As Assistant Superintendent for Teaching & Learning at Ralston Public Schools, Dr. Harley wasn't looking for quick fixes or feel-good initiatives. She knew that there were real opportunities to change how students with disabilities were performing in the district.
Many students were being pulled from Tier 1 instruction for Tier 2 support, and the data reflected the impact of that loss.
It's a scenario that plays out in districts across the country. Well-meaning educators identify students who need additional support, pull them from their general education classrooms, and provide intensive interventions. The logic seems sound: if students are struggling, they need more help.
But here's what the data often reveals: students who are removed from grade-level instruction don't just miss the lesson they're pulled from, they miss the cumulative building of knowledge that happens when learning is sequential and sustained.
The Leadership Moment
What sets exceptional leaders apart isn't the absence of these challenges, it's their response to them.
Dr. Harley could have doubled down on existing practices, assuming that more intensive interventions were the answer. Instead, she did something more difficult: she questioned whether their approach was actually serving students.
Her True North was clear and aligned with Nebraska's Journey to Inclusion Initiative:
All students must have equitable access to the full rigor of grade-level instruction.
The Partnership Decision
Rather than attempt to solve this challenge in isolation, Dr. Harley made a strategic decision that would transform her district: she sought partnership.
Not the kind of partnership that brings in experts to tell educators what they're doing wrong, but the kind that recognizes the expertise that already exists within the district and builds systematically upon it.
If you're reading this and recognizing your own district in Dr. Harley's story, you're already taking the first step toward transformation.
Next week, we'll share how Ralston Public Schools translated this foundation into a vision that would unite their entire district around a common purpose.
Ready to partner with us? Learn more about our approach and impact.
