Negotiating Power and Practice: Reimagining the Comprehensive Public High School for Diverse Learners

Abstract

The national movement to redesign America’s high schools has dominated public debate as other people wonder what actions to take to educate all students. For many school leaders, the vast number of students needing English language services or special education programming has increased, outpacing the amount of federal and state funding for the unique needs of these learners. The phenomenon of personalized learning has become an increasingly attractive approach to address the unique learning, language and behavioral needs of students while engaging them in rigorous, standards-based aligned content. This capstone explores one comprehensive high school’s attempt to redesign the traditional high school experience into one that is student-centered and addresses the language and learning needs of students with disabilities (SwDs) and English language learners (ELLs). Throughout, I examine and reflect upon my role in leading a diverse team charged with addressing the structural and instructional barriers impeding students’ progress. I also explore the role of personalized learning in a field where existing models of personalization have produced no significant success for learners. This capstone urges practitioners and policymakers to consider the diverse and complex needs of second language learners and students with exceptionalities before they restructure the high school model. Too often these students are overlooked or dismissed as new curricula or pedagogical practices are adopted. As many have found, these narrowly developed efforts often lead to further marginalization and exclusion of a population of America’s most vulnerable students.