Helping building-level administrators build special education leadership capacity to improve teacher retention
Struggling with Special Education Teacher Retention?
Transformational Special Education Leadership Needs Assessment
How can you help? This 1:1 discussion uncovers your special education leadership needs. How you engage in transformational leadership behaviors and the barriers to leading your special education teachers will be revealed. We will develop a Plan of Success together. The following are the implementation steps.
1. Pre-Visit Preparation:
- Review Existing Data: Gather and review relevant data such as student performance data in special education, teacher feedback, and previous assessment reports.
- Use of Assessment Tools: Assessment tools such as surveys, interview guides, and observation protocols tailored to evaluate leadership practices in special education.
2. On-Site Visit Agenda:
a. Introduction and Context Setting:
- Welcome and Introduction: Introduce the purpose and goals of the leadership needs assessment.
- Contextual Understanding: Gain a brief overview of the school’s demographics, special education programs, and current challenges or initiatives.
b. Individual Interviews:
- Meetings with Administrators: Conduct structured interviews with building-level administrators responsible for special education.
- Topics to Cover: Explore their perceptions of strengths, challenges, and needs in special education leadership and transformational leadership.
- Probe for Specific Areas: Discuss their vision for special education, strategies currently in place, and areas where additional support is desired.
c. Classroom Observations: (IF NEEDED, BUT NOT REQUIRED)
- Observation Focus: Observe interactions and leadership behaviors during visits to special education classrooms.
- Assessment Criteria: Use a predetermined rubric to assess leadership practices such as communication with teachers, support for student engagement, and handling of classroom dynamics.
d. Data Synthesis and Analysis (off-site preparation):
- Compile Findings: Review and synthesize data collected from interviews, observations, and discussions.
- Identify Themes: Identify common themes, strengths, challenges, and priority areas for leadership development in special education.
3. Post-Visit Reporting and Action Planning:
- Success Plan Preparation: Prepare a comprehensive report summarizing assessment findings, including strengths and areas for improvement aligned with state evaluation components, CEC Special Education Leadership standards, and transformational leadership.
- Action Planning Session: Facilitate a session with administrators to discuss assessment results, prioritize needs, and co-create success plans.
- Set SMART Goals: Define Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (SMART) goals for enhancing leadership practices in special education.
4. Follow-Up Support (see additional services)
- Implementation Support: Provide ongoing support through coaching, workshops, or resources tailored to address identified needs.
- Monitoring and Evaluation: Establish mechanisms for monitoring progress and evaluating the impact of leadership development initiatives on special education outcomes.
Benefits of Leadership Needs Assessment:
- Informed Decision Making: Administrators gain insights to make informed decisions aligned with the needs of their special education leadership.
- Targeted Support: Tailored support strategies enhance leadership effectiveness with their special education teachers and promote positive outcomes for students with disabilities.
Transformational Special Education Leadership Consulting
Transformational leadership (individual consideration, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and idealized influence) influences engagement in positive change for both the principal and special education teacher. Special Education leadership empowers principals to support special education teachers while leading programs and services for students with disabilities.
Transformational special education leadership consulting involves identifying the problem areas that may prevent positive change when leading special education, developing a plan to increase leadership capacity, and engaging in collaborative problem solving to combat the areas of need.
Transformational Special Education Leadership Coaching
This 1:1 coaching includes thought-provoking and reflective practices to bridge transformational leadership with special education leadership to inspire principals' personal and professional potential to be leaders in special education at their schools.
Special Education Supervision and Evaluation Consulting
This specialized consulting involves providing building-level administrators with direct supervision and evaluation feedback when evaluating their special education teachers through a job-embedded process.
Leadership Development Training/Workshops
Leadership topics for workshops and trainings include John C. Maxwell's Becoming a Person of Influence and Developing the Leaders Around You.
Special Education topics can include information on disability categories and evidence-based practices for teaching students with high and low incidence disabilities.
Contact Dr. Natasha Veale
Ready to take the first step? Contact Dr. Natasha Veale today to learn more about these services and how we can help you achieve your personal and professional leadership goals.
BOOK A FREE 30-min DISCOVERY CALL WITH DR. VEALE https://calendly.com/vealeleadershipconsulting
About Dr. Natasha W. Veale
Dr. Natasha Veale is a certified special education teacher, teacher educator, college administrator, and educational consultant. Dr. Veale has worked in the special education field since 2000. Driven by a passion to help educators and leaders succeed, Dr. Veale earned a Ph.D. in Special Education Leadership in 2010 and an Ed.D. in Organizational Change and Administration in 2023.
After teaching students with high-incidence and low-incidence disabilities in inclusion, resource, and separate settings for nearly a decade, Dr. Veale was led to teach and train preservice and in-service special education teachers, as well as general education teachers, on how to teach and serve students with disabilities. While doing so, Dr. Veale also serves as the Dean of the School of Social Sciences and Education at a local college.
Dr. Veale is also a certified John C. Maxwell leadership consultant, coach, and trainer. John C. Maxwell is a world-renowned leadership expert with over 90 published books on personal and leadership development. With Dr. Maxwell's mentorship combined with over 20 years of special education leadership experience, Dr. Veale was also led to support building principals in their leadership journey to become leaders of special education in their schools.
Veale Leadership Consulting, LLC was created in response to the results of Dr. Veale's research titled Principals as Leaders in Special Education: A Phenomenological Study of the Engagement in and Barriers to Principals’ Transformational Leadership Behaviors When Leading Special Education Teachers.
