Learning Disabilities Awareness: An Interview with Rocketship DC’s Tiffany Yeldell

October is Learning Disabilities Awareness Month. The DC Charter School Alliance had the honor of speaking with Tiffany Yeldell, Rocketship DC Public School Achievement Manager of Integrated Special Education. Tiffany’s been with Rocketship for more than three years and has worked in special education for the past 14 years in various capacities, including as a classroom teacher, a high school special education principal, and a director of student support services.

We’re excited to share this conversation with the DC education community to spread the word about the good work Tiffany and Rocketship are doing to support students with learning disabilities.

How does your work at Rocketship DC support students with learning disabilities?

Rocketship supports students with learning disabilities such as dysgraphia, dyscalculia, or dyslexia, by grounding our approach in federal regulations such as the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), and the Child Find process. We also have students who require support through the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) process, which is an intervention process designed to help students close unfinished learning gaps. We’ve often found that through consistent research-based interventions, and steady progress monitoring, we are able to quickly identify our students who need additional support and services.

Once we’ve concluded the eligibility/evaluation process and the student is found eligible for special education services, an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) is developed to help support and address the needs of that student. Here at Rocketship, we ensure that all stakeholders, including the parents, teachers, related service providers, and special education specialists, develop an appropriate IEP to successfully close unfinished learning gaps for the student to independently access the general education curriculum.

How do you support educators who are working with these students most closely, as well as other staff throughout the schools?

An essential part of my role is to ensure that our students and our teachers are in compliance with any state and federal mandates regarding special education. I also support our teachers with extensive training and professional development opportunities. On Fridays, we have a minimum day for our students, which has become sacred time for me to engage deeper with our school leaders, teachers, and staff who work with our special needs students. During this time, we review constant trends, areas of development, and successes. Our development and training sessions allow our teams to have a broader understanding of the IEP process in areas of implementation and support. We also use outside partners such as the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) for additional support and training.

What are the biggest successes that you've had in your role?

My greatest success in this line of work is working side-by-side with our school-based teams. My success comes in supporting our teachers who may not fully understand special education. Working with teachers in the field, I have been able to teach the IEP process which provided teachers a deeper understanding, as well as building the skill(s) needed to develop and implement an IEP at a high level. I attribute my success to growing a teacher's capacity of skill and knowledge when it comes to special education in the area of instruction and case management. I use in-the-moment coaching and direct feedback while the teacher is giving instruction along with trainer-to-trainee coaching.

I’m proud to say that I had three special education teachers last year demonstrate consistent growth in both instruction and case management. Their success has led to each of them serving as special education coordinators across our DC campuses. During my tenure, I can say that our special education students have continued to show significant growth in their academic performance, identified through school-wide benchmark assessments.

What are your best tips for parents seeking advice working with their students with disabilities?

Advocate. Advocate. Advocate.

Although a parent may have a team of specialists, the parent knows their child best, and their voice needs to be heard. I advise all parents to be involved with their child's learning process. Actively speak up during IEP meetings, and when you don't know, seek out resources accessible to you.

The best resource for a parent is the DC Procedural Safeguards (documents outlining specific rights available to parents and their children through state and local regulations regarding special education) The procedural safeguards provide insight on how a parent can advocate for their child’s needs while navigating through the special education process.

At Rocketship, our number one goal is to provide the families with the support that the student needs to be successful. We encourage our families to be actively involved in the special education process by attending annual IEP meetings, and asking meaningful questions like: How is my child progressing in their IEP goals? How frequently are they getting needed services? And collaborating with the IEP team on a regular basis.

Are there any additional resources you would share with folks who want to learn more, whether it be parents, teachers, or anyone else?

Yes. OSSE has a plethora of resources on their website. They have doctrines that outline state and federal laws, and teacher/parent resources.

In regards to leaders and teachers, OSSE also uses a platform known as a Learning Management System (LMS) database where you can sign up for educational courses to help you understand anything about the special education process. It also gives you tips and recommendations on how to work with particular disabilities.

Is there anything else you want to share, or just a general message for our audience this Learning Disabilities Awareness Month?

When it comes to students with special needs, don't look at the title, look at the potential!

Just because a student has been classified with a diagnosis does not mean they cannot compete, or even over-achieve their non-disabled peers. I ask that we meet our students where they are so they can build upon their growth and eventually discharge our students from special education.

The goal is not to keep them in special education but to give students the tools and resources to be independent in society with a diagnosis or a disability classification.