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Update on the Principals' Project
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The Principals' Project, a three-year Office of Special Education
Programs, U.S. Department of Education funded research project, has completed its work,
and found that successful inclusive schools have strong involvement and leadership at the
principal level. This initiative spearheaded by Christine Salisbury, the National
Institute's Chicago Site Liaison, and Anne Smith, the National Institute's Project
Officer, worked with principals from Maine, Pennsylvania, Missouri and Colorado, engaging
in reflective practice and action research to benefit inclusive education in their
schools.
In Maine, Bill Leithser, principal, Brewer Middle School, participated, as
did Helen Espling, a recently retired principal from Union #122 (New Sweden, Woodland,
Stockholm). Betsy Enright, Coordinator of the Principals' Project at the Center for
Community Inclusion, provided support to both as a "critical friend" in the
process. The lessons learned in this collaborative project were shared at all three
Improving America's School National Conferences in December 2000. These products described
below were produced to share and disseminate the information gained through the Project,
and can be downloaded at Inclusive Schools: Good for Kids, Families, and Communities at: www.edc.org/urban/niswpp.html
Products from the Principals' Project include:
Building Level Indicators of Effective Practice - A self-assessment tool
for school leaders participating in assessing building level inclusive practices.
The Reflective Principal - A summary of the nature and process of
reflective practice and action research as a tool in the school improvement process.
Reflections from participating principals are shared.
Appointment Book - A resource for busy building principals for
organizing and implementing action research questions within the context of the school
day.
For more information:
An article published on November 5, 2001, from the National Institute for
Urban School Improvement by Natalia Martinez, describes the Principals' Project findings.
Building principals can be key agents in ensuring that students with disabilities not only
have access to the general curriculum, but also are included in all of th4e restructuring
efforts occurring at the building and district level. The article includes an interview
with Betsy Enright, Inclusive Education Coordinator at The University of Maine's Center
for Community Inclusion, and Christine Salisbury, special education professor at the
University of Illinois-Chicago, and describes the importance of the leadership role of the
principal in integrating students with disabilities into the school. The article also
describes the process of reflective practice, used by principals in this research project,
that grounds the issues and problems of the school in real data, and explores the intended
and unintended consequences of various solutions.
Natalia Martinez is a Washington correspondent, who covers education for
LRP Publications. The entire article can be accessed at: www.edc.org/urban/nisw.htm
 Return to FACTS Vol 5
This is an official publication of The University of
Maine
A member of the University of Maine System
Updated:
01/11/2007
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