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Investing in Inclusion

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Bethel K-5 Inclusive Support Practices

Bethel is redesigning the way it serves students with disabilities by moving to a flexible, building-based model that supports students at their neighborhood schools. This shift is backed by increased staffing, targeted professional development, and a district-wide commitment to inclusion. To ensure a successful transition, we are focused on providing targeted supports, training and professional development for all staff involved. We’ve invested $1.5 million to increase staffing, expand professional development, and strengthen supports for students and staff.

  • Mindset
    It's best for the kids!
  • Behavior
    Systems, Response to student behavior, Staff request for assistance, Classroom structure, routines and reinforcement around behavior.
  • Instruction
    Universal Design of learning, Accommodations and Modifications, Classroom instructional routines, Small group instruction
  • Collaboration/Coaching
    Ongoing PD and support from Coaches, Collaboration with school teams to support students, work to get everyone on the same page to support students.

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2025-2026 SY Professional Development and Training

Inclusion will be our year-long PD focus

District alignment on PLC and Inclusion

10 hours all staff identified during staff PD days

90 minute inclusion kickoff for back-to-school event

Additional 8 hours of professional development for classified staff

Kinder EA III PD Plan (Sped Institute, 6 hours during Inservice week, Ongoing PD throughout the year.)

10 hours voluntary asynchronous through inclusive schooling

Ongoing PD 2026-2027 school year and beyond

Resources:

  • Inclusion specialist
  • Student services consultants/coaches
  • Behavioral Manual
  • Additional general education teacher to collaborate and plan to support inclusion

The Why

Bethel Belief Statements

  • We believe that every Bethel student can find joy, connection, and purpose at school when given the opportunity to learn, grow, and engage. 
  • We believe each student arrives in our schools with a unique and diverse range of strengths, skills, and perspectives that we must honor and uplift. 
  • We believe that we are accountable for implementing equitable systems that are relevant, responsive, and adaptable to the needs of our students. 
  • We believe our schools will be places where students, families, and staff are welcomed and valued as members of our Bethel team. 

In Bethel, we are not meeting the needs of our students with disabilities and the longer these students are in our system, the further they are falling behind their peers. 

Bethel Graduation Rates 23-24:

All Students: 83.6%, Drop-Out Rate 2.46%

Students receiving Special Education Services: 52.4%, Drop-Out Rate 34.9%

 


DIBELS Data Winter 2025:

Currently as students with disabilities continue through the Bethel system, their academic achievement gap grows wider away from their general education peers.

Grade General Education % at or above benchmark Special Education % at or above benchmark
K 58.9% 36.1%
1 48.7% 34.3%
2 52.7% 36.5%
3 52.7% 37.4%
4 64.4% 35.4%
5 49.3% 26.6%
6 47.6% 15.7%
7 56.4% 15.1%
8 50.4% 18.5%
     

 

The Vision

Vision: Achieve a model where all students thrive in their neighborhood schools with robust support, honoring Bethel's values of equity, belonging, and high expectations.

  • Segregating students with disabilities into self-contained programs often results in limited access to high-quality, rigorous instruction from highly trained teachers, increasing the risk of academic decline and dropout.
  • Research consistently demonstrates that including students with disabilities in general education classrooms fosters their academic and social growth. Moreover, this inclusion has not been shown to negatively affect their general education peers.
  • Federal and state laws mandate the meaningful inclusion of students with disabilities in general education classrooms to the "maximum extent appropriate."
  • When we move our most at risk students away from their neighborhood schools, we disrupt a potentially already fragile connection to their communities.