This study compared differences in diploma and graduation dropout rates among students with and without disabilities, analyzed differences in various graduation-types by disabilities, and offered recommendations to improve graduation rates through evidence-based practices. The geographic catchment area of this study was limited to twelve Southern…

Students with learning disabilities have significantly lower achievement in math and science than students from the general population. If these students with learning disabilities also are English Learners, the challenges for success in math and science are even more difficult. Teachers need to infuse best practices into their classrooms to…

The legal basis for serving students with learning disabilities at the K-12 level is predominantly derived from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This federal law provides for substantive education support for students with learning disabilities through an Individualized Educational Program (IEP). However, because the IDEA…

This study examined the effectiveness of the application of the Professional Development School (PDS) Model (Holmes Group, 1986), to an alternative special education (SPED) credential program designed to prepare SPED teachers (for culturally, linguistically, and economically diverse urban K-12 schools and to ease SPED teachers shortages within our…

Research shows that educators are not prepared to address real life issues such as substance abuse, HIV/AIDS, and bullying in the classroom. Yet, students with learning disabilities remain vulnerable to each of these pressing life issues. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether the curriculum infusion (CI) model increased the…

What this author admired most about Sally Smith was the fact that she was a visionary about people and what they could accomplish. She saw more potential in a person--young or old--than anybody or even they themselves, frankly, had ever even considered possible. She was a genius at seeing the potential in people, expecting them to find it in…

Founded in 1967, The Lab School of Washington (LSW) has been educating students with learning disabilities using an arts-based curriculum for over 50 years. Sally Smith originally started the school out of frustration with the inability of traditional educational environments to reach her intelligent, but learning disabled, young son and others…

The first edition of "No Easy Answers" (Smith, 1995) was published in 1979, thirty years ago. That seminal work is as relevant today as it was when the book first appeared. This article provides a description of how Sally Smith's Academic Club Method is implemented in the High School program of The Lab School of Washington.

Art and science are intrinsically linked; the essence of art and science is discovery. Both artists and scientists work in a systematic but creative way--knowledge and understanding are built up through pieces of art or a series of labs. In the classroom, integrating science and visual art can provide students with the latitude to think, discover,…

Each day, seeking to address the never ending challenge of helping students with learning disabilities, the author's Baltimore Lab School and Lab School of Washington (LSW) colleagues remember a similar situation in the past and they try to recall what Sally Smith taught them. Smith taught the author a lot in his seven years of working with…

Forest Grove School District v. T.A. involved a student with learning disabilities, Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and depression (T.A.) whose parents had moved him to a private academy for students with special needs without first consulting with his public school. In the past, the school district had found T.A. to be ineligible…

This study compared oral personal and fictional narratives of diverse (African American and Caucasian) students with and without learning disabilities. Naturalistic conversation with embedded narrative prompts and supports provided the context for narrative elicitation. The participants were 82 fourth to seventh graders from urban and suburban…

Extended time on high stakes testing is the most sought out accommodation for individuals with learning disabilities. This accommodation is necessary for many individuals with learning disabilities for a variety of reasons, but often for individuals who have ongoing difficulties with reading fluency. For many students with reading based learning…

Exceptionally bright and capable students with learning disabilities, often referred to as being twice exceptional, may fail to meet learning disabilities criteria if a strict psychometric approach is taken. To make an accurate diagnosis, an evaluator must consider their special circumstances, unique abilities, educational histories, and…

Given the high number of requests for test accommodations and the myriad of test accommodations available, test agencies give considerable attention to the process involved in the provision of test accommodations for high stakes tests. The decision to provide an accommodation to an individual with learning disabilities is based largely on the…