Putting the "I" in IEP

Case Study: Brockton High School (Brockton, Mass.)

How a high school took the best of traditional models for students with disabilities while eschewing their limitations to create something entirely new

Brockton High School in Massachusetts is a large, inner city, high-poverty school of 4,359 students known for a dramatic turnaround last decade. The school implemented a school-wide literacy initiative to boost achievement. The plan saw enormous success and pulled the school up from the bottom of state rankings of urban high school to among the top. However, six years ago, the initiative began to show cracks in efficacy for their 400 students with disabilities who receive direct services via an Individualized Education Program (IEP).

Yet giving up or placing blame is not the Brockton way. Instead, its team rolled up their sleeves and got back to work—hard work. They eschewed the traditional thinking about educating special education students and instead created a new plan—a hub model that took only the best of traditional approaches and layered them with innovation. The result is a special education system that puts the unique needs and goals of students with disabilities first at every turn and is reaching each of them on their terms