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SWIFT-FIT assessors successfully wrapped up the Spring 2017 SWIFT-FIT assessment season! In just 93 days, a total of 27 assessors visited 76 schools, including scale-up sites in five states—that’s a rate of nearly one SWIFT-FIT per day. The average SWIFT-FIT total score for school year 2016–2017 was 66%, up from 41% during the first SWIFT-FIT assessments in 2013–2014.
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Increasingly higher scores indicate that a school is moving toward full implementation of the SWIFT framework, and is doing so in cooperation with their district, as well as in partnership with their local families and community. “The only way to get scores this high is if everyone is working in conjunction—schools, LEAs, families, and communities,” SWIFT-FIT Coordinator Dr. Dan Pollitt said. “Schools should be proud of their high scores because it means they’re working inclusively, which is what SWIFT is all about.”
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Two new SWIFT Issue Briefs are available on
SWIFT Shelf!
Strategies for Transitioning to an Inclusive School Environment: For many students with disabilities, their school experience began or quickly became non-inclusive. As schools increasingly adopt inclusive practices, these students and their families may have questions or concerns. A new SWIFT issue brief by Dr. Judith Gross offers strategies, suggestions, and resources for schools to help families understand and become a vital part of the process.
Facilitation Guide for Designing a Shared Vision of Equity: In response to the White House's "My Brother's Keeper" initiative, SWIFT Center assembled a national task force to determine how SWIFT can improve outcomes for all students, especially boys and young men of color. The task force identified four recommendations, including encouraging schools and districts to develop a shared vision of equity. SWIFT's most recent issue brief provides leadership teams with a guide for designing a shared vision of equity.
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SWIFT Unscripted is a monthly podcast featuring guests from among the SWIFT community. A transcript link for each SWIFT Unscripted podcast is available at the end of its description. You can listen on SoundCloud or iTunes, or visit the SWIFT Unscripted page to download the podcast to your computer.
In this month’s podcast, Kathleen Ellwood, principal of Irvington School in Portland, Oregon, shares her school’s innovative ideas for implementing SWIFT features. Click here to listen to the podcast or read the transcript.
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SWIFT Talk is a blog where you can find brief articles from various points of view in the SWIFT community.
Reclaiming the Spirit of the IEP — Janice Fialka, author of "What Matters: Reflections on Disability, Community & Love," offers ideas for streamlining IEP meetings and giving students more of a voice in the process.
State Spotlight: New Hampshire — SWIFT LEA Facilitator Maura Hart highlights Madison Elementary School's commitment to positive outcomes for all students in this update.
Do you like to write and have a story to share about equity-based inclusive education? SWIFT welcomes submissions that advance the practice of equity, excellence, and All Means All. Click
here for submission guidelines.
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SWIFT Webinars are free, closed captioned, and live on the third Wednesday of every month on topics related to SWIFT Domains and Features. Recordings of all webinars can be downloaded from the Webinar section of
SWIFT Shelf.
Our June webinar was hosted by Dr. Tiffany Kyser from the Great Lakes Equity Center's Midwest and Plains Equity Assistance Center (MAP Center). She discussed culturally responsive pedagogy and how schools/districts can adopt or create culturally relevant materials.
Click here to watch Dr. Kyser's presentation.
SWIFT Webinars will be taking a summer break! We will not be hosting webinars in July or August. We will keep you posted on future SWIFT webinars and professional learning opportunities via the SWIFT Newsletter and
Facebook page. Enjoy your summer!
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The SWIFT Center produced this document under U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs Grant No. H326Y120005. OSEP Project Officers Grace Zamora Durán and Tina Diamond served as the project officers. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the positions or policies of the Department of Education. No official endorsement by the U.S. Department of Education of any product, commodity, service or enterprise mentioned in this publication is intended or should be inferred. This product is public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. While permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be: SWIFT Center. (2017). SWIFT News, Issue 44, June 2017. Lawrence, KS: SWIFT Center
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SWIFT Center
1315 Wakarusa Drive,
Lawrence, KS 66049
swift@ku.edu
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