A review of “High leverage practices and students with extensive support needs” by Pennington,R.,Ault,M. J.,Courtade,G.,Jameson,J. M,and Ruppar,A.

Federal mandates (e.g., Every Student Succeeds Act [ESSA], 2015; Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act [IDEA], 2004) and professional preparation standards (e.g., Council of Exceptional Children Initial Practice-Based Professional Standards; Council for Exceptional Children [CEC], n.d.) require educators to use effective, research-based practices when working with students with disabilities. Despite this, educator preparation programs may not always furnish adequate course and fieldwork experiences to ensure that novice teachers feel prepared to actually implement evidence-based practices consistently and correctly (Knight et al., 2019; Scheeler et al., 2016). In addition, a special educator’s role encompasses many duties beyond classroom instruction that require a multitude of skills (Leko et al., 2015). A first-year teacher working with students with extensive support needs may understandably feel daunted and intimidated when trying to ascertain how to most effectively carry out the instructional, assessment, and other duties required for their positions (Billingsley et al., 2019; Knight et al., 2019), and novice teachers may struggle to find valid information on effective strategies and practices. High Leverage Practices and Students with Extensive Support Needs (Pennington et al., 2023) is a resource with potential to support pre- and in-service teachers, especially novice teachers, in selecting practices to enhance their teaching and collaboration with parents and colleagues.

The main purpose of High Leverage Practices and Students with Extensive Support Needs (Pennington et al., 2023) is to provide much-needed support for teachers of students with extensive support needs to improve student learning outcomes. The authors envision readers as not only learning new practices but also engaging in continuous self-reflection to improve the quality of their application of these practices. The book is especially well suited for use in initial teacher preparation programs (e.g., as a text for methods or fieldwork courses) and in school districts interested in providing professional development and additional resources and support for novice educators looking for ways to improve their practice. Because high-leverage practices (HLPs) are not domain or content specific (e.g., pertain solely to math instruction), they are immediately applicable for educators of students with varied learning and support needs.

The book describes the application of Council of Exceptional Children’s (CEC) 22 HLPs with students with extensive support needs within four core areas of a teacher’s practice: collaboration, assessment, social/emotional/behavioral learning, and instruction. A panel of experts assembled by the CEC initially identified these essential practices as those that apply across student eligibilities, classroom settings, and school locations (e.g., rural, urban). Pennington et al. (2023) acknowledge that students with extensive support needs typically require more intensive and sustained instruction and support than students with other eligibilities. They describe how the application of these HLPs can be tailored for the learning needs of this group of students across multiple aspects of their education. The book is not intended to be a stand-alone resource, but when used in conjunction with other sources of teacher support (e.g., coursework in specific instructional methods or instructional coaching for in-service educators), it provides practical ideas to enhance special educators’ performance in their many roles and duties.

The text has a number of strengths. One key factor to the text’s success is the consistent organization and presentation of information across chapters that enhances its user-friendliness. Each chapter begins with a clear explanation of a HLP and its relevance in teaching and supporting students with extensive support needs as well as a short list of learning objectives. This is followed by concise explanations of strategies for implementing the HLP and applicable examples of its use. Visual representations of example forms and teaching materials (e.g., graphic organizers, checklists, photographs) illustrate how educators might translate the practice into their everyday work with students or collaboration with families and colleagues. Chapter authors provide a “Next Steps” section at the end of every chapter that offers tips and guidance in incorporating the HLP into practice. They then list the critical points from the chapter related to the HLP (i.e., “The Big Five”) and include additional resources and references for further investigation.

Another strength of the text is its emphasis on collaboration with all stakeholders. At the core of this approach is placing the student front and center, with a team of equally committed members working together to achieve the best-possible outcomes. Chapter authors stress the importance of collaborating authentically with families, enlisting support from other members of the school community, and encouraging personal self-reflection as critical for improving educational outcomes for students with extensive support needs.

IDEA (2004) stresses the importance of family involvement in the development of individual education programs (IEPs) that lead to meaningful outcomes for students. This practice is not exclusive to students with extensive support needs but has special importance for students who may have lifelong needs for more intensive supports. The authors contributing to High Leverage Practices and Students with Extensive Support Needs (Pennington et al., 2023) acknowledge that teachers have an abundance of responsibilities for the students they support and that frequent, consistent communication with families may not always be prioritized in the midst of a busy day. They encourage teachers to create regular communication with families across the school year to develop partnerships between school and home to support students. They offer multiple ideas of how to do this in feasible ways that can build trust and respect with families.

To further increase effective collaboration, the authors also offer simple, clear strategies to improve the effectiveness of the IEP meeting process and make these meetings meaningful collaborations between school personnel, families, and students. Suggestions to increase participation by all team members are helpfully organized around pre-meeting, during-meeting, and post-meeting strategies. These include ways to support active student involvement in the meeting, beginning with discussions well ahead of the actual meeting and including ways for prioritizing student voice and choice during meetings. The authors also encourage educators to engage in self-reflection (e.g., completing the “Social Identity Wheel” when preparing for meetings, p. 16) to enhance their skills in collaborating respectfully with families from historically marginalized communities and supporting their active, valued membership as IEP team members.

Another strength of the book is its focus on data-informed decision-making. Although this is an essential skill that special education teachers must develop, data-informed decision-making is often a continuing area of growth for many educators. Knowing which areas to assess, how to create valid data-collection methods, and then how to interpret the data collected when making decisions is often challenging, whether it be from lack of training or lack of resources, but data literacy is an essential skill special education teachers must develop and maintain (Mandinach & Gummer, 2012). The authors of several chapters provide explicit examples of multiple means of student assessment and how the resulting data can be used to guide instruction and support positive student outcomes. For example, one chapter emphasizes the importance of using an ecological assessment approach as a framework for assessment and targeted data collection that can be used to select relevant short- and long-term learning goals for students with extensive support needs (Ruppar et al., 2023). Other chapters focus on utilizing data in adapting instruction to meet students’ individual learning needs, using assistive technology to support student communication and learning, creating systematic instruction, and implementing strategies to enhance students’ active engagement. All chapters offer suggestions of how to integrate these practices into everyday teaching routines that are aligned with high-quality IEPs.

In addition to successful IEP planning and implementation of instruction, teachers often look for resources to assist in effective classroom management. Another strength of the text is that it contains several chapters that offer practical descriptions of implementing practices that support student engagement and learning and prevent behaviors that negatively affect student learning and development of social relationships. Examples of this are the chapters that focus on developing social communication behaviors (Ganz et al., 2023) and behavior support plans based on a functional behavior assessment (FBA) process (Shepley et al., 2023). Both chapters emphasize teaching skills that enhance students’ communication and meet their learning needs as ways to prevent the occurrence of behaviors that interfere with student learning. The chapter describing the FBA process also emphasizes that this is a collaborative process, requiring all team members’ input (Ganz et al., 2023). Teachers may feel hesitant about participating in an FBA due to the time and data-collection steps required, and as a result, they may not use this helpful process as often as it may be warranted. The authors describe simply and succinctly various means of data collection for the process and, most importantly, how to use the data collected to create a support plan for the student that is practical and effective, as well as how to monitor the ongoing effectiveness of the plan. They include several tables of key information about aspects of the FBA process and examples to help provide clarity for teachers who may be struggling with when and how to use the FBA process with their students with extensive support needs.

High Leverage Practices and Students with Extensive Support Needs (Pennington et al., 2023) is a strong starting point for teachers seeking to improve their practices, but there are some areas of consideration. One area for consideration is providing blank templates for teachers to use when implementing some of the suggested practice examples. Although there are websites and resources peppered throughout the text, an appendix to the text containing blank templates or an online source for such templates would be helpful to busy teachers (e.g., linked to the CEC’s website on HLPs). In addition, it would be beneficial if more examples addressed each grade level (i.e., elementary, secondary, post-secondary) to encourage age-appropriate use of practices. Finally, although several chapter authors mentioned how the HLPs they discussed should be considered within a culturally responsive practice, a stronger, more consistent emphasis on this essential area of practice across all chapters would strengthen the text.

In conclusion, this text of Pennington et al. (2023) is an excellent resource that educator preparation programs, school districts, and even individual special education teachers of students with extensive support needs should consider when looking for supplemental resources to enhance and support teacher practices. The book’s organization is easy to follow and provides relevant and detailed examples of proposed strategies. The authors clearly define roles and concepts and provide research to support suggested strategies and offer additional resources and references for those interested in further investigation. Particularly when combined with some of the resources provided on the CEC’s HLP website (CEC, n.d.), the text provides a powerful tool for teachers to continually reflect on and enhance their practice. Implementing these practices consistently and with fidelity can positively impact school culture and family and student relationships, improve student outcomes, and benefit teachers’ practice.