Allegany County Public Schools, Maryland

Being a strategy I school district, Allegany County Public Schools have been involved with EMSTAC for the past three years. During the first year, 1998-1999, the Linking Agent worked with the TA Liaison to identify needs; this resulted in selecting programs that increased reading and writing outcomes, and literacy in general, for students. As a result of this process, one elementary school in Allegany County decided to adopt and implement selected strategies from the Early Literacy Program (ELP). These strategies included Morning Message and Power, which are designed to enhance writing skills of students in the elementary grades. In addition, they have participated in the Maryland Reading Network, Character Education, and Correlates of Effective Schools. The Allegany Schools also have successfully developed and implemented inclusion programs through the use of wraparound principles and positive behavior supports. In terms of working with outside researchers, during the summer of 1999 the Linking Agent facilitated training with a researcher from Michigan State University to implement ELP strategies.

This year Allegany County Public Schools are focusing on inclusion and social skills training. They are implementing Strategic Instructional Model (SIM) and Second Steps to address these issues. All of the teachers in one of the elementary schools are using these interventions, and the Linking Agent has conducted additional workshops to try and get it into other buildings. To this point in time the interventions have not become county-wide as they had hoped. Selection of these needs occurred based upon input from district personnel and examination of county data. The Linking Agent attended the Elementary and Secondary Council's monthly meetings, and members of these councils spoke about their teachers needing training on differentiated and individualized instruction. They believed that this type of training was crucial in effectively preparing their teachers to work with students with disabilities who were in regular education classes. This was the impetus for SIM being selected. In addition, school records suggested that many students were being suspended for aggressive behavior that violated the rights of others. Therefore, Second Steps was implemented through a state improvement grant to address this issue. The Second Steps program is intended to develop empathy and prosocial problem solving skills in an effort to reduce violent patters of behavior.

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