A More Structured Approach for Inclusion of Special Education and At-Risk Students using UDL.

Learn how push-in inclusion and co-teaching models support special education and at-risk students in mainstream classrooms. Discover the benefits and best practices for execution.

A laissez-faire, unstructured approach to inclusion "push-in" education often fails vulnerable students. While flexibility and spontaneity can benefit some learners, children with special needs and those at risk require structure, routine, and research-based instruction tailored to their circumstances. We need to purposefully build educational equity into the system to avoid marginalizing our most vulnerable youth, depriving them of support and the chance to thrive. All students deserve an education that meets their needs and helps them reach their potential. To make that vision a reality, we must be intentional in our efforts to include and uplift those who have historically been left behind.

Our most vulnerable students deserve our utmost commitment. Children with special needs and at-risk youth have enormous potential, and it is our responsibility to give them every opportunity to thrive. When we embrace inclusive, student-centered practices and provide robust systems of support, we can help each learner reach meaningful goals and experience academic success. All students bring value to our schools, so let us approach their education with creativity, compassion and the determination to foster their growth every single day. Our special education and at-risk students have so much to offer the world, and we cannot afford to fail them. They warrant our unwavering dedication to crafting educational equity and access. Each child is a gift; let our schools be places where their diverse abilities are nurtured.

Here are some best practices for building an inclusive "push in" model in schools for children with special education needs:

- Provide adequate training on UDL, and build collaborative planning time into the school schedules with all stakeholders in the loop. Ongoing professional development for all staff on inclusive education, Kagan cooperative learning, differentiating instruction, mastery learning, UDL, and managing diverse classrooms with structures, systems, and processes like Whol Brain Teaching. Help teachers understand the benefits of inclusion for the students they serve.

- Ensure teachers have sufficient designated planning time to collaborate with classroom teachers, special education staff, and paraprofessionals. Co-teaching and team teaching models when done correctly are the most successful and effective for all learners.

- Offer classes in adaptive curriculum that aligns with general education goals while meeting unique needs. Avoid at all costs, separating special education students unless absolutely necessary.

- Set high academic expectations for all students and provide accommodations, modifications, assistive technology and other supports to make the curriculum accessible. Don't limit goals based on perceived capability.

- Foster a positive school culture of acceptance, dignity and community. Teach all students the value of diversity in learning styles. Maintain zero tolerance for bullying.

- Encourage friendships and peer support networks between students with and without learning disabilities. Facilitate inclusive extracurricular activities.

- Proactively involve parents of special needs children, inform them of rights, and consider insights into goals, strengths and challenges.

The key is an integrated, collaborative approach focused on quality education for all students based on individual needs and abilities. With the right attitudes, strategies and supports, inclusive push in models can be transformative.

Here are some tips for UDL (Universal Design for Learning) planning for collaborative team teaching and co-teaching with push-in support for special needs and at-risk students:

- Provide multiple means of representation - present concepts in varied ways like visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Use videos, manipulatives, and graphic organizers. Provide text at different reading levels.

- Build in multiple means of action and expression - allow students to show their knowledge through choices like projects, writing, presentations, and drawings. Provide assistive tech options.

- Incorporate multiple means of engagement - customize the level of challenge to optimize difficulty. Let students make choices in their learning. Vary social dynamics with whole class, small group, peer learning.

- Co-plan lessons and units jointly with gen ed, special ed, ELL teachers. Apply expertise in UDL and differentiation. Discuss roles and responsibilities.

- Set objectives for content understanding as well as skill development like critical thinking, collaboration, self-regulation.

- Assess student needs, strengths, challenges together. Customize lesson plans to provide optimal challenge & necessary supports.

- Share data tracking systems to monitor student progress. Align extended time, accommodations, mods.

- Foster a welcoming classroom community. Teach students collaboration, empathy, and mutual support.

- Proactively communicate with families about learning goals, student progress, and ways to reinforce skills.

The goal is to create a flexible framework that provides all students equal access to learning and varied ways to engage deeply with content. Collaboration and UDL planning allow teachers to pool knowledge and resources to meet each learner's needs.

More on UDL!

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a framework for designing curriculum and lessons that can be used by all students. The goal of UDL is to provide equal opportunities for learning for all students, regardless of ability, disability, age, gender, or cultural and linguistic background.

The UDL framework includes three main principles:

Representation: Offering information in more than one format
Action and expression: Giving students more than one way to interact with the material and show what they've learned
Engagement: Looking for multiple ways to motivate students

Some strategies for implementing UDL in the classroom include:

Knowing your students' strengths and barriers
Using Hands-On concrete manipulatives
Using digital materials when possible
Sharing content in a multimodal or a variety of ways
Offering choices for how students demonstrate their knowledge
Taking advantage of apps, technology, and or software supports

The UDL framework includes four components: goals, methods, materials, and assessments. Planning a lesson with UDL includes three stages:

Proactive design
Implementation of the lesson
Reflection and redesign

Here are some tips for effectively planning mastery learning and push-in support for students with special needs and those at risk:

- Break down concepts and skills into discrete, sequential learning objectives aligned to standards. Assess students regularly to identify where they are at in the progression.

- For students who require additional support, provide targeted small group or one-on-one "push-in" instruction with special education teachers, paraprofessionals, tutors, or peers. Make sure support is aligned to the learning goals.

- Allow flexible pacing and enough repetitions for students to truly master skills before moving to more advanced concepts. Don't assume mastery after a single lesson or assessment.

- Use data from formative assessments to determine when students need more practice, coaching, or a different instructional approach to facilitate mastery. Adjust as needed.

- Incorporate engaging, multisensory lessons and tools like manipulatives, assistive technology, visual aids, and hands-on activities for diverse learning styles.

- Frequently check for understanding and provide specific feedback. Recognize incremental progress towards mastery goals.

- Cultivate student self-awareness of strengths and needs. Teach learning strategies and self-regulation skills.

- Make sure IEPs and 504 plans include accommodations and modifications needed to provide access to, and demonstrate mastery of, grade-level content.

The key is knowing your students well, monitoring their progress closely, and offering the right support at the right time to help every student experience meaningful achievement.

The Blueprint for Inclusive Excellence

UDL + Push-In Mastery in Special Education

At its core, this model is a shift from fixing students → designing systems that work for all learners.

It merges two powerful frameworks:

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) → redesign the curriculum
Push-In Service Delivery → redesign the support structure

Together, they create a system where special education is not a place—it’s a service embedded in learning.

1. The Philosophical Shift: From Deficit to Design

Traditional Model:

Students struggle → students are removed → students are “fixed”

Inclusive Excellence Model:

Students struggle → we redesign the environment

UDL reframes the problem:

The barrier is not the learner. The barrier is the design.

UDL emphasizes three core principles:

Multiple Means of Engagement (motivation)
Multiple Means of Representation (input)
Multiple Means of Action & Expression (output)

This aligns perfectly with push-in models, where support happens inside the learning ecosystem, not outside of it.

2. Push-In Mastery: The Engine of Inclusion

Push-in services mean specialists (SPED teachers, SLPs, interventionists) enter the general education classroom to support students in real time.

Instead of:

“Go to resource room for help”

We move to:

“Help comes to you, during real learning”

Why this matters

Push-in:

Keeps students in the Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
Promotes peer interaction and belonging
Allows real-time scaffolding of grade-level content

But here’s the key insight most schools miss:

👉 Push-in without UDL becomes chaos
👉 UDL without push-in becomes theory

Together, they become a system.

3. The Core Architecture of Inclusive Classrooms

Think of this as a 3-layer model:

Layer 1: UDL-Designed Core Instruction (Tier 1)

This is the foundation.

Every lesson is designed with:

Visuals + text + audio
Choice in how students respond
Built-in scaffolds (sentence frames, manipulatives, models)

Instead of:

One lesson + many modifications

You get:

One flexible lesson that works for many learners

Layer 2: Push-In Co-Teaching (Tier 2 Support)

This is where inclusion becomes visible.

General Ed Teacher + Special Ed Teacher operate as a team:

Parallel teaching
Station teaching
Alternative teaching
Real-time intervention

Push-in focuses on:

Supporting access to grade-level content
Reinforcing IEP goals in context
Providing immediate feedback and scaffolding

This collaboration is critical:

Push-in thrives on co-planning, not just co-existing

Layer 3: Targeted Pull-Out (Tier 3 Precision)

Let’s be real—pure inclusion is not always enough.

Some students need:

Intensive phonics (Orton-Gillingham)
Speech articulation drills
Behavioral regulation training

Pull-out provides:

Focused, distraction-free instruction
Explicit, systematic intervention

The blueprint is not “push-in only.”

It’s:

Push-in as the default, pull-out as the precision tool

4. The Instructional Sweet Spot: Context + Precision

Here’s the tension:

Push-In	Pull-Out
Real-world application	Skill isolation
Social learning	Intensive practice
Grade-level access	Foundational repair

The most effective systems use a blended model:

Teach skills in isolation (pull-out)
Apply skills in context (push-in)

This is how transfer happens.

5. What Push-In Mastery Actually Looks Like (Not the Fake Version)

Let’s clear something up.

❌ Weak push-in:

SPED teacher sits in the back
“Helps” a few kids
No planning, no structure

✅ True push-in mastery:

Co-planned lessons
Defined instructional roles
Data-driven grouping
Visible scaffolds for all students

It feels like:

A teaching lab, not a classroom
A team sport, not a solo act

6. UDL + Push-In = MTSS in Action

This model naturally aligns with MTSS / RTI frameworks:

Tier 1 (UDL Core)

80–90% of students succeed
Differentiation is built-in

Tier 2 (Push-In Support)

Strategic, in-class interventions
Small group scaffolding

Tier 3 (Pull-Out Intensive)

Targeted, individualized instruction

Instead of siloed systems, you get:

A seamless continuum of support

7. The Leadership Blueprint (This Is Where Most Schools Fail)

Inclusive excellence is not a teacher problem—it’s a systems design problem.

Leaders must ensure:

1. Protected Co-Planning Time

Inclusion fails without planning

2. Role Clarity

Who teaches?
Who supports?
Who assesses?

3. Scheduling Alignment

Push-in must match core instruction blocks

4. Professional Development

UDL training
Co-teaching models
Data-driven instruction

5. Culture Shift

From “my students” → “our students”

8. The Student Experience (The Real Test)

In a true UDL + push-in classroom, a student with an IEP experiences:

No stigma of leaving the room
Multiple ways to understand content
Multiple ways to show learning
Support that feels natural, not separate

And most importantly:

They feel like they belong.

9. The End Goal: Inclusive Excellence

This isn’t just about compliance.

It’s about building classrooms where:

Diversity is expected
Flexibility is normal
Support is invisible (because it’s everywhere)

Final Insight (Your Big Idea, Elevated)

If you were to distill this into one powerful statement:

UDL designs the stage. Push-in delivers the support. Together, they make inclusion real.

The District Blueprint for Inclusive Excellence

Implementing UDL + Push-In Mastery at Scale

This is a multi-year systems transformation, not a one-off initiative.

Think in phases:

Build → Implement → Refine → Institutionalize

Phase 1: Build the Foundation (0–6 Months)

“Get the System Ready”

1. Establish a Clear Vision (Non-Negotiable)

You need a unifying statement that shows up everywhere:

“Special education is a service, not a place.
Every classroom is designed for variability.”

This becomes:

Board messaging
Principal expectations
Hiring language
Evaluation frameworks

2. Conduct a Reality Audit

Before changing anything, map the current system:

Look for:

% of students in pull-out vs push-in
Time spent in Least Restrictive Environment (LRE)
Master schedule conflicts
Co-teaching usage (real vs superficial)
Intervention effectiveness (Tier 2 / Tier 3)

This is where the truth shows up:

“Push-in” that’s really passive support
UDL that exists only in PD slides

3. Build the District Leadership Team

You need a cross-functional design team:

SPED Director (you)
Gen Ed Curriculum Leads
Site Principals
Instructional Coaches
MTSS Coordinators

This team:

Designs the rollout
Solves implementation barriers
Aligns systems (curriculum, schedules, staffing)

4. Define the Instructional Model (Clarity Beats Inspiration)

Codify what this actually looks like:

UDL Non-Negotiables:

Every lesson includes:
- Multiple representations
- Structured student talk
- Scaffolded response options

Push-In Non-Negotiables:

Co-planning is required
Co-teaching model is defined daily
SPED teachers deliver instruction (not just support)

If you don’t define it, schools will invent weak versions.

Phase 2: Pilot and Prototype (Year 1)

“Start Small, Go Deep”

1. Select Pilot Schools (Don’t Go District-Wide Yet)

Choose:

2–4 schools
Strong principals (this matters more than anything)
Mixed demographics

Avoid:

Trying to fix struggling schools first

2. Redesign the Master Schedule

This is the hidden lever.

You must:

Align SPED staff with core instruction blocks
Protect co-planning time (weekly minimum)
Reduce fragmented pull-out schedules

Without schedule alignment:

Push-in collapses before it starts

3. Intensive Professional Learning

Not a one-day workshop—this is ongoing.

Focus on:

UDL lesson design (hands-on)
Co-teaching models (live practice)
Data-driven flexible grouping

Best format:

Model classrooms
Instructional rounds
Coaching cycles

4. Coaching Over Compliance

Shift from:

“Did you implement UDL?”

To:

“Let’s refine how this works for your students.”

Use:

Instructional coaches
Demo lessons
Co-teaching labs

5. Build Model Classrooms (Your Proof Points)

Create “lab classrooms” where:

UDL is visible
Push-in is seamless
Student engagement is high

These become:

Training sites
Culture drivers
Evidence for skeptics

Phase 3: Scale Strategically (Year 2–3)

“Expand Without Breaking the System”

1. Gradual Expansion

Add:

More schools each year
More grade levels

But only after:

Pilot success is documented
Systems are refined

2. Standardize Systems Across Schools

Now you lock in consistency:

Common co-planning protocols
Shared UDL lesson templates
Push-in scheduling frameworks
MTSS alignment

This prevents:

“Every school doing its own version”

3. Align Evaluation and Accountability

What gets measured gets implemented.

Include in teacher/principal evaluation:

Co-teaching effectiveness
UDL implementation
Student access to grade-level content

4. Family and Community Communication

Parents need to understand:

Why students aren’t being pulled out as often
How support is being delivered differently
What inclusion actually looks like

This reduces resistance and builds trust.

Phase 4: Institutionalize the Model (Year 3+)

“Make It the Way We Do School”

1. Embed in Hiring Practices

You start selecting for:

Collaborative mindset
Flexible instruction
Inclusion-first philosophy

2. Build It Into Induction Programs

New teachers learn:

UDL from day one
Co-teaching as standard practice

Not as an “add-on.”

3. Align Curriculum Adoption

Only adopt materials that:

Support flexible access
Include scaffolds
Work in co-teaching environments

4. Ongoing Data Cycles

Track:

Student growth (especially SPED & Tier 2)
LRE percentages
Discipline data
Engagement indicators

Use this to:

Continuously refine the system

The Make-or-Break Factors (Real Talk)

Let’s not sugarcoat it—these are the failure points:

1. No Co-Planning Time

→ Push-in becomes glorified tutoring

2. Weak Principal Leadership

→ Classrooms revert to isolation

3. Lack of Role Clarity

→ SPED teachers become assistants

4. Over-Reliance on Pull-Out

→ Inclusion never actually happens

What Success Looks Like (Observable Outcomes)

You’ll know it’s working when:

Classrooms feel busy, collaborative, and structured
SPED and Gen Ed teachers are co-leading
Students are using multiple ways to learn and respond
Pull-out services are targeted, not default
Achievement gaps begin to close meaningfully

Your Signature Positioning (This is powerful for you)

If you frame this as your leadership model:

The Taylor Model of Inclusive Excellence
A systems-based approach integrating UDL design, push-in service delivery, and MTSS to create fully inclusive, high-performing classrooms.

That’s not just a plan—that’s a movement-level framework.

Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Implementing Effective Push-in Inclusion Models: A Guide to Benefits and Best Practices