Chapter 4: School Superintendents and Principals Meeting the Academic Needs of All Learners

In this chapter we examine the pressures faced by superintendents and principals in accommodating No Child Left Behind (NCLB, 2002) accountability requirements in relation to meeting the needs of all children. Changing school systems from exclusionary philosophies to more inclusive philosophies has required a paradigm shift for school and district administrators and the virtual transformation of academic environments in which these educators work to alter existing exclusionary practices. We defined these exclusionary practices as teaching to a select group of students and ignoring the needs of other students, especially students with special needs. It is a widely accepted fact that certain curricular and learning cultures favor a select group of students over others. NCLB challenged educators to address specific learning needs of all students, especially students with special needs, and in order to make schoolwide improvement gains, held schools accountable to show learning gains for all subgroups, in particular students with special needs.