Running header: Module 2: EDU 615

I am a Special Education Coordinator and I no longer have a classroom.

I am completing this assignment as if I still had a special education
resource room working with high school students.
Parent Letter
Dear Parents and Guardians,
My name is Lynn Rush and I am looking forward to working with your
child in my classroom this year. I have the resource room in the high
school and am the case-manager for students who receive special
education in grades 10-12. Education is changing. You have been
hearing terms such as Proficiency-Based Diploma and Common Core
State Standards. Beginning 2017, Maine State law, Title 20-A,
Subchapter 3, states all students must demonstrate proficiency in
meeting state standards to earn a high school diploma. This requires a
change in what we do to teach and tests students.
I will be working with your child to assist them in mastering math,
reading, and/or writing skills as well as exploring career interests and
supporting their study and work readiness skills. It is my goal that your
child progresses academically and socially, to not only earn their
diploma, but also meet their goals for after they graduate. Some
students will meet the graduation requirements in four years and
others may do this in five. Either way, gaining academic and social
skills is a wonderful achievement that will take work, effort, and
communication.
We will be busy, and through this process, it is my hope to reinforce
love of learning. To do this we will explore interests, talents, and
career goals. Your child will set goals, learn how to achieve them, and
celebrate the growth. Through setting career goals, achieving
academic and social goals, your childs self-confidence will increase.
In order for your child to progress, it is important that they feel that
they can be successful in meeting the standards no matter what their
prior experiences have been. We can work together to help your child
work toward their goals and to progress in their skills. Lessons will be
designed to include learning interests and styles and assessments will
include multiple ways to show skills.
An interest inventory is included in this letter. Please fill it out and
return it to me in order for me to learn about your childs strength,
interests, and talents. Also, please contact me at
to discuss any concerns that may affect your childs performance or to
share progress that your child is making.
Sincerely,

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Lynn Rush
Special Education Resource Room Teacher

Case Study Outline

Introduction: Include a brief history of the student, i.e.,
behaviors cited, background, special circumstances, etc.
Sam is a seventeen-year old student, who will be a senior this
coming school year. Sam receives Special Education due to
learning disability and struggles with completing the required
work to earn the number of math credits for graduation. She will
be completing two math credits her senior year.
Observations: How does the student perform in specific schoolrelated activities and lessons?
Sam has earned all her credits, except for the math credits. She is
successful in English. Her word attack skills and comprehension
for basic skills are strong. She does have some difficulty with
higher-level thinking regarding authors style and character
development. Sam loves to write, but struggles with
organization of thought. She receives services for ELA and
regular education for math. Her math skills are stronger than her
ELA skills, but her attitude regarding math, especially algebra is a
detriment to her.
Sam struggles with directions if she does not like them. She
demonstrates the ability to do tasks, but if she does not like the
assignment, she may try to argue about the the assignment
being stupid or that the assignment should be changed. She
also argues about the process of solving algebraic equations.
Instead of listening to instructions and using the text as a
reference, at times she argues about when and where she would
ever use algebra.
Effective Strategies: What strategies drawn from two
motivational theories do you think would be effective in helping
this student? Why?
The two motivational theories chosen are attribution theory and
expectancy-value theory. The strategies used will be focusing on
assisting Sam to identify locus of control and to set small goals to
increase her sense of control and self-efficacy. Expectancy-Value

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theory is chosen to help Sam challenge her view of expectancy of

success and perceived value of the task.