization of schools’ role in addressing barriers to learning and teaching in education policy.
To address the pervasive barriers hindering effective teaching and learning, a systemwide approach that supports whole-child development and learning is necessary. This involves rethinking practices to address learning, behavior, and emotional issues. The adoption of a multitiered continuum of interventions is a step in the right direction, but there is a need to reframe interventions to integrate school and community resources more effectively.
Research suggests that interventions can be categorized into six domains of classroom and schoolwide student support, ranging from embedding support into classroom strategies to facilitating access to special assistance for students and families. Organizing interventions in this way helps identify the necessary support across different levels to enable effective teaching and promote student learning.
While the changes education leaders are pursuing pose significant challenges, maintaining the status quo is not sustainable. Merely making minor adjustments will not suffice. Transforming how schools address barriers to learning and teaching through a unified, comprehensive, and equitable system integrated into school improvement policy is crucial for enhancing equity of opportunity for student success in school and beyond.
Howard Adelman and Linda Taylor, co-directors of the Center for Mental Health in Schools & Student/Learning Supports at UCLA, are leading an initiative to help districts and schools improve outcomes for students by addressing barriers to learning and teaching effectively. Their insights underscore the importance of rethinking the current approach to student support in schools and the necessity of embracing transformative changes to ensure all students have equal opportunities to succeed.
